With the start of a new year & the beginning of wedding season, I have decided to kick off a new series of posts sharing my thoughts & helpful tips on weddings with a focus on the wedding invitation suite {of course} & stationery in general. I will start with...letterpress!
Letterpress is a beautiful, tactile printing method for your wedding stationery suite, however, many couples feel letterpress is out of their reach. While sometimes it is, there are ways to have letterpress by budgeting & thinking creatively. Here are a few of my suggestions for couples who are beginning the process of choosing their letterpress wedding stationery:
- One color letterpress will always be less expensive than two colors. Two colors require two passes through the press, which requires more time. I recommend adding color by lining the back of the invitation or inside of the envelope with a decorative paper or having a colored envelope. If you really want two colors, print just your invitation in two colors & the remaining pieces in one color.
- The size of the invitations will affect the price as well. Unless a large amount of text needs to be included, an invitation need not be the standard A7 {5 x 7”} wedding invitations have become. Couples may opt for A6 {4.5 x 6.25”} or A2 {4.25 x 5.5”} for their invitation & 4bar {3.5 x 5”} for their RSVP. Smaller invitation suites are less expensive, more eco-friendly, & less expensive to mail.
- This does not apply to all stationers, but I offer both letterpress & screen printing. Often, I will letterpress the invitation & screen print the remaining pieces, whether they be the RSVP, directions, accommodations cards, etc. Splurge on the invitation because it is the main piece of the suite & the piece most guests are likely to keep.
- Create a website for your wedding. There a multiple resources to create easy & free websites such as My Wedding or Project Wedding. If you would like, buy a creative domain name like www.weddingbythesea.com {that is just an example, but it should have to do with your wedding whether it is a theme, location, etc.}. Domain names usually start around $10 through sites such as Go Daddy. Use your wedding website to share all of the important information about your wedding.
- Instead of a separate RSVP card, add a line at the bottom of your invitation with a phone number to call or your wedding website that you just created. If you need an RSVP because you have meal choices, make it a postcard. You will save money on not having envelopes & you use less paper, making your invitations more eco-friendly again. Postcards also require less postage.
- Instead of including a separate card for directions, accommodations, etc. include a small business size card that contains your wedding website.
- If your reception is at a separate location than your ceremony, but you are not having a black-tie affair, include a reception line at the bottom of your invitation.
- Embellishments such as belly bands, fabric bands, ribbons, envelope liners, layering the invitation on colored paper, & pocket folds will always cost more & are not always necessary.
- Do not have an inner envelope. Traditionally, invitations were tucked into an inner & outer envelope. The outer envelope had the guests’ address & served the purpose of protecting the inner envelope & invitation inside. The inner envelope would have the names of who, exactly, was invited to the wedding. For example, the outer envelope would say, “Mr. & Mrs. John Smith” & the inner envelope would either say, “Mr. & Mrs. John Smith, Miss Jane Smith” if children are invited, or just the adults’ names if children are not. So, now that you had a little history lesson, modern couples are opting for no inner envelope & addressing the envelopes to all guests invited. Again, this saves money by not having an extra envelope & your invitation is lighter, requiring less postage.
- Instead of having your return address printed on the main envelope & the front of the RSVP envelope, have your stationer create a custom file for you so you may have a rubber stamp made. I offer this service to my clients, taking care of having the rubber stamp made & delivered directly to them. Rubber stamps & ink pads average $20 & it is something you will have for all thank you note envelopes you need to write after the honeymoon!
- Write the guests’ addresses on the envelopes yourself or enlist the help of a friend or family member who has nice handwriting. I strongly recommend hand addressing your wedding invitations. I know it is tempting to run them through your home printer, but it really is much more personal for a guest to receive a hand-written envelope.
- Most importantly, set a budget for your stationery needs & share it with your stationer. Any stationer that I know, including myself, wants to make sure you get what you want, or as close as possible, & not go over your budget. It is helpful to remember that approximately 3 – 5% of your wedding budget should be spent on all of your wedding stationery needs. With that said, having a budget will allow you to know when you can splurge on something special like vintage stamps or hiring a calligrapher.
While there are many details to think about for your wedding, from your dress to the flowers, food to the rings, your wedding stationery is an equally important detail. They are not simply just pieces of paper, they are the first detail of your wedding guests see & they do just what they are called – invite people to your big day!
Great tips! Thanks for sharing all of this wonderful info!
Posted by: Daily Sip Studios | January 15, 2010 at 08:38 PM
This is a great resource that you've put together. I'm sure I'll be referring people here often!
Posted by: LetterpressObs | January 17, 2010 at 02:48 PM
Excellent Sarah!
Posted by: Miss B. | January 20, 2010 at 09:59 PM
Wow! this is simple but yet elegant! I like it a lot
Posted by: katherine | January 22, 2010 at 04:15 AM
I don't get it. What's the relationship between purchasing a domain and letterpress tips?
Posted by: Vermont Wedding | January 22, 2010 at 04:15 PM
Vermont Wedding - creating a wedding website will save you paper and letterpress printing costs. Instead of having mulitple pieces of paper in your invitation suite like directions, accommodations information, registry information etc. you may include one small card directing guests to your website that contains all of that helpful information. Thanks!
Posted by: Sarah | January 22, 2010 at 04:27 PM
I think the reason you might buy a domain is so that a lot of details can go on your website, instead of having to be on the invitations? I may be wrong.
Posted by: Nicole | January 29, 2010 at 10:41 PM
I think the stamp idea is great. Do you have any recommendations for somewhere to order a custom stamp?
Posted by: Mel | April 05, 2010 at 10:11 PM
This is an informative one. Thanks for the wonderful post.
Posted by: Vermont Wedding Location | September 26, 2010 at 05:16 PM
I like you on facebook and follow through google reader!
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Posted by: Martinique | March 28, 2013 at 09:44 AM