Engagement to Wedding- What Stationery Do I need to plan my wedding?

Congratulations you are now officially engaged!!!! The advert has been run in the Telegraph.

 Now the fun begins

 To set the tone for your big day there will have to be a lot of planning to keep the keep you wedding stationery consistent with the Wedding Invitations may require some planning on your part. To help you we have prepared a list of which invitations you need.

• Engagement Party Invitations – The engagement invitations announce to your family and friends and that you have taken the next step in your relationship and are formalising your commitment to each other and wish to spend the rest of your life with the person you love. The engagement invitations can be totally different to your wedding invitations and don’t have to cost the earth. More importantly it is highly unlikely you will know your colour schemes at this stage of your plans.

• Save the Date Cards - These are really designed to let your guests know prior to your wedding the date you have in mind. These are generally sent out at least 12 months before the big day and inform your guests of the day and place of the wedding. These are perfect for overseas weddings whereby people would have to save up for the trip.

• Bridal Shower Invitation or Kitchen Tea – Your bridal shower or kitchen tea is an optional event and is becoming more popular in the UK as each year passes. These should only reflect the time, date and location of the event. Many people are now doing this by text and email to save on costs.
• Hens or Stag Night Invitations – Hens and Stag Nights usually include a theme and may be undertaken in remote location, such as a weekend away etc. These are normally provided by the organisers if you are having them.

• Wedding invitations – Your wedding invitations should be sent out 6-8 weeks prior to the event if you are In Ireland and the USA however in England they tend to send these out 3 months before the big day. This is the first indication of the theme of the wedding so it is important to take time over choosing the correct invitation. It is important to let your guests know who is hosting the event ie Mum, Dad or you etc where and when the wedding will take place as well as the formalness and dress code of your big day. Generally it is good manners to include an RSVP so that your guests can inform you of their intentions of coming and Dietary requirements. It is usually accepted to include a stamp for them to do this. You could also take it one step further and make your own stamps with your picture on it. (Smilers)

•  These should be sent to each couple, Single Guest plus their Partner or guest, and to a whole family it is also polite to send one to the priest however they rarely attend.

• You may wish to include a map and gift list

Wedding Ceremony

 Order of Service programs – These are becoming less popular but are a nice idea so that your guests can better follow the ceremony. It is also a good idea for the readers and allows the ceremony to be seamless.

Table Plans Menus and Place cards all work together and are used in the reception venue to identify the seating arrangement for your guests informing them of where they should sit. What they are eating etc.

Thank you cards - Thank you cards let your guest know that you appreciate them coming to your wedding and also gives you an opportunity to thank them for their gift.  These should be sent out no more than 8 weeks after the wedding. It is also possible to personalise your thank yous with the actual gift received and will save you valuable time later on when you have returned to work.