What Wedding Stationery Do I Need ?

The key to good wedding planning is to not have those “oh, no, I forgot…” moments, or at least to keep them to a minimum.

So let’s talk wedding stationery.

As you are starting your wedding planning and beginning to pull together your budget, you’ll need to think about what stationery you want.

Here’s a list of possible stationery to get you started. Take a look and decide what items work best for you.

Wedding website

Ok, so this isn’t stationery as we traditionally think of it. But many couples today use their websites to augment or take the place of some traditional wedding stationery, such as direction cards, accommodations cards and even reply cards.

As a result, in our own wedding stationery studio, Imbue You, we’ve started creating wedding websites designs that match our wedding stationery through Nearlyweds.com. You can think about the theme or colors of your wedding as you search for wedding websites.

Save the date

There are so many clever ways to tell your guests to save the date, including bookmarks, magnets, postcards and photo cards. Feel free to have more fun with your save the dates, even if your wedding is more formal or traditional.

Not all couples send out save the dates. But save the dates are more important for destination weddings, or when many of your family and friends live out of town.

Invitation

It’s best for your wedding invitation to match the mood and style of your wedding. And if you are having a theme, try to have your invitation match that as well for a more cohesive and memorable experience.

Reply or Response card

These can be cards with envelopes or postcards. They are stamped to make it easy for guests to return them quickly. Try to leave yourself at least a month before your wedding as a “reply by date” I wrote an entire post on the importance of your reply by date.

If you have a wedding website with RSVP capabilities you may want to skip response cards. However if you have many non-tech savvy guests, or are having a formal or traditional wedding, it would be best to offer reply cards.

Events card

If you are having other events or activities at your wedding celebration, such as Mehndi, welcome dinner and post wedding brunch, you may want a card to tell your guests the date, time and location.

Directions card

This can include a map, or simple text instruction for the location of the wedding ceremony or reception venue. Or how to get from one to the other.

Accommodations card

For your out-of-town guests or for a destination wedding, it’s good to provide options for where they might stay as early as possible.

This is especially true if you’ve made arrangements for group discounts or if your wedding is in a place or at a time of year when hotels book up.

Reception card

Traditionally the wedding invitation is for the ceremony. If your reception is in a different location, you may want to include a reception card, with the venue name and address.

Address Labels

If you aren’t doing calligraphy for your envelopes, you may want to consider address labels. These can be simple, or fancy with a design and your return and guest addresses printed.

Follow these tips when creating your guest address list.

Wedding Announcement

Announcements simply announce that you have gotten married, including day and location. These are usually sent out to family and friends who weren’t invited to the wedding. They are also handy when you’ve eloped.

Welcome bag stationery

You may decide to create a welcome bag for your out-of-town guests. These often include a short thank you note that doesn’t need to be handwritten or personalized, a schedule of events, local highlights and possibly a favor-like tag.

Ceremony Program

In addition to the order of your wedding ceremony, programs also commonly include your wedding party, parents, officiant, and a thank note to guests.

Thank you cards

You’ll want to personally thank each person who gave you a gift, whether they attended your wedding or not. For help in writing thank you notes without feeling overwhelmed, check out these tips.

Reception Stationery

I wrote an entire post just on stationery options for your reception. You can see it here.

{photo credits} All photos by Imbue You. For a look at coordinating wedding stationery for cultural and theme weddings, visit our handmade wedding stationery shop, Imbue You.