ashdown & bee: 17+ wedding stationery elements to consider for your big day

Today we're joined by stationery gurus, Paperlust, to share some ideas on what you may need stationery-wise for your wedding! Hope you enjoy!

Melissa xx

p.s we're thrilled to offer our readers 10% off at paperlust with the code ASHDOWNB846 (or click here)

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There are so many elements to wedding planning, and wedding stationery is one of them. Right? Well, almost. Wedding stationery is a huge part of wedding planning, but would be more accurately described as a series of elements of your wedding. There are almost twenty different pieces of stationery you may choose to include as part of your stationery package, to be used before, during, and after your big day. Choosing cohesive wedding stationery through all these stages is crucial to setting the theme and tone of things.

So what are the different stationery cards that are usually included, and which ones are absolutely necessary? We’re so glad you asked!

PRE WEDDING

Engagement announcement

Let all your family and friends know that you finally put a ring on it with an engagement announcement. A simple ‘We’re engaged!’ with a picture of the two of you is perfect.

Engagement party invitation

Invite everyone to celebrate your engagement with you at your engagement party. This is a great practice run for your wedding invitation!

Save the date

Give your guests plenty of notice of the big day so they can plan ahead and attend. This is especially important if people are going to have to travel to be part of it.

Wedding invitation

This is the big one! Your wedding invitation officially invites your guests to the big day and gives them the date, time and location details so they are able to attend.

RSVP card

It’s crucial that you know in advance who is going to be attending your wedding, and an RSVP card helps make sure people let you know by the determined date. You can also use it to collect other information, like dietary requirements and even meal selection or song requests.

Information cards

There’s always extra information that just doesn’t seem to fit anywhere else, whether it’s accommodation details or gift information. Extra information cards, maps, wishing well cards and similar are part of this.

’Will you be my bridesmaid/groomsman’ cards

It’s becoming increasingly popular to ‘pop the question’ to your best friends, using beautiful stationery to ask for their involvement in your big day.

Hens/bucks party invitations

Celebrate the last days of your single life with friends, whether it’s with a hens party, bachelorette party, kitchen tea, bridal shower, or something else entirely.

ON THE DAY

Order of service

Help your guests follow along through your service and make sure people participating in the proceedings can prepare themselves before they have to get up to speak.

Seating cards

Make sure people know the best seats in the house at your wedding ceremony are reserved for your bridal party and immediate family members.

Signage

Designate a gift table, draw attention to a guest book, or simply reassure guests they’ve arrived at the correct wedding with the appropriate signs at both the ceremony and the reception.

Place cards

Mark out where guests should sit so everyone can easily find their place. You could also include a symbol for dietary requirements on the card to assist servers.

Seating charts

This works alongside place cards and table numbers. Guests can look for their name to work out which table they are on, then find the table and their place card.

Table numbers

Table numbers are important for helping guests find their seats, but they are sometimes also needed for servers and other venue staff.

Menus

Give your guests a preview of what food is going to be gracing their plates so they can enjoy the anticipation as much as the food itself. Guests can have a menu each, or you can give one or two to each table.

Favour tags

Make your wedding favours extra special with tags that are beautiful enough to serve as mementos. This is especially appreciated when the favours are something edible that will disappear quickly!

Post-wedding

Thank you cards

Saying thank you is one of the most important parts of your wedding. Use thank you cards to thank guests, vendors, and important people who were involved (your bridal party, parents, and others).

Which cards are absolutely necessary?

So with all of these cards to choose from, which ones are essential? Boiled down to the absolute bare necessities, you will probably need:

It’s best to start from these crucial elements and expand out based on what is important to you, what the nature of your event is, and what your budget will allow.

Whatever you decide to include, it’s usually best to think about all your stationery at once and order ahead to make sure you can create a cohesive vision for your day, starting with the element that carries it through from beginning to end.

This was a guest post by Maddison Wallace from Paperlust. Maddison is head of content at Paperlust. She is a communications professional who loves words and drinking cups of tea.