Bicycle Built for Two invitation from Alannah Rose

Ordering your wedding stationery doesn’t have to be a difficult or stressful process. As long as you follow a few simple guidelines, your stationery should arrive 3-6 weeks after you order it, and you’ll be well on your way to posting your beautiful invitations out to your guests.

Here are our tips on what to DO when planning your wedding stationery:

Do – plan ahead – quality wedding stationery takes time. 3-6 weeks is the standard, custom can take longer. As a guide wedding invitations are sent 6-8 weeks prior to the wedding. Earlier still if it is a destination wedding.

Do – order samples. Not all stationers are created equal. What may look like a pretty design online could be printed on a home printer or thin paper stock. If quality is important, touching and feeling a sample is a must.

D0 – order a colour chart. If ordering your stationery online, and colour is important to your theme – ordering a colour chart or samples is a must. Colours render differently on every computer screen, so what you are looking at on your screen, could be very different to what the final product looks like.

Mauve on Monday invitation from Alannah Rose

Do – check your spelling and grammar, and have another person check it also. A good stationer will always check spelling, but some things don’t show up in spell check like venue names, street names and parent’s names. Likewise, check all dates and times are correct. A good tip is to show your invitation proofs to someone in your office who hasn’t had much to do with the wedding plans. They can look at it with fresh eyes and not skip over words like people close to the event often can.

Do – show your draft wording to your parents/in laws before you supply it to your wedding stationer. You can save time on final alterations by ironing out any issues with wording or name spelling before you order.

Do – check the spelling of all of your guest’s names and their partners. Listing a partner’s name is much more polite than having ‘and partner’. Of course if they don’t have a partner and you’d like them to bring a friend, then listing ‘and friend’ is acceptable.

Retro Dot invitation by Alannah Rose

Do – cost in thank you stationery to your budget. It doesn’t need to be expensive, but a simple hand written note or card after the event is always polite.

Do – order spares. Many stationers have minimum quantities and set up costs. Make sure you allow for 5-10 spares in your order. This allows for calligrapher mistakes and also for the possibility that someone has been left off your original list. It also leaves some as a keepsake of the day, or for the opportunity to invite others if you have a few ‘no’ rsvps.

Do – get photos of your stationery. Be sure to brief your photographer to take some detail shots of your wedding stationery on the day (be sure to have it on hand). The stationery can play a big part in setting the theme of the day, and help tell the story of where the celebrations began.

Image via Alannah Rose

Do – have fun. Your wedding stationery is like your brand or identity for your wedding. Pick something that is reflective of your personalities and style for the day. Follow these simple steps, and enjoy stress free planning.

 

Ms Gingham says: Clear and valuable advice from Suzi at Alannah Rose. A must read post before placing an order for your wedding stationery.

About Suzi from Alannah Rose Stationery: “My passion for art and design and entertaining was what initially led me to a career as a creative director in advertising, and it was the planning of my 2003 wedding, and birth of my first daughter in 2005 that led me to where I am today.”