Getting married in 2015?
Congratulations on your engagement! Now to get planning...
While this may seem a daunting prospect with plenty of things to consider, it is your opportunity to communicate your love for your partner to your family, friends and loved ones. Whether it is large and flamboyant ceremony that you are going for, or minimal and simple, there will always be room for extensive planning to be undertaken to achieve the wedding of your dreams.
Your wedding invitation can set the tone for your entire day, and is often the one thing that will build up the anticipation for your ceremony, signalling the formality, theme and style of the day.
While this is one thing to consider, it is also important that your own personalities are reflected in your invites for that added personal touch. This could be the difference between your guests running to their calendar to reserve the date or yawning as they add your invitation to another pile of other mail wondering how they’ll get out of the event.
Just like your wedding then, plenty of preparation should go into the design and information contained on your wedding stationary – here are our top tips to ensure that you’ve covered all the bases.
Themes and symbols
Alongside the location, time of day and date of your wedding; your wedding invitation traditionally should hint to the style of your day. Is your wedding taking place in a church? On a boat? What are the formalities, glamorous, contemporary or casual? If you and your partner both share an interest that you’d like celebrated then this is often a place to put it.
Some couples opt to place a logo or duogram of their initials to signify a personal touch which can be carried through to as many aspects of the wedding as they desire.
Colour palette
Your wedding invitation or save the dates often dictate the colour palette of the ceremony. However choose carefully as you will want to keep readability in mind. Consider the colour of bridesmaid dresses, cravats, table decorations and wedding accessories – will you want these carried over to the invites to hint at what your guests can look forward to during your ceremony?
For summer weddings consider brighter colours like pale pinks and oranges – nothing to bold, while for autumn and winter weddings think silver or pale blues.
Shape and size
Rectangular cards are often the more preferred choice, however you may not want to go by traditional methods and perhaps opt to be more playful or modern with scalloped edging or romantic shapes – however keep in mind envelope sizes if you are likely to be distributing them through the post as if they aren’t standard envelope size this can increase postage costs.
Distribution
It is likely that you will have guests scattered all over the country or even the world, so do place close consideration to this as a bulky shape or thick card could prove costly. If you are distributing by hand, why not consider our new colour envelope printing service which begins in September for that extra special touch? Otherwise consider calligraphy.
Choose your words wisely
Don’t overcrowd your invitations or save the dates with unnecessary wording. List only the key information about your event and consider words which ‘invite’ such as ‘request the honour of your presence’ or ‘invite you’ which request a response from the guest invited. If you’re a fan of poetry or have a particular song lyric which means something to you as a couple then consider making this a part of your theme, not just for your wedding stationary but your ceremony as a whole.
Include clear RSVP details so that your guests know where to respond.
The early bird...
Bear in mind that save the date cards should be distributed to all guests at least six months prior to your wedding ceremony as it can take time to design and print the right styles that suit your requirements.
Wedding invitations should be sent out at least 3 months before the wedding to ensure that your guests have plenty of time to RSVP so plan these far in advance also.
Remember
Printing for your wedding doesn’t just have to begin and end with the ceremony but can incorporate guest thank you cards for gifts and attendance.
Choose Universal Print
At Universal Print, we can help you plan and print all paper parts of your wedding, from save the date cards and wedding invitations through to orders of service with a wide selection of high quality cards to choose from and a team of experienced graphic designers who can work with you to perfect all of your wedding stationary to ensure that they all combine and match the theme, colours and formality of your ceremony.
Contact us today to see how we can help you plan your wedding stationary in advance of your 2015 ceremony.