Wedding stationary is part of the finer details of your wedding that will make a lasting impression. While staying within the bounds of your budget and theme, you should start thinking about the small details of your engagement announcements, save the dates, wedding invitations, reply cards, enclosures, place settings, menus and thank you cards. These tips will help you navigate the timeline, design and etiquette of wedding stationary.
The Timeline for Printed Materials
It is so important to begin planning your wedding stationary early. You should send out your engagement announcements as soon as you get engaged. About six to eight months prior to your wedding day, you should send out save-the-dates. Engagement announcements give your guests advance notice that there is a wedding in the plan. As soon as you have a wedding date and no less than six months prior to your wedding day, you should give your guests advance notice with a save-the-date postcard. You might not have all the details, but this will get your date reserved on calendars. About six months before your wedding, you should order the wedding invitations and enclosures. Whether you are having a calligrapher address the envelops or you are doing it yourself, you should arrange the completion of this task to occur no less than four months prior to your wedding. Six to eight weeks before your wedding day, you should send out the wedding invitations. It is recommended that you send out invitations to the rehearsal dinner, bridal shower or other wedding related celebrations about one month prior to each event. Once you have a final headcount and not less than three weeks prior to your big day, you should complete escort cards and place cards. If you are hiring a calligrapher, you might want to allow more time for the completion.
Designing Your Wedding Stationary
Your theme will influence the colors, fonts and aesthetics of the invitations and other materials. With your wedding theme and color palette in mind, you can begin to choose fonts, style, color and embellishments. Make sure you allow enough time to customize the designs, review proofs and put in the final order. If you require a high level of customization, you might consider working with a boutique stationer. If a variety of pre-designed materials is what you are looking for, you can easily browse catalogs at larger stationary stores. Most things have shifted to an online experience, including some online stationers. This paperless option for designing your paper allows you to design and view proofs instantly online. If you have a unique vision for your wedding stationary that requires an artist, you might seek the help of a graphic designer.
The Style of Your Wedding Stationary
Think about the ways you will incorporate your wedding colors and designs into your wedding stationary. Most weddings have three colors, a primary and two accent colors. You will have the paper, envelops, fonts, graphics and inserts to consider. Beyond which papers and fonts in which colors, you should think about the patterns of your wedding designs and incorporate the small details into your wedding stationary for a textured look. Shape and size are other thoughts.
The Paper Lingo
You will have so many decisions to make about texture and finish. It is a good idea to know the basic wedding stationary lingo. It is easy to understand when something is referenced as handmade or natural materials, but you might not identify the materials as cotton, rag or hemp. You might envision a vintage theme, but you should familiarize yourself with a deckle edge, if you want to create that irregular and torn edge look on handmade paper. Corrugated refers to folded stock with wrinkles and ridges. Industrial is created from chipboard or newsprint. Matte is nonreflective and opaque. Mylar is a shiny foil-like finish. Parchment is cloudy and translucent. Rice paper is thin and soft. Linen is grainier than cotton and has a textured appearance for a classic look. Jacquard is screen-printed paper that creates the illusion of layering, such as with lace.
Printing Technique
You should also know the lingo of printing technique. Letterpress is a technique that involves inking an image to produce an impression. This is where the text is impressed into the paper. Thermography creates raised lettering with a heat-based process that has an appearance similar to engraving. Engraving is created with a metal plate and creates textured and raised font. Embossing crimps the paper to create raised letters.
The Etiquette of Wording Wedding Stationary
The wording on the invitation is more important than all of the decorative details. Invitations will include the date, the hosts, the formal name of the guests, bride and groom, the location and other important details. Invitations enclose a card for the reception and RSVP card with prepaid postage. You might include travel information, hotel room block information and other important details, such as whether children are welcome and the dress code. There are just a few rules to writing wedding invitations.
Always write out the dates and addresses by spelling out the details in the correct format. No shortened or abbreviated version will fly with a formal invitation. For example, write “Sunday, the twenty-ninth day of August." Avoid abbreviating the word “Street” and “Boulevard” in an address. For example, write “2569 Lavender Street” or “5443 Orange Boulevard.”
Always use full names when inviting your guests. This means you should avoid nicknames. Always include the last name. For example, write “Alexander Duval,” instead of “Alex” or “Alex Duval.” If you are inviting a family, you could write “Duval Family.” Every guest over the age of eighteen should receive their own invitation.
Let your guests know who the celebration is for, who is hosting the event and the nature of the event. For example, write “Mark and Jenna Smith request the honor of your presence at the wedding of Lena Smith and Robert Doe.”
Include the important details. You should list the date, time, and venue on separate lines. Include reception information, if the reception and ceremony will be at separate locations. Reception information can be added on a decorative card and inserted within the fold of the invitation. If the reception and ceremony are being held at the same location, it is appropriate to write, “Reception to follow.”
The RSVP is important. Make sure your guests know how to reply. This is usually accomplished by a RSVP card with prepaid postage that lists the response deadline. You might have an option for them to bring a guest or write the number in their party. Meal selections are common with plated meals. If you are offering a choice, make a list of options at the bottom of the RSVP card.
The RSVP
The RSVP is important to finalize the headcount for seating charts, place cards, favors and the catering. The French phrase répondez s'il vous plaît or RSVP means please reply. Your RSVP should have a deadline of no less than two to three weeks prior to your wedding.
Crystal Ballroom Rock Hill
Plan the fine details of your wedding stationary from the design elements at your wedding venue. Share your vision with the professional wedding designers and planners at Crystal Ballroom Rock Hill. Step inside the design studio and choose your colors, theme, linens, décor and floral arrangements. This all-inclusive wedding venue bundles the venue, furnishings, staff services and décor into an affordable wedding package to make your fairy tale possible. Walk the red carpet to a ballroom designed just for your magical moments.
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