Wedding Stationery Tips from an Expert

wedding invitation with photo of gold love letters balloons

Do you know your belly band from your envelope liner?

Need help and wedding stationery tips? You want to stand out from the crowd, to have the edge on everyone else. One sure fire way of doing that is by setting the scene from the outset. From the very moment that you send out your save the date cards… As I do the rounds of the wedding fairs, I get to meet loads of different wedding suppliers. And at Barnett Hill I was with the lovely Natalie, graphic designer and owner of Flamboyant Invites.

newspaper article showing wedding stationery

So I thought that I’d ask her some questions to help you as you make your stationery decisions, and here’s what she had to say.

 Where do brides go for stationery inspiration?

I think understandably brides will always go to Pinterest as a first port of call, or some other online portal. They’ll get ideas from there and from magazines. But I think that if they want to include something that’s very personal to them, then they need a bespoke service. I offer both bespoke and more off the shelf designs, which can be adapted. Quite often I get brides coming to me saying “I really love this design, but my colour scheme is… can you incorporate these colours?” In which case the answer is yes!

 What about co-ordination?

Sometimes venues will provide some element of stationery. But for a more curated look or theme I offer co-ordinated stationery. That is everything from save the date cards to table plans.

What about current trends?

Space themes; stars and galaxies are seen in both fashion and stationery. Another big theme is fantasy, with things like unicorns and mermaids because of the popularity of Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings. And for colours it’s pastels, candy pink, green and blue. Other popular trends are natural textures like marble, cork and wood. These are bohemian and natural luxury. Minimalist lines using bold and vibrant colours are popular. As are the tactile crafts of origami, paper craft and embroidery. I’m seeing lots of ancient geometric patterns and retro holographic foils. And last but not least cactus and succulents  are popular variations.

night sky wedding invitation

What stationery is available?

 Traditionally save the date cards are sent out up to a year in advance and these are a good way to pin people down. For the environmentally concious couple who don’t want to send out heaps and heaps of paper the wedding website is gaining in popularity. The main needs are the invitation and perhaps the details card, although the wedding website can impart all of the details of for example travel or accomodation. The RSVP is nice to have – something through the post for you to monitor responses. And these help in the excitement of build up of the day Those are the key elements but in addition to these, you could have envelope liners and belly bands.

What’s a belly band?

A Belly band is a band that keeps all of your flat stationery items together. Lots of people choose to DIY their belly bands. From pretty braids or string for a more rustic look, to a paper band that co-ordinates with their stationery suite. And the envelope liner again is co-ordinated with the design, an added extra to tie everything together.  

What about on the day stationery? 

Finally think about your table plan, it can be backed onto a foam board or other thicknesses depending on how it is going to be mounted. Also menus, for example this could be a little A6 size or a DL (3rd of an A3) perhaps with a personal message on it. Also place cards and table numbers or names. Place cards can be really fun and unusual; I recently did a square card but orientated as a diamond shape and these were mounted in air plants. with all of the on the day stationery you can let your personalities shine bright.

table seating plan stands by the barn doorway, with the tables set for the wedding breakfast behind

 

Who do you cater for? 

Anyone from the DIY bride through to someone who wants the full service of printed stationery and even bespoke design. If you would like more information or further wedding stationery tips please get in touch with Natalie at flamboyantinvites

Updated for 2024. Images provided by Flamboyant Invites (except the Barn image)

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I’m Mercedes and I’m a local Surrey wedding photographer. If you are looking for relaxed, creative wedding photography, then look no further. I will provide you with lots of candid photographs that tell the story of your day. Your bride and groom portraits will be relaxed and stress-free. I won’t take you away for ages – this is your day and I know you want to be enjoying the party not spending the day “having photos”!

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