No Matter Your Budget, Wedding Stationery Is a Big Deal
Alright brides, by a show of hands, how many of you have been told that wedding stationery doesn’t really matter / no one cares about your wedding invites / your money can be better spent elsewhere? Pretty sure that’s a lot of you. I got that advice myself 4-5 years ago, when I was planning my own wedding, and I was the first person to say hooooold up, no, I’m obsessed with stationery, there’s no way I’ll de-prioritize this piece of my pre-nuptials puzzle.
You see, I’m an ardent subscriber to the school of thought that save the dates and wedding invites make THE first impression on your wedding guests - they give them a preview of what’s to come with your special day: your color palette, your wedding style, your formality, etc. And truly, who doesn’t want to wow their guests with a stunning suite of stationery that maybeeee they won’t throw out - or better yet, maybe something that they’ll decide to keep for inspiration for their own big day (no joke, I kept the envelope that held my sister-in-law’s wedding invite. She had a calligrapher hand-write the addresses, and they were just beyond pretty).
Our bridal BFF, Jamie Wolfer of JW Coordination, just put out a new video with a partner-in-crime who knows a thing or two about pretty paper, calligrapher and stationer Loren of Four Things Paper. And the two of them pretty much give us ALL the goals when it comes to stationery. Seriously, the video is so good, if you have a few minutes, you bestttt be watching!
Photo from: @fourthingspaper
Anyhow, Loren is a diehard fan of fonts, flourishes, hand-painted leaves, florals, furry paw prints, etc. and a big believer in brides going big with their wedding stationery. Jamie, on the other hand, confesses that she’s made a video in the past about why guests don’t really care about your wedding invites. Conscious of her brides with more modest budgets, Jamie thinks stationery is something that a couple can play with to make sure it fits within their ‘I Do’ purse strings.
So here are a few super important things to take away from the stationery conversation:
Stationery should never be overlooked, because it’s the first piece of correspondence related to your special day.
Your invites should be meaningful to you and your partner and basically describe you as a couple through colors, words, imagery, etc.
Yes, we agree, your guests don’t have alllll the fridge space in the world, BUT, a super posh invite will get them psyched about your wedding day - and they might just decide (in the walk from their mailbox to their home) that it should be hung up or stowed away instead of being thrown in the trash.
If you DO have a budget that can support working with someone like Loren, it should be a collaborative, creative process.
Working with a bespoke stationer and/or calligrapher, you should trust in their expertise, but help them turn out something that truly speaks to you as a soon-to-be-married couple - your quirks, your flavor, anything that might be a focal point of your wedding day (pink peonies, perchance?), or anything that you hold near and dear to your heart. Like your fur baby?
Once your invites are squared away, you should strive to be cohesive with the rest of your day, and have day-of stationery pieces - escort cards, table numbers, menus, etc. that tie everything else together - with similar motifs, color schemes, font families, etc.
Don’t assume that your stationer has it easy. As Loren mentions, calligraphing an envelope can take upwards of 3-10 minutes - for 75+ invites per pop.
Go a little rogue. Pretty illustrations, calligraphy don't just have to be on paper. It can happen on a leather jacket, shoes, temporary tattoos, etc. SEE BELOW 😍😍😍
If your budget is tighter, and you need to allocate more money to something like the guest list, then look for alternatives that are still stylish and show that you care about decorum and making a great impact on your guests even before they make it to your wedding.
Ultimately, whether you have the means to book a custom invitation couturier or need to scale back on this luxury, your stationery should NEVER BE AN AFTERTHOUGHT!!!
Going with a crafty and creative printable that vibes with your wedding vision is a huge money saver and can help in a pinch if you don’t want to go completely custom with all of your paper needs. For instance, for my wedding, I worked with an invitationer for my entire invitation suite, but used Minted for everything else: save the dates, place cards, menus, etc. And this is super helpful too, when it comes to engagement parties, bridal showers, bachelorettes - you can find something super sassy and incredibly inexpensive - just by doing a bit a research.
We have a full cache of wedding printables here - from invitation suites to day-of signage/decor - to match each and every bride’s budget and style.
Be on the lookout, we might have a new video with our downloads coming your way soon!!