Decide on wedding stationery – Plan my Wedding

Decide on wedding stationery – Plan my Wedding
There’s more to wedding stationery than meets the eye and, for consistency, it is best to have all printed material designed at the same time. If you want to go to town, you can have all the following items:
• ‘Save the date’ cards
• Invitations
• Information for guests
• Reply cards
• Order of the day sheets
• Order of ceremony sheets e Evening invitations
• Name cards
• Menu cards
• Table plans
• Table numbers
• Guest book
• Favour boxes
• Wedding album
• Thank you cards

Also, if you can afford it, you might like to have tissue pouches designed in the same way as your stationery, and hand out tissues as guests arrive.

Options include buying standard pre-printed stationery in a shop or online, having bespoke stationery designed and then printed or handmade, or making your own. You also need to think about the type, color and size of paper.

The stationery can be designed to co-ordinate with your wedding theme, or you could make it very personal and have it all printed with a caricature or photograph of both of you. Another popular option is to incorporate gay symbols.

Top tips
• Plan ahead and, if possible, avoid Christmas, Easter and school holidays since prices are higher.
• Combine your honeymoon with marrying abroad.
• Some tour operators run wedding gift lists, so family and friends can contribute to the cost of your honeymoon.
• If you want privacy, hire a secluded villa.
• Remember to book appointments for any necessary inoculations and obtain relevant visas.
• See the Directory of Useful Resources for travel contacts.
• When you get your estimates fill them in on Table 2 Budget Planner and then when you have decided on your honeymoon, fill in the final column of the plan, or on the table you have downloaded

‘Save the date’ cards
Once you’ve fixed the date of your wedding and have booked the registry office and venue for that day, it’s a good idea to send out ‘save the date’ cards. This will enable guests to mark the date in their diary and, if necessary, make travel arrangements. If you want to coordinate these with the rest of your stationery, you need to start planning now. It also means you don’t have to immediately rush around gathering all the information you need for the invitation, such as accommodation options and maps, but that you are able to tell people the date well in advance – meaning they will be more likely to be able to attend. The cards can be designed in the same way as your invitations. Alternatively, buy standard cards, or make your own. If you don’t want to send out these cards, at the very least, I would recommend an e-mail or phone call to prospective guests informing them of the date, especially to people who live far away.

Top tip
When you tell people about the date, you may want to ask them to accept a specific role, such as a witness (you need two), best man or best woman, or to give a reading or speech, but don’t rush into this – it can be planned nearer the time. Make sure you pick responsible and reliable people to have key roles. If you want them to wear specific outfits, you also have to build in time for this.