Your wedding invitations are the first glimpse your guests get of your plans. Let’s run through the essentials and find out how to make them personal
Getting the basics right
Angie Lawder of Joy Wedding Stationery talks us through the pre-wedding essentials
Save the date These inform your guests of the wedding date well in advance, so they can book time off work and avoid making any other arrangements on your date. These can be sent out up to nine months or even a full year ahead of time.
Daytime invitations This is the formal invitation asking guests to attend. I’d advise posting/distributing these eight weeks before the wedding, with an RSVP enclosed.
RSVPs It’s definitely worth putting a ‘please respond by’ date on the RSVP, allowing two or three weeks for a response. Include a space for the guest to note down any allergies/dietary requirements, as well as their menu choices if required by your chef.
Insert cards These supply additional important information such as travel directions or a map, accommodation details, menus, gift registry and so on. If you don’t want to send this info with the invite, you can always direct guests to a wedding website (if applicable).
Evening invitations These should communicate the time and location of the reception and can have similar wording to the main wedding invitations. Send them out with around two months to go. Additional insert cards for your evening guests aren’t usually required, but if you do need them, I’d suggest sending them along with the invite.
Luxury upgrades
Richard Ulph at Com Bossa Luxury Wedding Stationery suggests ways to make your paperwork really special
“You could have your own monogram designed (technically a ‘duogram’, as there are two of you!) featuring your initials and perhaps the date of your wedding. This can be used as a motif throughout all your wedding stationery. It’s a way to really personalise everything and looks particularly good embossed in gold foil.
“There are some stunning things you can do in terms of finishing flourishes too. We love creating personalised ‘belly bands’ that hold all of your wedding cards in one neat bundle. “One way to lift an invitation to the next level is to add gilded edges to the card. This is an absolutely gorgeous effect when applied to a luxuriously thick card.
“We also specialise in pocketfold wallets with a smart magnetic closure – it gives a lovely click when you close it. These are popular, as couples can choose from over 50 colours and all of you information is presented beautifully in the wallet.”
Go bespoke
Jenna Brand of Jenna B Stationery discusses the pros of going bespoke
“This route lets couples pick the colours and fonts they want and have the wording exactly as they wish it to be. My speciality is hand-painted illustrations: I can, for example, include illustrations of flowers from bouquets, a detail of the venue, or even give a nod to hobbies, pets or meaningful locations. Couples can also add special touches through initialled wax seals and different ways of keeping the invitations together such as silk ribbon, jute string, printed ‘belly bands’ or printed envelope liners with names/initials on them.
“Being able to select the texture and weight of the paper is another bonus of having something created especially for you. A side note to this aspect is a trend I really love: seeded paper. It’s eco-friendly and, although it is expensive, if it’s used for place names it can double as favours, so you’d be making a saving there.”