A Timeline to Printing Wedding Stationery « Back to list

Planning a wedding can be stressful. There’s so much to do and time just seems to disappear as the date draws closer. Whether you’re planning your own wedding or helping someone plan theirs, you’ll know how important it is to have everything running smoothly from the early stages of planning right up to the big day itself. From invites and cards, to flowers and cars, planning is everything. 

When it comes to your wedding stationery there’s a lot to consider. Planning everything well and in good time will help you stay stress-free as you prepare for the day itself. Have a look at our timeline for printing wedding stationery. It will help you remember everything you’ll need – and when you’ll need to order it.

Picked your date?

As soon as you’ve chosen your date and decided on the sort of wedding you want, you can start thinking about the look and feel you’ll have for all of your wedding stationery. You’ll want everything from the invites to the menus to match beautifully, so whether you’re designing the wedding stationery yourself or having it done by someone else, you can’t think about ordering print until you’re happy with a design style and paper type.

6-9 months before

Save the date cards

If you’re going abroad for your wedding, meaning guests will be away from home for a few days, you’ll need to let them know the date as soon as possible so that they can book time off work, plan holidays and organise child-care if necessary. If your wedding is closer to home, six months before the wedding is a reasonable time to send save the date cards. Any later and your guests may have already booked a holiday or trip, especially if you’re getting married in the summer months. Remember that before you can order any print you’ll need to have chosen the type of paper you want. You’ll see from our website that there are many different luxury and premium paper types. The paper you choose might influence your design, so choose in plenty of time to have your cards designed and ready for sending.

2-4 months before

Time to print your invites!

Around four months before your wedding, you should be well into the design stage of your invites, especially if you’re using a professional designer. Invites typically take longer to design than save the date cards. They have more information and greater detail. Designs can go back and forth a few times before they’re just right, so give yourself time to make sure your invites are printed and ready for sending. Remember too that if you’re using a calligrapher for your invites, you’ll need to factor in their time as well.

Guest information card

Some people include guest information cards with their invites. These can include any extra information guests need to know but that you don’t want to clutter up your invite design, such as travel or parking details, a menu preview or any other additional information about the wedding. If you’re serving more than one choice of meal you can combine this with your RSVP so that guests can pre-order or inform you of any special dietary requirements.

RSVP

Even if your RSVP card is simply a confirmation of attendance, it needs to be sent with your invites and will typically follow the same design style, so have them designed and ready at the same time. 

Belly bands

Belly bands are a great way of securing your invites, RSVPs and other information together in a stylish arrangement. They can really add to the overall feel of the invite and sense of occasion. Have a look here to see what we mean.

Wedding stickers

You can add a custom-designed wedding sticker to your envelope to really add to the feel of a very special day.

1-2 months before

Things are getting real! If you’re getting married abroad send your invites out 10-12 weeks before the big day. You can wait a little longer if you’re keeping it local.

4-8 weeks

Order your print for the day itself

Often when people think of wedding stationery they think only of the invites but there is often much more print used on the day itself. This might include:

• Order of service

An order of service isn’t just for a church wedding. Wherever the wedding takes place there may be hymns or songs, readings, speakers or other performers at the ceremony. The order of service will also give times and the location of the reception if different from that of the ceremony. People often keep the order of service as a souvenir, especially if it’s well designed and printed, so you’ll need at least one for each guest.

• Menu

Even if you sent menu details with the invites, you’ll need some for tables on the day. People love to look at the treats in store and a beautifully printed menu is a great keepsake for you and your guests as well as looking great on the table. 

• Table plan

A numbered table plan at the entrance to the reception is a practical and stylish way to help people easily find their table.

• Table numbers

These might be folded and on the table or flat displayed in special stands on each table.

• Place cards

Folded place cards can incorporate the design used throughout the wedding stationery and add a lovely personal touch for guests.

When the menus, table numbers and place cards feature a stylish, co-ordinated design and are printed on premium quality, luxury paper they become part of the overall table dressing and really add to the sense of occasion.

After the big day

Thank you cards

Once the happy couple has returned from their travels and settled down it’s time to order thank you cards. A thank you card is always appreciated (and let’s face it – we all like to feel appreciated). These are typically sent out any time between two and six weeks after the wedding.

Photo books

Of course, many people have their wedding videoed, but everyone still likes a photographic record of their big day. Saddle-stitched or perfect bound photo books that include beautiful, high-resolution images are wonderful gifts for family as well as perfect souvenirs for the married couple. The photographs can be incorporated into pages following the design style or theme used throughout the wedding stationery to make a unique memento of a very special day.

Wedding Stationery at DigitalPrinting.co.uk

At DigitalPrinting.co.uk we supply couples, wedding planners and wedding stationery designers with a huge range of beautiful, printed stationery for every requirement before, during and after the big day. The superb variety of premium and luxury papers we offer means that you can choose the perfect finish for this most special of days. We have Wedding Sample packs that let you see and feel all of our paper types, so you can make the best possible choice. Whether you’re planning a sophisticated, themed or quirky wedding at home or abroad, we’re sure you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for. All of our products are shown and explained on our easy-to-follow website. If you can’t find what you’re looking for or need more detailed advice, contact us using the live chat on our website or email us at [email protected] and our customer service team will do their very best to help you.

So to make sure your wedding stationery is perfect for your special day, visit www.DigitalPrinting.co.uk today.