The wedding stationery suite is such an important piece of the wedding puzzle. It provides crucial information to your guests, sets the tone for the wedding celebration and builds excitement for the weekend festivities. We partner with the best stationers around to custom-create a gorgeous wedding invitation suite and corresponding event day paper and signage that helps to tell the story of the event and the couple we are celebrating. My go-to stationer is Jen Ebert from Prim & Pixie. She’s got a keen eye on what’s hot in stationery design and is incredibly knowledgeable about the etiquette, production timelines and intricacies of creating a distinctive and unforgettable suite.
We recently sat down with Jen to style up some of the stationery suites we’ve collaborated on for our clients and to get answers on some of the most frequently asked questions about creating a stationery suite. Engaged couples, take note! This is for you! Read on as Jen breaks it all down for us as we style the suites and Krista Mason expertly photographs them. Be sure to download our Wedding Invitation Addressing Guide below!
What sort of schedule do you recommend for sending out your save the dates and wedding invitations?
Save the dates are typically sent out 6-10 months prior to your wedding. If you are planning a destination wedding or one where most of your guests will be traveling far, we recommend 8-10 months to be safe.
For wedding invitations, we suggest setting the “reply by” date at around 4 weeks prior to the wedding date, and having the invitations in your guests hands around 3-6 weeks prior to that. So, ideally your invitations would be sent out 7-10 weeks before your big day!
What is a common misconception with designing a paper suite?
That you have to stick with what you’ve seen before, or what’s been done before.
There is nothing we can get behind faster than a bride that is willing to think outside the box with her wedding invitations! Don’t feel restricted by standard paper sizes, traditional applications, and thinking that paper is the only medium available. We are huge fans of foil printing, which works on a variety of materials, like acrylic, wood, and leather. We also love bringing in different materials to hold the invitation suite together. Twine and hang tags, leather cording and feathers, and hand-died ribbon are some of our favorites.
We always encourage couples to use their invitation suite not only to represent what’s to come on their wedding day, but also to represent their personalities and their relationship. If tradition isn’t your thing, play with wording; don’t feel restricted by wedding invitation wording templates online!
What is the most frequently asked question from your clients?
Postage, postage, postage. Not the most exciting topic, but one that we get asked about a lot. Typically, our custom invitation suites weigh around 2 ounces, but they can be heavier depending on the different design elements incorporated. We are big fan of Zazzle custom stamps, but if you are willing to splurge a bit more, vintage postage is a fun way to infuse color and uniqueness into your invitation suite! As a rule of thumb, we always suggest weighing your finalized invitation suite prior to buying postage.
What advice would you give to clients who want to include custom stationery or signage for their wedding day and what are some options that are available?
There are honestly limitless options for how you can translate your invitation suite into designs at your wedding. The most common items we produce are bar menus, welcome signs, escort and place cards, and foil stamped napkins. To bring in more customization though, we love a good acrylic stir stick, are obsessed with custom escort displays, and will never get sick of utilizing laser cut acrylic, foam core and wood to create custom signage that will wow your guests who have often never seen anything like it.
Bringing in custom paper goods and graphic elements on your wedding day helps blend the initial taste of your wedding the guests got through your invitation suite with everything your guests see on your wedding day. While there are plenty of online stores to get pre-designed wood signs and bar menus with your event details, there is nothing like getting your wedding photos back where all of the design elements use the same typography, graphic elements, and color scheme. It definitely helps brand the event in a way that guests (and you) won’t forget.
Such great advice; thanks, Jen! Learn even more about Jen and her process at Krista Mason’s blog and be sure to check out Prim and Pixie for your custom stationery needs
Team Credits:
Photography: Krista Mason Photography // Paper Goods: Prim and Pixie // Styling: RO and Co. Events