The Print Lady’s guide to the best Wedding Stationery…

Calling all blushing brides-to-be! Your special day should be just that - and so should your wedding stationery.

When it comes to weddings, there’s a lot to organise (even if you’re keeping things low key) but it all starts officially when those wedding invitations wing themselves to your friends and family… and everyone gets their first taste of what’s in store for your (and their) very special day.

It may be that you’re opting for a vintage, country style wedding with colours taken from late spring flowers and liberty printed fabrics. You might be hankering after a small, stylish wedding in a boutique hotel and minimalist, simplicity is your comfort zone. It may be that you’re wanting a lavish, luxurious look to everything associated with your wedding (it’s once in a lifetime after all) and any of these themes (plus a gazillion more) can be reflected in your wedding stationery. Even if artistic flair isn’t your thing, there are lots of ways to ensure you end up with wedding invites that you’d love to receive - and if you bring the Print Lady into the equation, you can rest assured it’s all in safe hands.

Whether you’re looking for a whole suite of wedding stationery to take you from ‘Save the Date’ through to ‘Thank you for coming’ or you just want to keep it ever-so-simple with a straight forward printed invite, taking a little time to let your imagination run wild, get your plans in place and have your wedding style and personality summed up means that not only will you have some wedding stationery to get excited about, you’ll also ensure that rsvp-ing is a breeze and everyone will turn up to the right place at the right time.

It may be that you’re planning your wedding day months (or even years) in advance and if so there’s lots of time to research and come up with some references of personalised stationery that you like.

Creating an online pinboard on pinterest.com, gathering clippings from magazines, saving screen grabs from insta or building a wedding moodboard complete with fabric swatches are all useful ways of gathering creative ideas for your wedding printing. You might have a very clear visual picture of what you’re after but if not, having a collection of visual references that you like can be a great start. Then you can begin to consider exactly what you want to end up with.

Think about the practicalities of your wedding - and your lifestyle.

Wedding budget and logistics may not be the most enchanting parts of wedding planning, but bearing them in mind from the get-go means you manage your own expectations and get the practical stuff right first time. There are lots of affordable wedding stationery solutions, but having a budget in mind for your wedding stationery printer to work to, and being clear on what wedding related information you want to provide and receive can really help shape the format of your printed wedding stock.

Consider what range of wedding stationery you will need.

There are lots of individual printed elements which may or be useful. A printed ‘Save the Date’ card initially so guests know to keep their diary clear means a full guest list and also a bit less pressure on you to get your invitations out early (anything to reduce wedding stress has got to be a bonus!) Yes, you could send everyone a text or email, but there’s something a bit more special about a card in the post… and it’s a lot less likely to end up in the spam folder.

Then it’s onto the main event - the wedding invite. You’ll need to include date, times, venue and any special instructions of course. If there is a separate reception venue you’ll need to include that too. If it’s a tricky place to get to, a map might be useful. If you’re expecting guests to stay over after the wedding, a list of recommended hotels to suit all budgets could help. Then you might want to include details of your wedding list too - or at least a note about wedding gifts generally.

Make it easy for guests to reply to your invitation in whichever way suits them.

Remember that if you need a lot of information from them, it’s best to supply a questionnaire of sorts - or an email form… otherwise the to-ing and fro-ing can get complicated! As well as finding out if you friends and family can make your wedding, you’ll probably want to know about dietary issues, whether the kids are coming and whether they’d like to stay at the venue… and join you for breakfast the next day. You may want to ask them for music suggestions for the disco, anecdotes for the speeches, cocktail recommendations or funny photos for your table plan. It may be that you keep the invite simple and direct people to email you or head to a website for all the information but alternatively you could include a fold out reply slip, separate reply postcard or card and pre-stamped envelope.

At the same time as designing and producing your wedding invitation, consider thank-you cards, place cards, menu cards and other wedding signage. There are often cost savings to be made by printing all your wedding stationery together.

Opting for bespoke wedding invitations doesn’t have to mean blowing the budget and there’s so much more opportunity to add personal touches which make them extra special… You have more chance to use your own tone of voice in the copy plus use fonts that really sum you and the occasion up. You can incorporate flourishes like ribbon, sequins or pressed flowers. Hand illustrated wedding invitations can be lovely - as can using photos in your wedding invites.

Paper choice for your wedding stationery is important too.

You may wish to opt for eco-friendly paper and envelopes, brilliant white paper stock, textured paper or a paper that is shimmery or shiny. Wedding invites can be glittery, metallic, translucent, pearlescent or the paper could be inlaid with rose petals or flower seeds.

When it comes to creating truly memorable printed stationery - whether it’s for weddings or not, it’s the finishing that can make all the difference.

Adding embossing (where some elements are raised), using vintage style letterpress techniques, incorporating foiled borders, monograms or text or adding a contemporary spot varnish or luxe soft touch laminate can raise your wedding invites from standard to superb. Adding a printed band to hold everything together or presenting your wedding information in a bespoke printed folder can be practical as well as beautiful. There is also the option to include specially die cut elements like tags with important information summarised on them, a cute printed coaster with a ‘remember the date’ message or a neat pass for the car park. One of the challenges that often crops up at weddings is getting everyone present to sign the guest book… why not skip the kerfuffle and include a little card with your invite that people can take time to add a note to and then pop into a box, pin it to your wish tree or add it into a book at the wedding?

If opting for wedding stationery that’s a little bit special sounds good to you, then you can rely on a fabulous result and plenty of excellent wedding print advice if you get in touch with the Print Lady.

A specialist in letterpress, bespoke foiling, embossing and fancy paper sourcing, the Print Lady can create stunning wedding stationery at a very competitive price and take care of all the to-ing and fro-ing so you can concentrate on making sure you and your guests have a fabulous wedding day. Get in touch to find more.