WPCNR'S THE REAL DEAL. By The Wedding Jeannie. Jeannie Uyanik November 11, 2007 Part I: Before the first vow is spoken or the first bouquet is made, your stationery will have already set the tone for your wedding day.  In this week’s column, Elizabeth West, stationery expert to the stars and member of the C&G Weddings team, sheds some light on the vast subject of wedding stationery and shares the power of font, color, shape and design of all things paper. What you’ll learn is that making consistent choices with your stationery from start to finish reinforces and enhances the look and feel of your wedding or special event!

Wedding stationery spans beyond just the invitation.  Most brides have anywhere from 7 to 10 pieces of printed material. These items can include save the dates, invitations, programs, escort cards, place cards, menus, table cards, thank you notes, and even the guest book. Not all pieces are mandatory but many people enjoy using the power of paper to create excitement and consistency for their guests!  When choosing all your pieces, keep in mind that basic elements should transfer from piece to piece.  Couples should make a decision on font, ink, paper and motif/artwork once and then use those elements throughout the stationery.

1. The first piece you will send is the Save the Date. 

Save the Dates are traditionally mailed around six months before the wedding and are exceptionally helpful if you are planning a destination wedding or having many out of town guests (in which case mailing them earlier than 6 months before the wedding would be appropriate but never more than a year). With the Save the Date, we recommend including hotel block information as an insert or printed on the back of the card. Many couples take their Save the Dates as an opportunity to do something whimsical and totally out of the ordinary.  We’ve produced everything from printed magnets, coasters, cocktail napkins, puzzles, booklets, CD’s, and luggage tags, to the more traditional cards with printed info or a calendar specifying the date.

 But because the Save the Date is the first thing your guests will receive, it’s more powerful to create something with elements that will transfer easily to your other pieces like a motif, image, monogram, paper color, font, ink color, etc.  Many brides and grooms combine their initials to create a monogram that serves as their “logo” on all the printed materials.  We’ve also had clients that have gotten married in landmark buildings, so they’ve used an image of the building on their stationery.  Some couples take the time of year as inspiration for their stationery. But many just use their color palette to guide their decisions. The possibilities are endless and you should have fun with it!  

2. The Invitation is traditionally more formal than the save the date.

Often they are in double envelopes, the addressing etiquette is much stricter and the wording more formal.  There are many online guides that can help you “follow the rules” when addressing your invitations. Keep in mind, these rules can be tricky, but they can be flexible depending on what you’re comfortable with. 

Nan Deluca, owner of a calligraphy business in NYC, always reminds her clients that abbreviations are not appropriate for formal invitations and lists should be double checked for accuracy before submission.  Her website is a great tool when you start putting together your list for addressing.  www.scribenyc.com  Alternatively, many printers offer machine calligraphy that can be a fraction of the cost compared to hand done calligraphy.  Check with the company before placing your order to see if they offer this service. It’s a fantastic way to save money and match your addressing font to your invitation font.

Although it is more formal in nature, there are still ways to get very creative with your invitations. A refined way to add substance, texture and color to the invitation is through layering. Many companies offer a variety of papers to play with.  And more and more companies are offering recycled stock so you can have fun but still be eco-friendly.  Playing with font size and alignment has also become popular.  Having everything centered in the same black font is a thing of the past!  Many couples super-size their names or have all text either flush left, right or a combination.  

Using different materials to send the invitations (tubes, boxes, envelopes with graphics) also contributes to making the invitation really pop.  Another trend is the “pocket invitation” that holds all the different pieces like the response set, direction card and reception card.  Speaking of which, don’t forget about your inserts! Along with your invitation, you’ll need to purchase a self-addressed reply set which will allow guests to send in their responses. Often you’ll get notes on these little cards expressing good wishes and excitement about your wedding.

If your reception is in a different location and starts at a specific time, it’s useful to break that information out onto a separate card.  And if you think your location is a tricky one to find, a direction card can be useful as well.  

We’ve discussed the major players, the Save the Date and The invitation, but the "paper list" does not end there; many other printed pieces appear at weddings.  Most other pieces are done after all the details are secured, (i.e. menu choices, processional, music, seating arrangement, etc).  And once again, these pieces are additional spots to use your wedding fonts, colors, motifs, etc. to mold the aesthetic.  I'll be discussing those "set the tone pieces" in my next column! 

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