What Is Wedding Stationery + Why It's Important In Elevating Your Day

Congratulations—you’re engaged! Now comes the exciting (read: semi-overwhelming) part of planning your perfect wedding day. There are a lot of resources out there when it comes to wedding planning, covering all of the major vendor categories—dos and don’ts to help you curate your dream day.

As wedding stationers, we can’t give you advice on finding the perfect venue, but we can give guidance on all things pretty paper. When you start planning, there’s a few big items that need to be ticked off:

  • When are you getting married?
  • Where are you getting married?
  • Are you hiring a wedding planner?
  • Who’s capturing the memories from the day?

Call us biased, but we think that your wedding invitations and other paper goods should be close to the top of your list as things to start to plan first. After all, your guests need to know when and where to show up, right? 

So what is wedding stationery?
(And no, it’s not stationary.)

Definition: sta·tion·er·y
/ˈstāSHəˌnerē/
noun
writing paper, especially with matching envelopes.


Wedding invitation design, or wedding stationery, is so much more than just printed paper invitations—wedding stationery can help set the tone for your entire day. Starting with save the dates, what you send to your guests can transport them into a different time and place and help get them REALLY excited for your special day. 

  • Is your style traditional or modern?
  • Are you planning the party of the year? 
  • Is your wedding going to have a theme?

Your save the dates can help convey all of these things and more—the when and where, of course!

Modern Save the Date Design from Leighwood Design Studio
Photo Credit: Steph Masat Photography

Say your engagement timeline is short, your guest list is small, or you just don’t want to send out save the dates. Your wedding stationery will also include the pièce de résistance—your wedding invitations. When you think about all the pieces of wedding planning, this usually comes to mind as something you need to include in your budget. We often find that unless couples are working with a planner, they don’t know when to include it in their timeline or how to go about finding the right fit for them. 

Why are invitations important?

Your wedding invitations play a pivotal role in getting guests to your wedding. Unless you’re planning to send a massive group text or creating a Facebook event to invite your friends and family, you’ll more than likely have some sort of paper invitation.

This is where it gets overwhelming.

As with everything on the internet, there are a multitude of options available and inspiration aplenty. What you have to decide with your wedding stationery is what you want your invitations to do and how important they are to your overall vision. 

  • Do you want a simple card that tells guests when and where they should be?
  • Are you hoping for something with some style without busting your budget?
  • Or are you looking to set your guests up for an experience as soon as that pretty little envelope drops in their mailbox?
Minimal and Modern Letterpress Wedding Invitation Design from Leighwood Design Studio
Photo Credit: Steph Masat Photography

There is no right or wrong answer here, and that’s coming from a stationery designer. You have to decide what’s most important to your overall vision and budget. The internet has a slew of invitation options—ranging from DIY, fill in the blank, semi-customized, and total custom design. Because of this, there’s an option for every budget.

Keep in mind that if you’re staying on the lower end of the budget spectrum, you will be making a lot of etiquette and style decisions on your own, and depending on if you go the DIY or printable route, finding your own production and material suppliers. You also might not be able to do special printing methods such as letterpress or foil. 

When you work with a dedicated designer, whether going the semi-custom or custom route, you’ll have a real person there to help navigate you through wording and etiquette tips, use their knowledge to help make color choices that best suit your vision, and manage all of the production of your pieces. We not only are there to help elevate your special day through beautiful paper goods, but also free up your time so that you can enjoy this season of life. 

But what else is there?

Good question. Your wedding stationery doesn’t end at your invitations. Think about the last wedding you were at—did they have a program during the ceremony? A card or sign to navigate you to your seat? A menu at your place setting?

All of that is wedding stationery and helps to tie all of the details together. Often referred to as “day-of” paper goods, these pieces help guests find their way through your event and (silently) keep things running smoothly. It also helps in creating that total experience for your guests and adds thoughtful touch points along the way.

The most common day-of items we see couples choose to include are:

  • Ceremony Programs
  • Menus
  • Escort or Place Cards
  • Welcome Signs

There are so many more creative ways to incorporate paper goods throughout your wedding day with other small signage, napkins, table numbers, and installations. All of these things can help really add style and functionality to your special day.

Unique Wedding Day Welcome Sign from Leighwood Design Studio
Photo Credit: North Arrow Creative

Advice from a stationer…

We believe that weddings are an incredibly personal experience and should be a reflection of you, your partner, and your unique story. We also believe that as you’re planning your day, you should do what’s most important to you. Wedding stationery is an important tool in executing and conveying the style you want your guests to experience—it can help to captivate their attention from that very first save the date. Wedding paper goods can tell a story, create a mood, and encourage your guests to put the date on their Google calendar. Design, especially thoughtful design, can trigger emotion and feeling—which is why we think that investing in a stationery designer and a stationery collection for your wedding is important. However, we also realize that it isn’t for everyone and ultimately, you have to decide what feels right for you

Are you looking for a designer to help elevate your event and tell your unique story? Learn more about our process.