Average 0/5

Guide to Wedding Stationery

Home / All Wedding Articles / Advice and Etiquette / Guide to Wedding Stationery

Review This Article

You must login to add a review. Login or register by clicking on the tab at the top of the page.

With so many options of wedding stationery, here is our guide to what you can order and the information to include

SAVE THE DATE CARDS

It is becoming more common for people to send a "save the date card" before sending the main wedding invitation.

These are particuarly useful if you are getting married at a time when people might be expected to have other commitments (i.e. Christmas and summer holidays). These cards can be sent as soon as a wedding date has been finalised (most usually when the wedding venue has been booked). As these cards do not contain a great deal of detail regarding the arrangements they can be sent out much earlier than an invitation and are typically sent about 6-8 months before the wedding.

WEDDING DAY INVITATIONS

It would be sensible to send out wedding invitations about 8-12 weeks prior to the wedding day to allow plenty of time for the guests to reply. The earlier people reply the earlier you will have certainty as to the number of people coming to your wedding reception. The wording to be included in the wedding invitation is a matter for personal choice. We offer some suggestions here, however if you want to be more casual or humourous you should use any wording you wish.

When considering how many invitations to order remember that most invitations will be sent to two guests and so the number of invitations you will need will be broadly half the number of guests you have invited. However in addition to this it is sensible to order a few extra invites to allow for some mistakes when writing them out or for extra guests that slipped your mind when you first wrote your guest list!

Click here to view our guide on styles on wedding invitations

EVENING INVITATIONS

As for the day time wedding invitations the wedding evening invitation should be sent about 6 weeks prior to the wedding day. Again as for the day time invitations you will need around half the number of invitations as you have evening only guests plus a few extras to allow for some mistakes when writing.

REPLY CARDS

Reply cards are sometimes included with wedding invitations to encourage a quick reply this in turn allows you to finalise numbers and cost earlier on. These are optional and some couples chose not to include reply cards with their invitations. It is a matter of personal taste.

COST OF POSTING WEDDING INVITATIONS

You will need to consider the cost of posting these, as it can push the weight of the invitations over the royal mail postal cost, and also the price of including a stamp with the reply cards.

Click here to visit the Royal Website for Price of Posting

ORDER OF SERVICE / Order of the Day

An Order of Service card is traditionally used for church weddings, where hymns and bible readings are listed.

An Order of the Day is for civil ceremonies and includes the 'timetable' for the day so your guests know what is happening and when.

An example of the general content of an order of the day is shown below.

1.15pm Groom meets guests on arrival
2.00pm Arrival of the Bride
2.15pm The Marriage Ceremony in the Library, Conducted by Rachel Green - Registrar
3.00pm Champagne and hors d'oeuvres on the Terrace
4.00pm Photographs
5.30pm The Wedding Banquet in the Great Hall
8.00pm Evening Guest arrive
9.00pm Evening Buffet Served
9.30pm Dancing in the Marquee to 'Midnight Jazz'

WEDDING PLACE CARDS

Place cards are used to indicate where each guest is seated at the wedding breakfast and are used to compliment to wedding table plan. These can be simple stylish cards, placed on the table settings, or more creative place cards that compliment your theme.

You would normally only need enough placecards for each of the guests attending your wedding breakfast. It is always sensible to order a few more in case you make mistakes when writing them out.

WEDDING MENU

Menu cards are used to let your guests know what is on the menu for the wedding breakfast. This will include not only what food will be served but also the timing of speeches and toasts. It is advisable to check with your wedding venue before ordering your menu cards to check that it accords with their understanding of the menu.

THANK YOU CARDS

Thank you cards are sent out after the wedding to thank all your guests for their kind wedding gifts.

Many couples like to include a picture of themselves from their day on these invites, with a handwritten personal message. You will need to order / make a broadly similar number of thank you cards as you do wedding invitations.

Email To A Friend