Wedding invitations have become so important to the wedding process. I don’t remember receiving wedding invitations in the mail that were as informative and had as many pieces as I do now. I love finding an invitation in the mail that has everything I need to know summed up in one envelope. How amazing is that!

Brides can often get overwhelmed by what they need or don’t need to include in a wedding invitation, so I’m going to break it down for you.

Invitation- obviously this is the main part of the wedding invitation as a whole. This should include the basic information: who, what, where and when.

RSVP card- also a super important part of the package. This is a card to let people tell you whether or not they are coming. This is especially important for weddings who are serving food and will have seating. Although online RSVP systems are gaining popularity, I still think it is good to include an additional card or slip of paper with the RSVP instructions on them and to not crowd text on the actual invitation.

Insert cards- additional insert cards to be used as needed. For example, is the reception in a different place than the wedding? A reception card would be great to convey this information. Is there an after party? Are there any other special instructions that need to be shared?

Map or Directions- a map is by no means necessary but sometimes really nice to include. If your reception and ceremony are in different places but not close or if you have a lot of out of town guests, maps are a nice touch. For a recent wedding, we did a 2-sided map which was fantastic. Guests just threw the map in their car before leaving and it took the guesswork out of getting everybody to the right location. You can forgo a map altogether and just simply include text directions. Both are great options.

Envelope- last but certainly not least: the envelope. You can use an inner envelope to be more formal. I honestly rarely see a bride use one these days. If so, you would want use the guest’s title and last name such as Mr. and Mrs. Hull. The outer envelope would be address using the formal listing of title, first and last name such as Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Hull.

In my next post in Wedding Stationery 101, I will cover some do’s and don’ts for wedding invitations.

Have some more questions? Say Hello and I’ll help you out!

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Custom design can be a pricey endeavor for anyone needing stationery. So why would you choose custom design over going to the store and picking something out? I’m going to focus on weddings here, but this information could really apply to any type of stationery.

Here are my top 5 reasons to choose custom design:

1.) Your invitations will be exactly what you require and what you desire
That is a pretty bold statement, but as a custom designer this is what I want to achieve with each and every custom job I take on. You work one-on-one with your designer to come up with something that matches your theme, colors, style, traditions, etc. to a tea. This is hard to do with stock invitations. Also, if you require something special such as a 2-sided map, I can do that and the map will coordinate with the rest of your invitation suite.

2.) Branding
What? Branding when it comes to weddings? Oh yes. When I got married, we could not find invitations that we liked. We wanted our monogram to be special, unique and EVERYWHERE. Cheesy I know. I ended up designing something that transcended the invitation and really took a life all it’s own. Everything coordinated and made sense. When you walked into the reception, the same ideas from the invitation were in place. We had created the CHC brand. If I’m proud of anything in my wedding, that was it.

3.) Everything goes together
This is along the same line as branding but requires some more emphasis. If you choose to go with a custom designer, you can create programs, place cards, menus, etc. that all coordinate. There is nothing I love more that designing every paper product for a wedding!

4.) You have help
Designing or ordering an invitation suite can be daunting. How many of this insert do I need? Should I get an inner envelope? How many sets should I order? When you work with me as your custom designer, I walk you through everything from wording to choosing paper. This is the same with any custom project. I’m like your own personal stationery consultant and I love it!

5.) The design is a reflection of you!
This is the most important thing about custom design. The design is created for you through consultations with your designer. Nobody else has it and when people see it, they understand who you are.

I hope this helps my loyal readers out there who are considering or questioning custom stationery design. If nothing else, know that when you work with me, you will get someone so passionate about paper! I’ll make you love paper too!

Have some more questions? Say Hello and I’ll help you out!

Stay tuned for more information in my Wedding Stationery 101 series!

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You are engaged! And you’ve contacted your custom stationery designer to get started *wink wink. So what comes first? Well, if you are planning your wedding at least 6 months in advance, are having a destination wedding, or are inviting people from out of town, you should send out a Save the Date.

Save the Dates are just that: a way to let your guests know to put this on their calendar and start making travel plans. Save the Dates don’t have to be super detailed. All you need is the date, place and maybe a link to your website which has more information.

The questions I get a lot, is “do I need a picture?” A picture is not a requirement at all. In fact, plenty of great Save the Dates don’t require a photo at all!

I personally chose to use a photo taken by a photographer because many of the people who we were inviting had not met me or seen my husband in years and they loved seeing the picture of us together.

If you start working with your invitation designer early, the Save the Date can be a preview of what’s to come with the invitation and can be something super personal to you two:

Have some more questions? Say Hello and I’ll help you out!

Stay tuned for more information in my Wedding Stationery 101 series!

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Something I’ve talked about doing for a long time is sharing on my blog the ins and outs of wedding stationery. I get asked a slew of questions by each and every bride who are overwhelmed by the process of choosing and working with a custom invitation designer. It is always my goal to make the process as painless as possible and to offer as much advice and direction as I can without interfering with your creative vision.

Today, I’m starting with a timeline and checklist for wedding stationery. This is a free printable you can download that will help you understand and begin to think about when you need to start contacting, designing and mailing your wedding stationery. Now, this can change for some people based upon what they need and the time between their engagement and wedding. Just remember, I’m here to help!

Download the printable here!

Have some more questions? Say Hello and I’ll help you out!

Stay tuned for more information in my Wedding Stationery 101 series!

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