10 Things to Consider Before
Ordering Your Wedding Invitations
Visualize each of your guests opening the mailbox and finding a beautifully addressed envelope. Are they racing to their calendar to reserve the date for your wedding, or are they yawning, adding the invitation to the stack of other mail on the counter? A wedding invitation sets the tone for the entire day ~ it implies the formality and style of the event, reflects your personalities, and should make the invited guests very excited to be included in the celebration.
Before you order your wedding invitations, here are 10 things that you need to know and do. Before the appointment with your wedding invitation consultant:
1. Get a clear picture in your mind of your dream wedding and of your personal taste and style.
Formal traditional, romantic, lavish, minimalist, sophisticated, elegant, fun, casual, party, etc.? In your fashion, decor, and lifestyle do your tastes tend more toward traditional or more contemporary? More subtle and understated or more bold and colorful? Classic elegance with an updated twist? It’s OK to have a mix of styles, just try to hone in on the types of things you are usually drawn to and your own personal style.
2. Determine if your wedding will have a theme or a symbol that is significant.
Are there any items of significance that you want to incorporate into your wedding and possibly your invitations or accessories? Do you share a love of wine? Did you meet on a ski-trip? Tying in a theme that is unique to the couple can be a fun and thoughtful way to share details of your journey and include your guests in the story.
3. Decide if there is a color palette for your wedding.
Do you want to carry a particular color or set of colors into your invitations or accessories? What color{s} are the attendant’s dresses? If you have specific colors that you’d like to include in your invitations or accessories, it would be helpful to bring in any samples or swatches with you to the appointment.
4. Determine the number of invitations you will need to send.
Keep in mind that this is not the number of guests that you’d like to invite ~ this is the number of households to which invitations will be sent. Always order extra invitations at the time of your original order leverage the bulk pricing... {Keep in mind that the cost of invitations is primarily based on the design, layout and running of the printing press, not in the quantity of invitations, so ordering a small number later can often be nearly as expensive as the initial order.}
5. During the appointment with your wedding invitation consultant, learn about the various invitation printing methods and choices in invitation stock.
An experienced wedding stationer can explain each of the methods of printing and the differences between them. These methods include letterpress, engraving, embossing, thermography, and flat printing {including offset or lithography, digital, and desktop printing like laser and inkjet}. It’s also helpful if you can bring in magazine pages or samples of invitation styles that you like.
6. Decide what other cards and features to include with your invitation.
Would you prefer a reply card and envelope or a reply postcard? Will you need a reception card, directions card, accommodations card, or wedding website card? Do you like pocket folds, belly bands, ribbons, envelope liners, or all of the above? Do you want single envelopes or the more traditional double envelopes? You will want to see, touch and feel a variety of samples to help you decide what you like best as you build your perfect wedding invitation suite.
7. Have a rough idea of your budget.
However, be open to being educated about what different invitation styles and printing methods cost. Too often, bridal magazines do a disservice by showcasing luxurious suites of high-end wedding invitations with all the bells and whistles, but then advise in the back of the magazine that you assign a woefully low percentage of the budget for wedding invitations and accessories. This just creates unreasonable expectations from the outset. A great stationer will inform you about the varying costs of different printing methods, stocks, and add-ons that will work for you to create a wedding invitation suite that is within your comfort zone.
8. Determine who will be issuing the wedding invitation.
Does your family situation fit the traditional mode in which the bride’s parents issue the invitation? Or does your family situation look like many these days in which varying circumstances dictate wording that is different from the traditional? For example, are your parents divorced? remarried? one or both parents deceased? Are the grooms’ parents equally involved and contributing to the wedding financially? Are you paying for the majority of the wedding expenses yourselves?
Your stationer will be able to navigate with you the wording of your invitations as may be dictated by any complexities in your family situations and etiquette guidelines. Believe it or not, there are guidelines for just about any situation and it’s best that you are fully aware of how to properly word your wedding invitation to avoid offending anyone or causing any embarrassment or hard feelings.
9. Decide how you would like the wedding envelopes to be addressed.
Will you or your family or friends be hand-addressing the envelopes? Will you hire a calligrapher? Will you have the addresses printed on the envelopes? Always order extra envelopes {typically 15% extra} for any errors in addressing.
10. Make your decision!!
Making your final decision doesn’t have to be stressful. Be sure to give yourself a chance to be informed and to look at several options before you buy. Trust your own instincts. There will likely be one invitation style that you continue to come back to over and over ~ that is generally “the one.”
All of these variables and decisions may seem overwhelming at first. Just take a deep breath and take them one at a time. Decide on those things that you can before your appointment {e.g., your personal style, number of invitations}. During your appointment, your wedding stationer will walk you through and educate you on all of the other variables to help you make an informed decision that feels comfortable for you and your family.
Your wedding invitation consultant should be a valuable part of your wedding planning team. You should accept {and expect} help from a knowledgeable, professional and friendly wedding stationer. A good consultant will ask lots of questions to get a better understanding of your vision for your special day. They will want to be helpful to you and will likely have some recommendations for you. An expert consultant has seen many styles of wedding invitations and will be able to recommend invitations that fit your style, personality and budget. From the moment you enter the boutique, be mindful of the way you are being treated and of the way the people there make you feel. Do they seem knowledgeable? Do they treat you with respect? This is your special day and you deserve help from a person that makes you feel comfortable and happy. Your wedding invitation is too important to settle for less than a wonderful stationery consultant.
With these ten tips in mind, and helpful advice and education from a great wedding stationer, the creation of your perfect wedding invitation {the sneak preview into your special day} should be an exciting, creative, and wonderful experience.
Have fun and remember:
You never get a second chance to make a first impression!!!
Before you order your wedding invitations, here are 10 things that you need to know and do. Before the appointment with your wedding invitation consultant:
1. Get a clear picture in your mind of your dream wedding and of your personal taste and style.
Formal traditional, romantic, lavish, minimalist, sophisticated, elegant, fun, casual, party, etc.? In your fashion, decor, and lifestyle do your tastes tend more toward traditional or more contemporary? More subtle and understated or more bold and colorful? Classic elegance with an updated twist? It’s OK to have a mix of styles, just try to hone in on the types of things you are usually drawn to and your own personal style.
2. Determine if your wedding will have a theme or a symbol that is significant.
Are there any items of significance that you want to incorporate into your wedding and possibly your invitations or accessories? Do you share a love of wine? Did you meet on a ski-trip? Tying in a theme that is unique to the couple can be a fun and thoughtful way to share details of your journey and include your guests in the story.
3. Decide if there is a color palette for your wedding.
Do you want to carry a particular color or set of colors into your invitations or accessories? What color{s} are the attendant’s dresses? If you have specific colors that you’d like to include in your invitations or accessories, it would be helpful to bring in any samples or swatches with you to the appointment.
4. Determine the number of invitations you will need to send.
Keep in mind that this is not the number of guests that you’d like to invite ~ this is the number of households to which invitations will be sent. Always order extra invitations at the time of your original order leverage the bulk pricing... {Keep in mind that the cost of invitations is primarily based on the design, layout and running of the printing press, not in the quantity of invitations, so ordering a small number later can often be nearly as expensive as the initial order.}
5. During the appointment with your wedding invitation consultant, learn about the various invitation printing methods and choices in invitation stock.
An experienced wedding stationer can explain each of the methods of printing and the differences between them. These methods include letterpress, engraving, embossing, thermography, and flat printing {including offset or lithography, digital, and desktop printing like laser and inkjet}. It’s also helpful if you can bring in magazine pages or samples of invitation styles that you like.
6. Decide what other cards and features to include with your invitation.
Would you prefer a reply card and envelope or a reply postcard? Will you need a reception card, directions card, accommodations card, or wedding website card? Do you like pocket folds, belly bands, ribbons, envelope liners, or all of the above? Do you want single envelopes or the more traditional double envelopes? You will want to see, touch and feel a variety of samples to help you decide what you like best as you build your perfect wedding invitation suite.
7. Have a rough idea of your budget.
However, be open to being educated about what different invitation styles and printing methods cost. Too often, bridal magazines do a disservice by showcasing luxurious suites of high-end wedding invitations with all the bells and whistles, but then advise in the back of the magazine that you assign a woefully low percentage of the budget for wedding invitations and accessories. This just creates unreasonable expectations from the outset. A great stationer will inform you about the varying costs of different printing methods, stocks, and add-ons that will work for you to create a wedding invitation suite that is within your comfort zone.
8. Determine who will be issuing the wedding invitation.
Does your family situation fit the traditional mode in which the bride’s parents issue the invitation? Or does your family situation look like many these days in which varying circumstances dictate wording that is different from the traditional? For example, are your parents divorced? remarried? one or both parents deceased? Are the grooms’ parents equally involved and contributing to the wedding financially? Are you paying for the majority of the wedding expenses yourselves?
Your stationer will be able to navigate with you the wording of your invitations as may be dictated by any complexities in your family situations and etiquette guidelines. Believe it or not, there are guidelines for just about any situation and it’s best that you are fully aware of how to properly word your wedding invitation to avoid offending anyone or causing any embarrassment or hard feelings.
9. Decide how you would like the wedding envelopes to be addressed.
Will you or your family or friends be hand-addressing the envelopes? Will you hire a calligrapher? Will you have the addresses printed on the envelopes? Always order extra envelopes {typically 15% extra} for any errors in addressing.
10. Make your decision!!
Making your final decision doesn’t have to be stressful. Be sure to give yourself a chance to be informed and to look at several options before you buy. Trust your own instincts. There will likely be one invitation style that you continue to come back to over and over ~ that is generally “the one.”
All of these variables and decisions may seem overwhelming at first. Just take a deep breath and take them one at a time. Decide on those things that you can before your appointment {e.g., your personal style, number of invitations}. During your appointment, your wedding stationer will walk you through and educate you on all of the other variables to help you make an informed decision that feels comfortable for you and your family.
Your wedding invitation consultant should be a valuable part of your wedding planning team. You should accept {and expect} help from a knowledgeable, professional and friendly wedding stationer. A good consultant will ask lots of questions to get a better understanding of your vision for your special day. They will want to be helpful to you and will likely have some recommendations for you. An expert consultant has seen many styles of wedding invitations and will be able to recommend invitations that fit your style, personality and budget. From the moment you enter the boutique, be mindful of the way you are being treated and of the way the people there make you feel. Do they seem knowledgeable? Do they treat you with respect? This is your special day and you deserve help from a person that makes you feel comfortable and happy. Your wedding invitation is too important to settle for less than a wonderful stationery consultant.
With these ten tips in mind, and helpful advice and education from a great wedding stationer, the creation of your perfect wedding invitation {the sneak preview into your special day} should be an exciting, creative, and wonderful experience.
Have fun and remember:
You never get a second chance to make a first impression!!!