Your wedding stationery will be the first impression that your guests have of your wedding. The invitations represent you and your wedding, so give your invitations importance by thoughtfully selecting - the paper, letter style and formality.
Doing your save-the-dates, invitations, accessory cards, programs, menu cards, and place cards at the last minute "spells" nothing but trouble. It’s very important to give yourself enough time for this. Often times, brides will start with the save-the-dates, then think about the invites, and lastly about the programs and accessory materials. When things are done in pieces and chunks of time are lost between each step, the stationery style does not end up being cohesive. As soon as you begin searching for the save-the-dates, you should also be thinking about all the other ensemble pieces. Your planner, a boutique stationery store specializing in custom pieces, or one that has a lot of experience dealing with weddings would be a great starting point. Take the time to look through books carefully, to get a sense for what’s out there. If you do not have a theme, you might find that going through this exercise will help you to develop one. You might see a style that you like, and model your entire event around it!
The save-the-dates should be sent out 6 months prior to your wedding (May and June Brides - beware of those holiday months). You should start looking at stationary 9 months prior to your wedding date. This may be a difficult concept to grasp since many couples do not think about it until it’s absolutely necessary. Keep in mind that you will need at least 3 weeks to obtain proofs and make changes. It’s very important that you take your time to review the proof carefully to makes sure there are no spelling or grammatical errors. The printer prints directly from the proof so everything should be just as you want it. Companies can and will make spelling errors, omissions or insertions. Keep in mind that it takes a lot of time to make font style, size, or color changes. If you have multi-colored stationery, it will take on average 72 hours more not only to prepare proofs, but also to print. If you do have multi-colored invites, it’s very important to acquire a colored proof.
Make sure to confirm what is included in your package price. Depending upon where you purchase your printed materials, you might pay by the proof. Making changes might prove to be very costly, so make sure everything is reviewed thoroughly prior to submitting it to the company for another proof.
Always...always get proofs - if there is an additional cost! There are never any second chances, and it "proves" to be very expensive if you have to reprint and then overnight your stationery.
Doing your save-the-dates, invitations, accessory cards, programs, menu cards, and place cards at the last minute "spells" nothing but trouble. It’s very important to give yourself enough time for this. Often times, brides will start with the save-the-dates, then think about the invites, and lastly about the programs and accessory materials. When things are done in pieces and chunks of time are lost between each step, the stationery style does not end up being cohesive. As soon as you begin searching for the save-the-dates, you should also be thinking about all the other ensemble pieces. Your planner, a boutique stationery store specializing in custom pieces, or one that has a lot of experience dealing with weddings would be a great starting point. Take the time to look through books carefully, to get a sense for what’s out there. If you do not have a theme, you might find that going through this exercise will help you to develop one. You might see a style that you like, and model your entire event around it!
The save-the-dates should be sent out 6 months prior to your wedding (May and June Brides - beware of those holiday months). You should start looking at stationary 9 months prior to your wedding date. This may be a difficult concept to grasp since many couples do not think about it until it’s absolutely necessary. Keep in mind that you will need at least 3 weeks to obtain proofs and make changes. It’s very important that you take your time to review the proof carefully to makes sure there are no spelling or grammatical errors. The printer prints directly from the proof so everything should be just as you want it. Companies can and will make spelling errors, omissions or insertions. Keep in mind that it takes a lot of time to make font style, size, or color changes. If you have multi-colored stationery, it will take on average 72 hours more not only to prepare proofs, but also to print. If you do have multi-colored invites, it’s very important to acquire a colored proof.
Make sure to confirm what is included in your package price. Depending upon where you purchase your printed materials, you might pay by the proof. Making changes might prove to be very costly, so make sure everything is reviewed thoroughly prior to submitting it to the company for another proof.
Always...always get proofs - if there is an additional cost! There are never any second chances, and it "proves" to be very expensive if you have to reprint and then overnight your stationery.
Jenniene
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