Wedding Stationery Etiquette

Let's take a look at the rules of etiquette for some of the other traditional wedding stationery you may chose to provide.

Save The Date Card – This card can be as formal or light and breezy as your client wants. There are no particular rules of etiquette here.

Order Of The Day Card - An order of the day is for civil ceremonies where guests will not be singing hymns or sitting through a long ceremony. This is a brief itinerary of the day's events, such as the time the groom will arrive, the time the bride will arrive, the time and place of the ceremony, the time and place of the reception, etc. Order of the day cards are used in place of the more formal wedding program.

Response Card – More traditional wedding invitations often include a response card, in the same size and design as the invitation, along with an envelope. Your text here is optional, you just need to provide a place for them to let the bride know if they'll be attending.

Wedding Programs – Again, there is no traditional format for this, but most wedding programs include:

• The full names of the bride and groom
• The wedding date
• The city and state
• The order of the wedding ceremony, inluding musical selections, the composers, the performer, as well as readings, the author and the reader.
• A brief description of each attendant's relationship to the bride or groom
• An explanation of any ethnic customs or rituals used during the ceremony.
• A brief Thank You to everyone for attending

Menu Cards - There are usually 5 menu cards per table of 10 guests, and they include the menu details and a listing of any wines that are being served.

Place Cards – Place cards help your guests know where to sit and can be a simple as a hand written card or you can get as elaborate as you like.

Thank You Cards – Thank You cards should be in the same design as the invitation and are usually left blank inside as each will have a different, unique message written by the clients.

Most of the suppliers that you contact for your wedding invitation blanks will also carry a full line of stationery products to go along with each card design.

Now that you know the basics of wedding stationery etiquette, you can now start creating wedding invitations.

How to Choose Paper for your Wedding Invitations

If you're creating wedding invitations for your clients or you're making a wedding invitation for your own wedding, you know that a wedding is one of the most memorable events of everyone's life. Thus it is essential to use a high quality paper for your wedding invitations to make it the best. Go to an art store, craft store, Paper Company, or copy stores to begin your search. With the use of personal computers and e-commerce, specialty paper can be found in many online stores today.

Here are some useful tips:

• Select a paper based on your theme of wedding. Example: for a fall wedding, use a leaf theme.
• Keep within your budget. Some papers are very expensive, so shop around to find the best deals.
• Purchase extra paper for mistakes and last minute invitees.
• Make sure the line of paper is in stock and not on clearance.
• If available, coordinate matching envelopes with paper selection.
• Always use a heavy stock for the single layer invitation or for the bottom sheet of any layered invitation.
• Shop in bulk for discount prices.
• Use a light weight paper for the top layers, belly bands or wraps.
• Look for paper that comes in 8.5" x 11" size. This is a standard size paper that you can feed through your personal printer.