Wedding Stationery: 5 Things I Wish I'd Known Earlier

1 -  Time moves REALLY fast

When you start planning your wedding, it can feel like your big day is forever away. Whilst one or two years might sound like a long time, it actually isn’t very long if you’re planning a wedding.

We always recommend that you start planning your wedding stationery early. It doesn’t need to be in detail, but starting to think about guest counts, what kind of card or design you might like is a great starting point early on in your planning.

2 - Addresses & contact information is a NIGHTMARE

Regardless of how you go about it, collecting addresses and contact information from all of your guests has the potential to be an absolute nightmare. People make mistakes, don’t reply to emails or texts, and just plain forget what they are supposed to be doing.

We recommend that you start collecting addresses and contact information as soon as you’ve got the beginnings of a guest list. We believe the best way to do this is with a handy spreadsheet. You can then collate your guests names and whether or not they have a plus one alongside their contact information and addresses.

This method of storing the information means that you can easily check which addresses you are missing, and if you are having a calligrapher hand-write your invitations, it will become an invaluable resource.

3 - Emails get lost (and people just don’t open them...)

If you’re sending digital invitations or requesting addresses, menu choices or whatever else it might be by email, we always recommend that you leave plenty of time between sending the emails and when you need the information by.

Emails get lost all the time. Inboxes are full of newsletters and order confirmations, so noticing something important in that flood can be near enough impossible. Even if your mail HASN’T gone to their junk folder, it doesn’t mean it will be found.

If you give a deadline to respond by, say four weeks after you make the request, for example, we always recommend giving yourself a buffer in between the deadline you’ve given your guests, and when you expect the information to become mission-critical.

So if you need the information in six weeks time, tell your guests you need it in four.

4 - Be specific on plus ones

Plus ones are a minefield. The best way to avoid awkward situations is to be specific about who can and can’t bring a plus one. If you are giving someone a plus one, try to mention them by name or relation. So, if your friend Janet is allowed to bring her partner, you could write “Janet & Bob”, or “Janet & Partner”.

You should also expect to be asked, a LOT, if individual guests can have a plus one. Be firm, be specific, and set boundaries.

5 - Order spares

We firmly believe that rule 101 with wedding stationery should be to order spares. Not ordering spares can quite quickly put you in a pickle if you make a mistake, spill coffee or want to invite some more people if your original guest list can’t all make it.

Ordering spares saves you the hassle of trying to place another smaller order for stationery, especially when some stationers will have minimum order quantities on some products.