We\u2019ve talked a little bit about Save the Dates<\/a> before,\u00a0and the breakdown is that they\u2019re non-essential unless you\u2019re having a destination or overseas wedding<\/a>. We\u2019ll add one more condition to that: weddings that occur during high-season.<\/p>\n When the weather warms up, brides seem to prefer to come out. This might mean that your wedding is going to cross over with friends, or friends of friends. An early save the date cards<\/a> means you\u2019ll get in there first and give everyone plenty of warning about the date and venue in case they have to plan a driver to taxi them between events 27 Dresses Style.<\/p>\n This one kind of speaks for itself\u2026 The wedding invitation online<\/strong><\/a> is THE reason you\u2019ve been trawling through Pinterest and taking sneaky photos of stationery you like.<\/p>\n The sticky bit with the wedding invitation is the wording<\/a>. Find yours the easy way<\/a><\/strong>, but maybe that doesn\u2019t answer all your questions, so try here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n The key thing to remember is story telling basics: WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, and hopefully your guests will be able to get to the why of it by themselves.<\/p>\n By keeping it minimal, the wedding invitation becomes a beautiful object and you can decide whether you need to provide additional information through another card.<\/p>\n Affordable wedding invitations are fairly easy to find, it\u2019s the extra cards and details like individual guests names, which start to rack up the costs.<\/p>\n If you are looking at what to write in your wedding card, click here.<\/a><\/p>\n The RSVP is essential<\/a> in so far as, you need to know which guests are going to attend. The card itself though is up for a debate. The suite of cards is as much tradition as anything. If you\u2019re having a formal wedding, a RSVP card<\/a> is part of the entire experience. If it\u2019s a little bit more casual (and definitely if it\u2019s not too big), consider a digital RSVP option. Rather than just an email address for your guests to send a yay or nay, a wedding website is a savvy way to use technology, save the environment and possibly automatically organise the information coming in.<\/p>\n The RSVP is used for more than just letting you know who\u2019s attending though. Used well, you can double check food allergies or intolerances, get menu preferences and get some novel responses like song choices for the dance floor at the end of the big day. These are the kind of the things you don\u2019t want to forgo so the RSVP is definitely essentially. What\u2019s up to you, is how you choose to receive your guests responses.<\/p>\n The information and directions card is non-essential because your wedding may be relatively straight forward: it\u2019s just a gathering of you, your closest family and friends in your home town so no one is flying in or out, there are no big accommodation worries and transport isn\u2019t going to be a big issue.<\/p>\n These cards are also non-essential if you have complete faith in your guests to search this information out for themselves. In reality though leaving this information out is likely to add to your workload later as friends and family contact you directly to establish this information. So while the information and directions card<\/a> is courtesy on your part I\u2019d like to argue it\u2019s essential. You might find that these extra cards are pushing up expenses or you\u2019re having qualms about the amount of important information you\u2019re trusting to the postal services, but the option of a digital point of contact can resolve that..<\/p>\n Wishing well or registry information has no place on the wedding invitation<\/a>. It\u2019s also a grey area when it comes to wedding etiquette: do we still expect people to be giving gifts in this day and age? Providing the information is really up to you. At the end of the day it\u2019s probably going to save you a lot of calls from curious aunts and friends. Check out our perfect guide to the wishing well poem.<\/a><\/p>\n If the amount of cards is stacking up and you\u2019re reluctant to try providing digitally, combine the information, directions and wishing well cards<\/a> \u2013 it might not be pretty but public transport directions rarely are. If it\u2019s all in one place, guests are less likely to lose track of it and they won\u2019t have to be thumbing through multiple pieces of paper to get to the bottom of things.<\/p>\n There is debate amongst wedding planners, professional and amateur alike, as to whether guests need to know what free food and drink will be served at a wedding they\u2019ve been invited to attend. We\u2019ve decided its non-essential for three reasons,<\/p>\n A formal dinner that is celebrating the wonder that can be food, is another thing entirely: a large part of the wedding stationery is being consistent not just thematically between the cards, but in the tone that you\u2019re trying to establish for the big day.<\/p>\n Note the distinction between the menu card<\/a> and a menu: the menu card is a card sent out with the invitation<\/a>, RSVP<\/a> and other information that provides the food and drinks details before the date; a menu is details of food and drink provided on the day.<\/p>\n The menu in this case can be provided per seat to each individual or as a shared slip of paper. There are also alternatives to printed menus, which we discussed in our Menu Wording<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0but the general verdict is that a menu should be provided in some form on the day so that people know what they\u2019re getting.<\/p>\n The menu is also a good place to provide ingredients or warnings in case anyone has slipped through the radar when it comes to dietary requirements.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just the food though: make sure it\u2019s clear what beverages will be available, preferably in the form of a big sign by the bar that\u2019s visible from across the room.<\/p>\n This is the detail for the day that guests can pick up before the ceremony and follow through the course of events until the end of the night. It is not absolutely necessary. Your loud brother can probably do the same thing as MC. The reason it\u2019s a good idea is to make guests feel like they know what\u2019s going on and they can make sure they\u2019re participating in everything they possibly can (by which I mean well timed toilet breaks rather than plans to duck out as soon as the cake is cut).<\/p>\n The wedding service card is important to consider if you\u2019re having a traditional church wedding or asking guests to join in responses or songs. Given that not everyone will be familiar with every part of the wedding ceremony, it lets them get involved.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve made seating arrangements then you need to let your guests know where you\u2019d like them to be seated. There are two options: table place cards<\/a> or a wedding seating chart<\/a> displayed on a board for guests to play their own game of Where\u2019s Wally.<\/p>\n Alternatively, there is always the safe bet of choosing to use both.<\/p>\n Table place cards<\/a> can be fun, although decorative details can start to add up. The expense of place cards lies in the varied printing of individual guest names. If you\u2019re worried, think of alternatives to just simple place cards or ways you combine multiple things into one so that it\u2019s novel and interesting for each guest.<\/p>\n (Note: this is not the tacky email invite to your wedding although there are increasingly good online wedding invitations<\/a> in Australia<\/a> that can be customised in the same way as your printed cards).<\/p>\n So the wedding website is a relatively new trend (by which I mean, not everyone\u2019s cup of tea), which has been adopted by savvy couples to provide guests with a definitive place to go to for information about the wedding, to keep in contact and come back to afterwards for photos from the day. If it\u2019s left up long after the wedding and continues to be updated, think of it as shared, couples Facebook page or a Facebook event page.<\/p>\n The wedding website means that a lot of other cards in the wedding stationery set are non-essential. The trick is to maintain the chic sophistication you want to carry over from your save the date or wedding invitation. This can be hard if you\u2019re doing it yourself so it might help to find someone who\u2019s technologically adept enough to fulfil your needs (there are definitely agencies out there willing to help) but this is likely to set you back when it comes to the budget.<\/p>\n The other problem with a digital addition to your wedding stationery set is whether everyone you have invited has access to the internet and the skills to navigate the information you\u2019re providing. Weigh in the balance how many people you\u2019d need to contact individually to give them information and get their responses: maybe it\u2019s just a few and it still makes sense to try something digital for the majority of your other guests.<\/p>\n At this point in time maybe the wedding website isn\u2019t the single solution, just a good way to complement your printed cards.<\/p>\n In accompaniment to the website is a personal email account as a couple to be used for everything related to the wedding. Even if you\u2019re not considering a personal website, it may be a good idea for the general wedding planning process. That way, you\u2019re not clogging up your everyday address or confusing anything with work information and you know exactly where to find everything.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve decided what cards you need, you then need to consider the quantity, the theme or colours, the type of print you like and the written copy that belongs to each card.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve dug out help for all of this before with inspiration for colour and themes like the Gatsby Effect<\/a><\/strong>, and lists of the \u201cbest ofs\u201d like Our Top 5 Letter Press Invitation Designs of 2015<\/a><\/strong>, and help for Save the Date Wording<\/a><\/strong>. Then it\u2019s a matter of choosing whether you\u2019re going to choose a custom design service<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>or find something that suits you in existing cards or even try a DIY wedding invitation (and this is just planning for the wedding stationery?!).<\/p>\n Everything beyond the invitation.<\/strong> Custom stickers<\/a>, labels<\/a>, and venue signage<\/a> at Paperlust Print Shop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The idea for the wedding stationery is a matching suite of cards related to the day that provide all the important information whilst still looking good stuck on peoples fridges. This is probably the first time you\u2019ve planned a wedding so it\u2019s hard to know what you need and what you don\u2019t with everything you\u2019re …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4791,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[147,153,158,162,155,163],"class_list":["post-4790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wedding-invite-blogs","tag-menu-card","tag-rsvp-cards","tag-save-the-date","tag-wedding-invitation","tag-wedding-invitation-ideas","tag-wedding-stationery"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Wedding](\"https:\/\/blogcdn.paperlust.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/SAVE_THE_DATE.jpg\" "\\"Wedding")
<\/a>sourced:\u00a0Paperlust<\/p>\nThe wedding invitation \u2013 Essential<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/a>sourced: Paperlust<\/p>\nThe RSVP card \u2013 Essential (conditional)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/a>sourced: Paperlust<\/p>\nThe Information and Directions card \u2013 Non-essential (conditional)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/a>sourced: Paperlust<\/p>\nThe wishing well or registry card \u2013 (conditional)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/a>sourced: https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/pin\/173599760611081295\/<\/p>\nThe menu card \u2013 Non-essential<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/a>sourced: https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/pin\/408068416211188290\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n
The menu \u2013 Essential <\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/a>sourced: https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/pin\/439945457320204434\/<\/a><\/p>\nThe order of ceremony or the wedding service card \u2013 Non-essential (but probably a good idea)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/a>sourced: https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/pin\/319333429804334123\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>sourced: https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/pin\/555631672749042127\/<\/a><\/p>\nTable place cards or seating chart or both\u2013 Essential (conditional)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/a>sourced: https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/pin\/93027548526800755\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>sourced: https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/pin\/328059154083622805\/<\/a><\/p>\nOther: The Wedding Website and couples email\u2013 Non-essential (but pretty handy)<\/strong><\/h2>\n