Wedding Stationery – What Do I Do?
Working on a budget
It is not unusual to embark on your wedding plans with the use of a budget. All of us have one regardless of how big or small they are. The important thing to remember is before setting this budget you must have an idea of prices. It is no good setting a £50 limit for 100 invitations but the cheapest you can find are £1 each. Straight away you have doubled your budget! In my experience the average price for a hand made wedding invitation is between £4 and £8. Find anything under £1.50 and you must question yourself about the quality and purchasing a sample from the designer first is money well spent. Look at all the stationery that matches your design. It is economically wise to purchase any further stationery from the same designer as many will offer discounts that reflect on you order total. You may also find designers that offer free RSVP cards or some designs, like our ‘All Together’ and ‘Envelope’ invitation come with an RSVP incorporated into it.
I have found a design I like. Now what?
Once you have decided what you would like to order, contact the designer. They will help you complete your order form and ask any relevant questions they need to know. A deposit is usually sufficient but depending on how in advance you want your invitations, the full payment may be required. Always ask to see a sample of your invitation in your chosen colour theme before you commit to any order. It is important to remember that what you think will look good might not always be the case! Always read the terms and conditions of the designer as these are there to protect them and more importantly, you. Your designer will also want to know about your wording. They can help you with this but please, and I cannot stress this enough, always ask to be posted a paper copy. This is for a number of reasons the first being that not all computers have the same fonts downloaded on them. You may open up your email attachment to find your wording in a completely different font. Faxed copies are very unclear. Having it on paper allows you to check closely for any errors and to see the layout before it goes to print. All fonts look good in different sizes. If you have a small area to work on but have much wording then a font that looks its best when smaller would be more suitable for you. One important point to make is the question of ordering extra invitations. I would advise that if you are having standard computer printed inserts, as most designers use, then order no more than two extra invitations. If you are having your guests names printed then there is no need to order any extras as any good designer will keep your template and make additional ones if you need them at their unit price and with no extra costs incurred. If you are having machine printed invitations i.e. hot foil printed wording, then expect to pay an additional fee if you order extra invitations at a later date. These are much more complicated and your template will not have been kept.
What else should I consider?
Always consider your time limits. Many designers have their time booked months in advance so it is wise to place your order as soon as you can and a small deposit will secure this. I frequently get asked about invitation wording. There are many ways to invite your guests and the first is to decide who is doing the inviting. Is it yourselves or your parents. I find many clients opt to invite guests themselves but on occasion I have used the term “Joanne and Mary, along with their parents, would like to invite…” I actually really like this way and would urge you to discuss this with your parents before deciding.
A Limited Budget
If you have a limited budget but would like to have additional stationery such as seating plans, menus, order of service sheets then there are clever ways to do this without incurring extra charges. You could have your menu listed on your seating plan and your order of service sheets can also list the order of your day. Add a name tag to your favours and they instantly double up as name cards. Talk to your designer – if they are any good they will have many ideas.
An Unlimited Budget
Well, the world is your oyster! There are many invitations around to compliment any price range and we have designed one for the more celebrity client which costs a little under £10! Usher cards and pew cards are also a fantastic idea. Your guest presents a card to the usher who in turn, shows them to their allocated seat. A new idea that we are currently designing is a tissue pouch that can be laid on each ceremonial seat, great for all guests who shed a tear! Instead of having 2 or 3 menus on each table, you could give each guest their own personal menu which is either laid on their plate or wrapped in their napkin. Have a wedding picture added to your thank you cards or Royal Mail will make stamps for you showing your wedding picture. You can have so much fun with stationery and if your budget is endless then so are your options.