Wedding Stationery: What’s Necessary?

TeamWED — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:12:00 +0000

Ah, wedding stationery. Something that should be so simple can get so complicated! The makers of wedding invitations and other forms of wedding stationery would have you believe that everything from tissue paper liners to hand-drawn custom maps are vital, but nothing could be further from the truth. As with almost everything else associated with weddings, your wedding stationery suite should be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Some brides and groom print their own, either using wedding invitation kits or DIY prowess. Others buy fancy letterpress invitations or even spring for proper engraving. What your wedding stationery looks like is up to you — there are no right ways or wrong ways to invite people to your wedding. That said, the world of wedding stationery can be a confusing one, so here’s a breakdown of the most common pieces and a bit about whether you really need them.

Save-the-Date Cards

These relatively new letters of intent are only truly necessary if you’re having a destination wedding that will require most or all of your guests to travel and thus make travel arrangements. Sending out save-the-date cards is a courtesy that allows your loved ones to book plane tickets and hotel rooms when deals are still available instead of six weeks prior to the wedding, at which time everything is booked full or super pricey. If, however, you’re getting married locally, and most of your wedding guests will be aware of the details in advance of the invitations being sent out, you don’t truly need save-the-date cards.

Wedding Invitations

We’ll go right ahead and say that anyone inviting people to their wedding will require some form of wedding invitations. That invitation, however, does not need to be printed on heavyweight ecru cardstock or feature fancy engraving. There are so many forms of printing nowadays and so many beautiful papers that we think it’s a shame to only look at what some would call “proper” wedding invitations. Yes, you need wedding invitations, but think outside of the box when choosing yours. We’re fans of the brides and grooms who take a stab at designing their own wedding invitations — whether they print them at home or not — though we recognize that not everyone is skilled in the graphic arts.

RSVP Cards

These tend to get bundled with wedding invitations, though we will say they aren’t strictly necessary. Miss Manners and her set will tell you that the proper way to respond to an invitation is with a hand written note, not a tick in a checkbox on a pre-printed RSVP card. However, we understand that the chances of your guests actually sitting down to compose a handwritten note are quite slim, and the RSVP card is consequently the bride’s little helper. Anything that makes the bride’s life that much easier is, in our opinion, quite important indeed.

Wedding Maps

Google maps… fancy GPS units… cell phones with Internet access… the road atlas in the trunk of your car… all these things tell us that while pretty wedding maps are a lovely part of a wedding stationery suite, they can be omitted without coming out on the wrong side of etiquette. Just think of all the money you’ll save by scrapping the wedding maps, and that’s money that can be devoted to, say, an open bar or another day of honeymooning!

Wedding Jewelry

Visit USABRIDE.COM for an incredible selection of wedding jewelry, wedding accessories, bridal headbands, wedding veils, and now bridesmaids dresses at the best prices you’ll find on the Internet.

Best Price on Sandals All-inclusive Honeymoons

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Wedding Reception Entertainment

iShare Spots is the perfect wedding reception entertainment solution for your wedding. iShare Spots allows you to share special memories with your wedding guests. Standing almost 7 feet tall, it’s a dazzling alternative to the old “projector and screen multi-media presentation.” Visit their website to see it in action.

Crazy for Weddings

Convenient online shopping for wedding favors, wedding cake toppers, and all types of bridal accessories is just a click away at Crazy for Weddings (.com). You will find some really special and fun things for the bride and groom at Crazy for Weddings. Take a look at our "Just Married" signs that will help you decorate a car, or find the perfect wedding gift to personalize and give to a bride and groom on their special day.

Wedding Contract Advice from The Wedding Professor

Known across the matrimonial world as The Wedding Professor, Richard Cadieux has been a certified wedding consultant since 2002 and has lent his expertise at more than 500 weddings. Most brides-to-be have little to no experience negotiating contracts, which means much of what is promised to them by wedding vendors never gets put into writing. Consequently, those brides-to-be risk not only being taken advantage of, but also being left without any legal recourse. But The Wedding Professor’s new eBook changes all that and puts the power of negotiation into the hands of brides and grooms, who are the customer and who, in most cases, are making quite significant investments. If you’re a bride or groom looking for wedding contract advice, and think it’s a smart idea to protect yourself and your money, visit his blog today.

Thank You Cards

TeamWED — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:49:40 +0000

Thank you cards are an important part your wedding stationery set because it’s assumed that you’ll receive at least some gifts. Sending out thank you cards in a timely fashion shows that you are a gracious recipient of wedding gifts and are appreciative of the presents and the guests who gave them. Purchase thank you cards printed on a high quality cardstock (not flimsy) and hand write each one, individually tailoring it to each person. Put in a personal note, even if it’s just mentioning how you use the gift they gave you, to show the recipient that the thank you was written specifically for them.

(Photo by Kathryn Rotondo)