I find with wedding stationary you can have two approaches, spend the whole wedding budget on it and go all out with everything, or you can be a little bit tactical and with using technology save some money to spend on something else.
Please do not take me wrong I love stationary and all the different styles and designs you can go for and also the excitement around sending out save the dates or invites and also designing your table plan. but if you are trying to stick to your budget here are some tips of area’s you can hold back.
Save the Dates
I know you just want people to know you have picked your date and you want to make sure everyone can attend so you want to give them as much notice as possible. But this can add anything from £50 to serval hundred depending on style and you also have to post them which could get costly if they are heavy or everyone needs to have theirs posted. Instead you could design a website or facebook page to inform everyone of when the wedding will be or even send the save the date via an email.
Also sending save the dates means you have to have your guest list confirmed as otherwise you could send save the dates to people that in a year’s time when you are sending invites you actually don’t want to invite.
Finally I know you want everyone to RSVP yes, but trust me when you wedding is getting closer and the budget is getting tight you will hope people cannot attend and if you don’t send save the date there is more chance the people you feel you have to invite already have plans.
Place cards
This is an area you could double up on things as it is now popular for everyone to have a menu card which is great for decoration and your place setting but can add a lot on to the stationary budget if you are planning on doing individual menu cards then you could avoid having place cards, either by printing individual cards or leaving space to add each guests names.
Alternatively, you could not have menus on the tables or just one per table and then have place cards which are significantly cheaper than menu cards. I suggest this as people often do not read the menu again as it is normally set to them before the wedding.
Escort Cards
I love these as they work as your table plan but they also mean people can then choose their own seat on the specific table, if you didn’t also have place cards/menu cards and they can then be used as place cards for the caterers to find your guests with dietary requests.
Acceptance cards
As much as these can be lovely so that your guests do not need to go an buy a card to reply and they work really well if they are pre-printed with all the questions you need answers to for example, dietary requests, accommodation and transport. You could also put a link on the invites for RSVP’s, it is a quick and easy way to obtain all the information and it is then stored in one place this is often free so you could save on your stationary budget here.
The key bits of wedding stationary is your invites, if you are not sending save the dates these are the first time people are going to see what your wedding has instore for them, the invite should represent you as a couple but also let people have a sneak peek into what your wedding day will be like including your colour scheme.