Invitations and other wedding stationary

Before ordering your wedding invitations, or start making them yourself, consider all the stationary you will need for the wedding. It doesn't begin and end with invitations!

Here is a list of the most common stationary you will need for the wedding:



SAVE THE DATE CARDS

These cards are invaluable in today's busy world! They tell your guests which date they should book so long, and you don't need to give all the secrets (like the venue) away yet!

I found a wonderful site for save the date magnets at www.savethedate.co.za

The magnets are 9cm x 5.5cm and come in a wide range of designs both in the form of ready made designs or a more personal design including your photograph and own wording. Additionally you can choose to have the magnets attached to a piece of card announcing your intended date, and for the busy bride even in envelopes.





INVITATIONS

Your invitations are often the first impression your guests will get abput your wedding. Make sure they tie in with your colour scheme and theme. There are a bounty of websites too get inspiration from (see previous post...) or you can have them made to order.

Gauteng: Under the African Sky, Fralenco, Twirls, Just Art Design, Santana Graphix, Paperwayz

Cape: Paper Garden, Creative Lounge, Event and Design, The Letterpress Company

KZN: Glass Box Creations

Some pics for inspiration!







I decided that I will make the invitations and all the other wedding stationary myself. In the beginning I thought that this would be a money saving option, but it turns out that if you want to produce a professional looking invitation yourself it costs just about as much as having it done...

The other main drawback of DIY is that you are not guaranteed that the paper you bought won't be discontinued or that the stock you ordered gets stuck in Kuruman on the way to Johannesburg... Will keep you updated as the process of invitation design takes place!

RSVP CARDS

RSVP cards can be included in your invitation, although these days we all have e-mail and the need for these cards are not so much any more! Here are some examples of wording for your RSVP card:

The most common styles of RSVP wording are:

Example 1

The favor of a reply is requested
by June 16, 2006.
M__________________________
____Accepts with pleasure
____Declines with regrets

or

M_____________________________

Will ______ Attend

Example 2

We look forward to
celebrating with you.
Please reply by June 16, 2006
M___________________________
____ accepts _____ regrets
And then I saw this very cheeky one online:



A Bride in the Making

THANK YOU NOTES

You want to send your guests a thank you note after the wedding to show your appreciation for any gifts received. Make sure your thank you notes tie in with the rest of your stationary! Some examples of wording can be found at Weddings.about.com

ORDER OF SERVICE

This is the program for the ceremony which informs your guests as to who is in the bridal party, who the officate is etc. At CapeWeddings you can find some inspiration as to the wording. Also, Pam Black from Celebration House has some good advice.

SEATING CHART

A fixed seating arrangement allows you to place people of like minds together and keep those you don't want to mix apart! Present your seating chart prominently at the entrance to the reception venue and make sure the font size is big enough so everybody can read it!

The WedAlert Wedding Planning Blog will help you plan and design your seating chart.

PLACE CARDS

You can allocate guests to tables but the choice of seat is theirs, or you can allocate them fixed seats at the table. For the latter you will need place cards with each guests name printed on them. You can have fun with the place card design - use your favours as a place card, tie a printed ribbon to each serviette, personalise serviette rings or wine glasses or print a tent card with the guests names. The ideas are endless!