Wedding stationery – it’s one of those expenses that seems to creep out of nowhere only to bite you in the rear-end when you least expect it. You’ve taken care of the venue, the catering, the flowers and so on and so forth, so surely there’s not really a great deal else to pay for, right?
Wrong – approach wedding stationary with a less-than proactive attitude and you could find yourself staring down the barrel of a quite colossal expense.
But however important the wedding stationary is in terms of the role it plays in any wedding, there’s really no need to go spending the Earth on it. After all, it’s more of a functional contributor than something that contributes to the success or otherwise of the day, and while it’s important to make sure the stationary is both elegant and appropriate, this doesn’t mean it has to be regal or ostentatious.
Been wondering how you can make real savings on your wedding stationary while still delivering that all-important ‘wow’ factor for guests? Here’s a quick overview of a handful of tips and tricks from experienced planning professionals:
1 – Order Ahead
As tends to be the case with so many things in life, the further ahead of the date itself, you order the stationary, the more you stand to save. The reason being that professional printing houses have a nasty habit of adding on additional premiums for last-minute orders – plus at the same time you’ll have more time to shop around by starting as far in advance as possible. Last-minute decision making leads to bad decision making, which more often than not tends to be expensive.
2 – Order in Bulk
Whether you plan to order craft supplies to put together your own stationary or you’d prefer to order from a stationary specialist, do your best to source everything from one place. The primary benefit of this is of course the fact that bulk orders usually attach generous discounts, which even if not advertised by the provider itself can usually be negotiated. But in addition to this, ordering from one place means one point of contact for queries, one port of call should anything go wrong and one delivery to wait for with everything you need. Simpler, cheaper – exactly what you’re looking for.
3 – Ditch Response Cards
If you intend to include a response card with each invitation, you’re basically looking at double the costs of sending invitations alone. While response cards can be a nice touch, it’s safe to say that in this day and age they really aren’t necessary. The reason being that you could just as easily ask for each RSVP to be made by way of email, SMS or telephone call – all of which are much faster, easier and 100% free of charge.
4 – Back to Basics
For some, the only acceptable wedding stationary is that which is hand-sewn using the finest quality silk and all manner of frilly extras. Pretty enough, but when you’re talking about the simple essentials like cards to let each guest know where they’re sitting in the banquet hall, it’s really not necessary to go to such lengths. More often than not, a back-to-basics approach with minimal detail can look more elegant than anything else – the same also goes for invites, reply cards and really everything else across the board.
5 – Make Your Own
As mentioned above, one of the very best ways of saving money and still delivering a genuine ‘wow’ is to put the necessary time aside to make your own wedding stationery. One superb tip for getting this right on the money is to involve the whole family – there’s really nothing cuter than invites and table cards made by kids, with all manner of colourful pictures and scribbles on. You can pick up the supplies you need for next to nothing and allow your creativity to go wild.
6 – Go Digital
Last up, some say it takes some of the magic out of the process, but in terms of taking the costs out of the process, going 100% digital can make the wedding invitation process 100% free of charge. It’s never been easier to create stunning digital invitations and communications online, which can be emailed out to as many people as necessary in an instant and replied to just as quickly. Admittedly, this will leave you with fewer keepsakes to hang onto after the big day itself or to allow your guests to keep, but if you’re really looking to get by on a shoestring, the digital option could save you a small fortune.