I have always loved designing and creating invitations but I have a particular affinity to wedding invitations. When I receive notification that a bride has scheduled a consultation or when they submit their initial inquiry to begin the design process, I absolutely get giddy!
Often times, stationery gets a bum rap! It's almost, if not the last, necessity most couples think of when planning a wedding. But realistically, it is the very first glimpse your guests have into the celebration of your forever together. Invitations are so much more than just paper, they are a beautiful invitation to your loved ones welcoming them to join you as you declare your love for the one you love most.
A lot of the time, brides contact me a couple of months prior to their wedding day. Unfortunately then, there is not a lot of time to design. Brides don't realize how far in advance they should make contact with a wedding stationer for a custom design and all the elements that need to be ordered to create a collection. During consultations, I started working backwards with brides, from the day of their wedding, and illustrate a virtual timeline indicating just how soon they need to begin thinking of wedding suites.
Wedding invitations should be mailed between 6 to 8 weeks prior to your wedding day if the majority of your guests are local and 8 to 10 weeks prior to your wedding day if it will be a destination wedding or the majority of your guests are traveling. This allows adequate time for guests to make accommodations to attend and allows enough time for RSVPs to be returned to get final guest counts to your caterer and/or venue.
Take into account and allow time to have invitations designed, make edit requests, proof review, printing and shipping, especially if your design requires specialty printing we discussed in previous posts. Invitations that need assembling also require additional time. Regardless of size, have your invitations weighed at the post office before mailing them out to your guests. (There are horror stories on the interwebs about inadequate postage on invitations not making it to their intended recipients!)
Now, every stationery designer is different, but the system I use works great for my brides and allows for a stress free, overall enjoyable designing experience. And today, I'm gifting my timeline to you! Simply click the photo below and enter the promotional code "stationeryguide" at check out for your free, instant download!
In case your wedding is in a few months and you don't have invitations yet, no worries! Reach out to the stationery designer you'd like to work with. Communicate up front your need and be honest about your in-hand date. The designer will communicate if they are able to assist or refer you to someone else who can.
I hope this post has been helpful and informative for you! Download and print the pdf to place in your wedding planner or pin this image to your wedding Pinterest board to help you remember "when to do what" so your planning experience will be more enjoyable, fun and free of stress.
Creatively crafting stationery you and your guests will love, cherish and remember for years to come.
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