The Do’s and Don’ts of Wedding Stationery

Starting your wedding planning can be overwhelming! With so many different things to plan and choose, getting started can be scary but wedding stationery favourites Tree of Hearts is here to help with one of the most important aspects – wedding stationery.

“There are a few important things to consider before you start ordering wedding stationery,” said founder Lisa Forde.

“Have you finalised your guest list and got everybody’s addresses? Have you booked your venue and secured your date? And have you decided your wedding theme and colour scheme? Without this, you could have a messy stationery journey – and no one wants to have to resend invites if dates change or they’ve forgotten who has or hasn’t had their invite. Once you’ve got this all sorted you’re ready!”

Your wedding stationery journey can start more than a year ahead of the big day and Lisa has listed the most important things to consider.

1. Samples: 9 – 12+ months before the big day

“Before you start ordering stationery, consider what themes and colour schemes you want at your wedding,” Lisa adds. “From then, you can start ordering wedding invitation samples to see what you like best.

“Not only does this mean that you can see the invitations in real life and check out their quality, but you can also try a few different stationers and see what their service is like.

“We recommend choosing your invites before the rest of your stationery and then match them accordingly, as you don’t want to change your mind on your design half way through your stationery journey!”

2. Save the Dates: six -12 months before the big day

“Save the Date cards let everyone know the date of your wedding, and can include a few key details,” she explains. “Many people choose to match them to the rest of their wedding stationery, so you want to have chosen your invitations already.

“Save the dates are one of the most important pieces of stationery to have as they make wedding planning easier, as well as giving guests a sneak peek of your day!

“If you are having a destination wedding or a wedding in a busy holiday period, you may want to send your save the dates up to a year in advance, allowing guests to book time off work, book hotels and flights, and save money for your big day.”

3. Wedding Invitations: three – six months before the big day

“Your invitations are your most important and anticipated pieces of wedding stationery so make sure you send them with lots of time to spare.

“Take into consideration the time it will take for your stationers to create and deliver your invites, as well as how long it will take for you to choose, personalise, and send them to guests.

“Some wedding invitations can be bought as bundles, including guest information and RSVP cards, such as our gorgeous ‘Jet’aime’ pocketfold invites. This makes ordering your stationery super easy, and is also super pretty, with the cards all sharing the same design.

“Make sure you include RSVP cards and guest information cards in your invitations. This makes managing your guest list so much easier and will help you plan the next stages of your wedding, such as meals and seating plans. Specifying an RSVP date is essential to getting your replies back and will prevent you paying for unnecessary things down the line.

“Our Tree of Hearts RSVP cards and guest information cards can be the same design as your invites and include an envelope so that guests can easily send them back!”

4. All the extras (table confetti, favour tags, menus, order of service, place cards and table plans): two – four months before the day.

“Of course these can be ordered at any time throughout your wedding journey, but we recommend you order any little extras or venue decorations around two months before the big day to help you get ahead, and so that you haven’t got so much to worry about at the last minute.

“Buying those little extras in between the more essential pieces of stationery helps spread the cost, so your bank account doesn’t suffer too much in one go!”

5. Thank you cards: one – three months after the big day

“It’s hard to imagine life after the wedding but sending thank you cards is an important final part of the journey so you can thank guests for coming and for any gifts that you received.

“We recommend sending thank you cards a couple of months after the day. This gives you enough time to settle into married life, and go on your honeymoon, without making guests wait ages for their card.”

Tree of Hearts is the ultimate one-stop-shop for wedding stationery – from invites to order of service to thank you cards.