It can be really daunting knowing where to start with your wedding stationery. After all, your engagement party invitation, save the date or wedding invitation will often be the first impression your guests will have of your wedding and they set the tone for your day. However, don't worry because we've collated all our knowledge to ensure you know how to create the very best wedding stationery that will get your guests excited many months before your big day!

It's about you, not your guests

Ok, that's a highly abbreviated one-liner but it just about sums up the point. This is your wedding day and no matter what, it's worth remembering that. It's so easy to get caught up in the idea of pleasing others and ensuring everyone will like what you do, but there are two sides to this:

First, it's impossible to please, let alone impress, everyone, and trying will only stress you out.

Second, if you focus on what the two of you like, both visually and tonally, who cares what other people think? You're getting married for yourselves so it's important to find something you like, that feels true to the two of you and the day you want to create.

The best wedding stationery isn't necessarily the most expensive or the one with tonnes of foil or extravagant details. It is the best because it feels like a cared for and considered item, a reflection of you and your love for each other and the consistent visual thread which will run from your before your wedding to after the day itself.

This takes time, but it's worth it!

The first thing anyone is likely to see of your wedding day is your Save the Date, followed by your Invitation. It's not worth rushing this process and it is absolutely crucial to talk ideas through with your partner. Go through mood boards together on sites like Pinterest, look at blogs like Junebug, Rock My Wedding & Save The Date and make sure you're both aligned in your thoughts. There are a million ideas out there and when you work together it's amazing how much you can improve on each others' ideas and make something even better than either of you first imagined. 

Planning your stationery items will then feel far easier than you first expected and in line with what's fits your joint wedding style. Through the process of pinning (digitally or physically!) all areas of your day, you may find that your initial thoughts on theme, colour scheme or decor in your venue might change and this will impact your stationery. This is just a single example, but it's a good illustration of why it's important to give time to the initial and overarching thought process.

So the process itself, how do I get the best wedding stationery?

To put it simply, research. This is the key ingredient. By looking through magazines, Pinterest, Etsy, Instagram and Google, you'll soon begin to find the style that suits you and through this process you'll naturally narrow down the options. Because they come from different sources, it's good to pin or print out any favourites and make a note on different designs about why you like them (such as the fact they have matching table plan designs or are super cost effective etc).

What if I can't find what I want?

Most suppliers will be able to offer a bespoke service, however, expect this to cost more than 'off the shelf' template products. In some instances, for a little extra cost, you may be able to ask the company/designer to amend a design that's almost right or combine a couple of their designs to make the changes you want (such as amending the typeface, colours, language or a combination of these elements). We offer this service and it can be a really good way to get a result which is closer to what you want without going fully bespoke and creating something entirely from scratch. 

But I don't know anything about stationery and I don't want to come across as stupid

We've all had this experience and even for those of us working in the industry, the technology, printing techniques and styles are always changing. Learning new things and adapting is part of what we do. We personally love to help couples understand how the whole process works, to demystify it and provide the best possible designs and quality within our clients' budget.

Any good supplier will be there to help and we're not in the business to make you feel silly or daft for asking a question which might not be obvious. The best stationers guide, advise and help you along the journey.

Why is there such a huge variation in costs?!

The phrase, "buy cheap, buy twice" comes to mind.

There are a huge variety of designs out there and it can cost as little as £15 for a personalised design. In return, you'll be sent a file (which can be pretty low res at times) and you'll be responsible for production of this. If you're unsure what you're doing at this stage, you may struggle and the final result might not be what you hoped to achieve or how it looked on the example. This can be a real headache and become a big distraction in your planning.

Instead, if you find a design you love, it can be totally worthwhile getting your stationer to handle the printing and production. This frees up your time to focus on other tasks and if you've ordered a sample of the design (which should be produced to a matching standard) then you can be safe in the knowledge that the quality will be to the high standard that you, and your guests, deserve.

We really hope this guide gives an insight in helping you achieve great stationery on your first attempt, which you're super proud to share with your friends and family. We cover all this and more in our free wedding stationery guide which you can download here. 

If you've got any burning questions which aren't answered above, please don't hesitate to drop us a line or leave a comment below!

Best,
Chloe & Tom