{"id":131,"date":"2021-07-19T09:10:22","date_gmt":"2021-07-19T09:10:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dodelinedesign.com\/blog\/?p=131"},"modified":"2021-07-19T09:47:46","modified_gmt":"2021-07-19T09:47:46","slug":"the-dos-and-donts-of-wedding-stationery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dodelinedesign.com\/blog\/the-dos-and-donts-of-wedding-stationery\/","title":{"rendered":"The Do\u2019s and Don\u2019ts of Wedding Stationery"},"content":{"rendered":"

As couples begin the process of wedding planning, stationery often is one of the first things that come to mind. You\u2019re getting married and it\u2019s important to spread the word! After the venue, date, and caterer are booked, it\u2019s time to turn your attention to the all-important destination save the dates<\/a>. No matter where you chose to get married, almost any wedding in 2021 is a destination wedding to some extent \u2013 so few of us live in our hometowns these days.<\/p>\n

One of the biggest things you can do to help yourself out as soon as you get engaged is to start gathering addresses. It\u2019s a bigger chore than it sounds like! You can use services like Postable to collect addresses, but eventually you will need a nicely formatted (think: everything capitalized correctly, proper names, etc.) Excel spreadsheet for printing or for the calligrapher. Start working on that right away!<\/p>\n

Save the dates are an announcement, not an invitation. They are simply letting your guests know when and where you plan to tie the knot. That said, it\u2019s not the worst idea to be a little more informative with your save the date. At a minimum, you should include a wedding website address (unless your wedding is very small) so that guests can find more information about the day.<\/p>\n

\"wedding
Photo credit: Dana Cubbage<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sometimes, we include information on the back of the save the date. We always feel that if it\u2019s something you REALLY want your guests to know, you should print it and not expect that they will make it to the wedding website to find that out. For example, if you are really hoping to have everyone stay at a certain resort or hotel, print the block information and details on the back of your save the date. That way it can\u2019t be missed!<\/p>\n

As for design concepts, it\u2019s always nice to introduce your colors and overall vibe with the save the date design. Consider using a fun envelope color or incorporating some element of the city or venue where you\u2019re hosting the big day. Obviously, being based in Charleston, we love doing that as there is no shortage of amazing scenery to work with in the Holy City!<\/p>\n

Once the design is finalized, you\u2019ll place your order. The single biggest wedding stationery mistake couples make is over ordering the save the dates. You do not need a save the date for each guest; rather, most of them are probably couples. One per household! That\u2019s why pulling that address list together first thing is so important \u2013 it will give you a better idea of the actual number you need.<\/p>\n

After save the dates are happily in the mail, you can relax a bit until it\u2019s time for the wedding invitation card design<\/a>. Typically, we recommend starting that process about 6 months before the wedding, knowing that the invitations should be approved for production about 3 months before the big day.<\/p>\n

Typical wedding invitation timing is as follows:<\/p>\n

Wedding Date<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Month Before: RSVPs due<\/li>\n
  2. Months Before: Invitations in the mail<\/li>\n
  3. Months Before: Invitations approved<\/li>\n
  4. \u00a0\u2013 6 Months Before: Design Phase<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Often couples worry and want to send it out sooner. Remember, that\u2019s what the save the date was for! Sending it out sooner doesn\u2019t generate a reliable list. If you want to go a little sooner, we recommend no more than 3 months out, which means you have to have everything finalized 4 months out. A lot of times people forget that sending out the invitations means finalizing menus, other events, time, etc. and it can no longer be changed. No reason to do that sooner than necessary and risk having to reprint if something needs to change (it\u2019s usually the time!).<\/p>\n

    So, to re-cap the big do\u2019s and don\u2019ts:<\/p>\n