Notes On Wedding Stationery
With a helping hand from our Bespoke Stationery Manager, Ruth Baxter.
It’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of wedding planning, especially when it comes to navigating the finer details. Our Bespoke Stationery Manager, Ruth Baxter, offers a host of top tips to get you started with your wedding stationery.
What should be top of the stationery priority list from the planning get-go?
Not just applicable for wedding stationery but wedding planning in general, timing is very important. You need to be aware of how long things will take after ordering and from there you can work out the optimum times to do everything that needs to be done. With stationery, decide when you want to send the invitations out — it varies a lot these days — and then work backwards from that point. I recommend ordering invitations at least a month before you want to send them out, just to be safe. So long as the planning details are finalised, wedding invitations can be ordered well in advance, unlike some other items on the to-do list, to remove stress later.
What constitutes a suite of wedding stationery?
The stationery suite may start with a save-the-date card. We then move on to the wedding invitation and its envelope, plus any additional pieces that you might be sending with the invitation, i.e., invitations to events taking place around the main ceremony, a reply card with envelope and/or an information sheet. The suite can also include on the day stationery such as orders of service, menu cards, place cards. Finally, don’t forget the all-important thank you cards, to thank guests for their wedding gifts. Coordinating these items gives a coherent overall effect.
Could you explain the differences between Smythson’s personalised and bespoke stationery?
Personalised stationery uses pre-existing templates and a defined set of choices — such as ink colours or lettering styles —to which the customer’s personal details are added, as seen with our wedding invitation options on our website.
Bespoke stationery is a full collaboration between the couple and a bespoke stationery consultant, realising their ideas within the parameters of the materials and techniques defined by the house style of the stationer. We can create custom ink colours, use different sizing, incorporate meaningful details, and the consultant can contribute ideas and suggestions that the customer might not be aware of.
What’s the advantage of bespoke stationery?
The biggest advantage of bespoke is complete flexibility. A made-to-order suite can accommodate your precise requirements both aesthetically and order quantities; we don’t have to adhere to pre-defined batch quantities. Many weddings include additional events around the main ceremony, and we can help create the right stationery to support whatever it is that you are planning, with the right wording or language.
What should people first consider when thinking of commissioning a bespoke project?
Think about the numbers first; set your budget and work out your guest numbers for each element of your event. It’s not the fun, creative part of the process but it’s essential to get both right for the rest to follow smoothly.
Any tips on what to order, quantity wise?
Remember to think households, not headcount, when calculating how many invitations you need; couples or families can be invited with a single invitation, but you may choose to invite older children or both members of a dating couple with individual invitations. Consider family members who may be unable to attend but would appreciate the courtesy of receiving the invitation. Don’t forget to include members of the wedding party who will be in attendance but may be most appreciative of the invitation as a keepsake. Also, consider if you have a B list — do you have guests who can only be invited if others decline? If you are using a calligrapher, find out in advance what percentage of spare pieces they want you to provide. If you are addressing your own envelopes, do you need to order a larger volume of spares to accommodate potential errors? If in doubt…round up. It’s expensive to have to order extras.
What advice would you give a couple unsure on where to begin with choosing the finer details such as colour, font, size, and shape?
The invitations cannot be ordered until the venues for the ceremony and reception have been finalised and using information from those choices can be very helpful to create stationery that is in keeping with the style of the event. If unsure, stay close to a traditional style and maybe consider introducing one element, such as colour or a striking lettering style, that ties the invitation in to the visual theme of the rest of the wedding. If you repeat your featured element on other pieces of stationery, it’s a very simple way to keep everything fully coordinated.