The Wedding Genie

Story Book Range

If you’re getting married this year, over the next couple of months you will surely be looking for invitations to wow your guests. When the invite drops through their letterbox the excitement starts to build and everyone begins to talk about your wedding.

Your invitations are the first thing anyone see’s that portrays you and your wedding day. I can wax lyrical on how to choose and what to pick but I thought it would be much better to hand the blog over to an expert who designs and hand makes the most beautiful wedding stationery. I know! my clients have just sent me a lovely email thanking me for finding them Nikki from Knots & Kisses to work with. I asked Nikki to answer the questions everyone asks when trying to work out how to buy, choose and send wedding stationery.  Over to you Nikki.

• How do I choose the right style for me? What should I look for when I engage a stationer?

When it comes to choosing your wedding stationer I think the best thing to do is find someone who’s work you love. If you love their existing designs but none are quite right for your wedding, the chances are they will come up with a design you like when you contact them for a bespoke service.

Many couples contact me with very little idea of where they want to go with their wedding and the stationery can be a great starting point for a whole scheme. When it comes to style I usually advise one of two things. Generally the easiest option for many people is to pick a colour scheme they like and let the style of their wedding build from there … often certain colours lend themselves very well to a certain style and you will find yourself naturally going down this route. Pinks & Greens are great for garden party style weddings whereas Blues & Whites often feel more beachy or wintery.

Alternatively often the style of the venue can lead you to the right decisions to how you want your stationery and wedding to look. If a bride contacts me with little idea of what she wants but I know she’s getting married in a barn in a relaxed and casual ceremony I will naturally go down a more rustic route with her stationery … perhaps tied in string.

Provide your stationer with as much information as possible and they will generally be able to evoke the style of your wedding.

• When should I order them?  Life is so busy now and most of my brides want to send them early.

Traditionally most wedding magazines and planners have always advised sending your wedding stationery out 2 to 3 months prior to the date of the wedding. However for so many couples these days this is just not enough advance warning to give to friends and family who say have to book holidays off work at least 3-6 months in advance, have family coming from abroad, or have to arrange to have children taken care of or taken out of school etc for a special occasion.

There are generally two ways of coping with this … either

a) Send out Save The Date Cards 6 months to a year in advance and then send the actual invitations out at the traditional time within 3 months of the wedding … or

b) Send just one invitation much earlier.

At Knots & Kisses .. I personally don’t put any pressure on couples to send their stationery out at a specific time so they can fit into my schedule. What is most important to me is not when the date of the wedding is but the date that the couple want to send their stationery out on because it fits in best for them.

Russian Doll Range

• How many do I order, what should I have as a contingency?

I would always advise couples to order extra stationery. I personally think 5-10 extra of both the day and evening invitation invitations is ample. A lot  of my stationery is ordered with preprinted guest names but order extras with a blank space left for your guests names and then you have no problems if you suddenly realize you’ve forgotten to send an invite to someone or you have a secondary list of people who you will be inviting if others can’t make it. ( Sounds cruel but this happens all the time!)

Russian Doll Range Menu and Table Stationery

• How do I word them? Is the wording different for Civil Partnerships?

I’ve always been of the opinion since I set up my wedding stationery company that I would never dictate to couples how they should word their stationery. I personally think you should be able to have whatever wording you feel is appropriate to convey the message of your day, so always ask brides what they would like the invite to say rather than getting them to pick between a set number of wording styles.

However if couples are unsure of what they want their invites to say I’m more than happy to offer advice. Traditionally wording comes in one of two formats .. either Formal .. addressed from the parents of the Bride … or Informal .. addressed from the Couple themselves. Of course we now have many couples having civil ceremonies but to be honest the wording changes very little other than asking the guests to join them for a civil celebration rather than marriage.

• What essentials should I include in the invite?  The etiquette.

There are of course a few basic elements which it is essential to include in your invites. The name of the couple .. obviously! … the date of the wedding and the venue. I generally advise brides to give basic details of the venue on the actual invitation i.e just the name, and if you want to give guests much more detail of the venue including the exact address and directions on a separate information card so it doesn’t clutter the look of the invite itself. Many of my new ranges come with a information and rsvp card inside so this information can be kept separate.

One of the most important elements of the information you give is the time the guests need to arrive. Many brides I’ve spoken to want to know whether they should put the exact time of the ceremony or the time of arrival. I’ve always advised time of arrival! You will always have a few guests who are traditionally ‘latecomers’ so best to err on the side of safety and put a time which is a little earlier than the actual ceremony time I feel.

Candy Stripe Pink & Sage reception stationery

• How about DIY invites for this growing market and Brides looking to add personal details and reduce costs?

Funnily enough I have no problem at all with Brides DIYing elements or all of their wedding stationery. I think many brides and grooms have a creative flair and would love to use their talents to good use in their weddings. Couples shouldn’t underestimate however how time consuming doing this may be and for many it could be difficult to fit this in around their busy lives.

I am more than happy as a happy medium, or alternative for couples, to semi-produce elements of their stationery .. i.e. a basic pocketfold design that they can then decorate themselves if they wish to add a personal touch to their wedding. I also work all the time with brides on a very tight budget and am happy to adapt designs to suit their pocket and personalise the stationery so it means something to them.

Overall my advice for couples wanting to DIY their stationery would be to do this for the Day & Evening Invitations if they would really love to do this but possibly consider handing over the reception stationery to a professional, who would be more than happy to come up with a design to match. This takes the pressure off the couple in the few weeks before the wedding when the last thing they want to be doing is madly making 150 placecards on top of everything else they have to do!

Candy Stripe Aqua & Mocha

I just love these new designs of Nikki’s, they are hot off the press and how gorgeous are they for summer? Have fun with your stationery and think a little outside the box. Choose a stationer that will help you design an invite that truly reflects you and what your day is all about.

For the next post I thought it would be fun to see various ways of making place cards and seating plans to inspire you. Please email me or send me your unique ways that you have personalised your stationery. It’s always good to pass on great ideas, don’t be shy.

Until next time, happy planning.