Wedding Stationery: The Breakdown
Clear communication with guests is so crucial when hosting a destination wedding. And it starts up to a year in advance so here’s a breakdown of what to say and when…and of course we include some stunning ways to get that all important info across!
Have you thought of a wedding website? We love an invite you can pop on a fridge but these days a wedding website is pretty helpful too and works effectively in conjunction with paper invites.
Wedding stationery is a wonderful way to add a design element to your day from the first moment you ‘invite’ guests to celebrate with you. The styling you choose acts as almost a brand for your wedding, so it’s crucial to get it right from the start - and most importantly represents you both.
• Save the dates
• Invitations
• Itinery
• Menu
• Place cards
• Napkin cards
• Table names
• Order of service
• Signs
• Favour cards
• Bar menu
Send out save the dates when you've booked your venue or up to 1 year before the wedding, with location and date of wedding events and a link to your wedding website hosting key info:
• Accommodation recommendations: we always suggest encouraging guests to stay as close to the venue as possible, to make transport easier and cost efficient for everyone.
• Transport information: good flight routes and deals, taxi numbers and transfer numbers.
• Early RSVP: indicative RSVP of whether guests are likely to attend, so you can invite more guests if you have space, or better budget throughout the rest of planning.
Wedding Website by White Vines Studio
Invite and wedding website update with definite locations and timings of all events and transport details if you’re providing buses. Wedding websites also have great RSVP functionality where you could capture:
• RSVP to all events
• Dietary requirements
• Transport requirements (do they wish to take you up on your offer of a lift?)
• Accommodation address (for planning transport routes as above)
Update your website with:
• Breakdown of pre & post wedding gatherings - pizza parties, welcome events, pool parties
• Final transport details
• Restaurant and bar recommendations for guests
We love a welcome note when guests arrive with a printed itinerary too!
You may not choose all of the on the day stationery but if you are consider a stationery set so everything is coordinated.
You could consider:
• A welcome note for guests for those staying at your venue
• Welcome signage
• Order of service (guides guests through the ceremony, which may well be quite different to previous weddings they have attended)
• Vow cards
• Table plan (often overlooked but really saves time, hassle and that awkward moment when guests are looking for their seat or waiting to find their escort card)
• Table names
• Menu (personalise this with the guest name, so it acts as a place card too. By having individual menus, you avoid guests asking waiting staff what certain foods are and questioning dietary requests)
• Bar Menu (merry guests always need a little extra help choosing a drink and by having a bar menu you can simply list the drinks on offer...even include prices, if you're having a cash bar)
White Vines Studio; Tuscan Lab; Lilac & White; Bewilderly; Tuscan Lab
If you are looking to learn more about wedding websites, our couples recommend these great free / low priced website hosts: The Knot, With Joy and Minted. For a small fee, Appy Couple and Hitched.
If you’re time poor and would like a fully bespoke website with unique URL, you can use Squarespace, Wix or Wordpress to build your own. White Vines Studio, proud La Lista member, specialise in building wedding websites too.
Written by Emily Jennings, marketing person and wedding day-dreamer; lover of a boho vibe and a wedding night filled with a thousand lights.
