Oh no! You’ve made a mistake and sent the invitations to print with an error or something you need to change. A last-minute change can be so frustrating during the wedding process, so it’s important to use professionals who can help you navigate the situation when it arises.
At Dodeline, we’ve been in the very fast-paced, high end wedding industry in Charleston, SC for over 15 years, so we’ve kind of seen it all. We regularly get phone calls from panicked couples who decided to DIY their wedding invitations or had a problem with another couple and are hoping we can help with a last-minute change. Ruining envelopes with at home printers or attempting to make wax seals is a particularly frequent call.
Having been a wedding invitation designer for so long now, we work hard to make sure our clients have thought through the logistics of their wedding stationery so a last-minute change order isn’t ever necessary. Here are some of the ways we help avoid this unfortunately common mishap!
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Embrace the Proper Timelines
Just about every couple we speak with says the same thing – I know what the normal timeline is, but our wedding is a destination, so we need to do it a lot sooner. Trust us when we say that 98% of weddings in 2025 are destination weddings. Very few people live in their hometowns anymore, and even if they do, it’s unlikely that all their family and friends do.
When you try to send your wedding invitations way in advance, you really run a high risk of having a problem with a last-minute change. For example, sending the invitation out 6 months in advance means you probably had to print it 7 months in advance. One of the most common things that people find they have to tweak is the time of the wedding, so when you send them out that earlier, you’ve locked yourself in very very far in advance. Sure, you could certainly send out a text or something if you have to change it, but whether people remember that or continue to reference the invitation is a real tossup.
So, listen to your wedding invitation designer and do things on the proper schedule so that all of your printed information is set in stone and no last-minute changes will be necessary.
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Identify any potential issues ahead of time
One of the most common issues we encounter is for the tasting to be scheduled after the invitations are meant to go to print. When you’re doing a seated dinner, you’ll usually need to have the tasting before that so you can put those entrée selections on the response card.
When you work with a professional wedding invitation designer like Dodeline, we will discuss that with you in our design consultation and make a plan. Often, we will have you approve everything except the reply card. That way, all the other pieces can go to print – especially ones that require specialty printing like letterpress or pockets or that sort of thing – and the reply card can be the last thing we do so the information is most up to date and correct.
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Understand the Process
Wedding stationers usually work on your order in two phases: the design phase and the production phase. At Dodeline, we make a very clear distinction between the two. Once the design is complete, you will fill out a Final Approval Form to sign off on both the invoice and the final design. When that comes through on our end, no more changes can be made.
So, if you have a last-minute change come up after you have approved your order for print, you have to understand that there may be fees involved. Materials are ordered, plates made, production files created, and more as soon as that design is approved, so it is not a small thing to make changes in that phase.
For this reason, we always recommend you thoroughly review your proof, have a friend look too, and don’t just casually sign off on it. We have had so many people do that over the years and discover they didn’t think of something important. At the end of the day, you know your wedding best, so the ultimate responsibility for making sure information is correct and final lies with you. We do our best to make sure that it is on our end, too!
What are some examples of last-minute changes?
During our years as a wedding invitation designer, we’ve seen quite a few…
- A couple found out that the groom’s family was very upset that they weren’t mentioned on the main invitation and the couple had to reprint it
- Omissions / name misspellings on programs are very common as there is so much more information on them
- A bride having managed the design process and then suddenly the groom starts getting involved and everything gets turned on its head 😉
- The time. Always the time.
If you are looking for an experienced partner to help you navigate the world of wedding stationery, we at Dodeline Design would love to help you! Follow us on Instagram or reach out anytime.
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