When it comes to planning a wedding, there are a lot of big decisions you’ll be making about your special day. One of the most important decisions is choosing a stationer who can create invitations for your wedding that reflect your personal style and taste.
While every bride will have different preferences when choosing a stationer, there are a few tips every bride can use when preparing to meet with them. These tips will help make sure your time spent meeting with your stationer is productive in working toward the perfect design for your stationery.
Be Prepared to Show, Not Just Tell
Because your stationery will often be the first way your guests are exposed to your wedding theme, you want to make sure it’s consistent with exactly how you’ve envisioned your big day. As such, you want to do all that you can to convey your style and theme to your stationer the way you picture it.
If you’re working with a wedding planner, coordinate with them to provide any compiled materials that help show the tone, theme, color palette and style of your wedding. Pinterest can also be an excellent tool to help show colors, textures, patterns and examples of stationery that include design elements you like. Being able to show your stationer with images and examples will help make your meetings much more effective.
Know Your Numbers
In addition to showing style and themes, you should also be prepared to share numbers with your stationer. These numbers include:
- How many invitations? Not how many guests, but the number of actual invitations you will be sending.
- How many items in the invitation suite? Will you be including a reception card, direction card, activities card, etc?
- What is your budget? A common misconception is that ordering from a book is less expensive than custom invitation suites. Having an accurate budget ballpark can help your stationer determine which option is best for the look you envision.
Pay Attention to Time Frame
While your wedding planner can help you keep track of timing, you should also be aware of when you need to start planning and sending invitations, and getting your other stationery needs in order for the day of.
Save-the-dates: While not every couple chooses to send save-the-dates, it’s usually a good idea to do so 6-12 months in advance for destination weddings or those that will require extensive travel plans. Save-the-dates can also be a fun way to set the theme of your wedding with your guests.
Invitations: If your stationer isn’t involved in creating save-the-dates for your event, the process of meeting with your stationer should start about 4-6 months in advance of your wedding. If choosing a custom design option, this can help eliminate upcharges that often occur for rushed orders. If choosing a stationer that sells from albums, the necessary time frame is often less, but you should plan on sending invitations to guests 6-8 weeks in advance of the wedding. This will allow you to set your response date 4 weeks prior to the wedding date.
Day-of Stationery: For “day-of” stationery, such as seating charts, menus, table numbers, escort cards, etc., plan on leaving 2-3 weeks for your stationer to prepare the final items, once your guests have responded about their attendance.
Planning and designing your invitations can be such an exciting part of the planning process. Make the most of your design process by being prepared with the information that will help you, your planner, and your stationer work best together!