Swinging from elegant to quirky, stationery covers everything from wedding invitations to the wedding ceremony, menus, table placements, tags for the favours bags and thankyou notes.
Stationery is a way a couple can express their individuality through what has become an art form.
It's important, and thoughtful, that guests receive their invitations early, particularly those who are coming from overseas and may benefit from early airline bookings. A good way of getting around this is to send out a ``Save-this-date'' message to overseas friends and family, as well as those within New Zealand who who will be travelling a distance. This can be done by electronic or written notes, or messages posted on social websites, which can be followed up by a formal invitation later.
Guests within New Zealand should receive their invitations eight to 10 weeks beforehand, particularly if the wedding is to be held close to Christmas or Easter, when airline bookings are at a premium.
Stationery designers are there to create a professional and perfect finish as well as to advise as to what is in style. Trends at the moment are retro, vintage and vector images. The choice of paper and the physical layout of the stationery are huge factors in making the invitation
unique and memorable.
Couples are best to have all stationery looked after by the same designer to retain a consistent look and finish. It also means that the overall cost can be lowered, as once the design is decided on it is easy for the designer to use it in everything from the service sheets to the placecards
at the reception.
Various design details can come into the equation, such as the colour theme
of the wedding.
Professionals from commercial printers to designers who handcraft stationery can supply samples, information packs and quotes. Talk to them.
NB: When designing stationery keep in mind that invitations in particular can make a great keepsake for guests, so add a little bit of your personal style!
