A Typical Wedding Stationery Timeline
So you’ve got the venue, the date is booked, but when should you start thinking about your wedding stationery? The basic answer: it's never too early! But in this blog post I wanted to share a typical run down of what you should do and when.
The first thing you should do when looking for wedding stationery is to get quotes from a variety of stationers so you can compare costs and its a good idea to do this as soon as possible. There are plenty of options on the internet so you won't be stuck for choice! Although trust me, once you decide on a design you LOVE it's then hard to compare it to another! but it’s still good to see what else is out there.
Depending on which type of wedding stationery and stationer you decide to use, there will be design/print times to consider. If you are choosing a semi-custom or completely bespoke package then you will need to factor in at least 6-8 weeks before the invites will be sent out to you. Whereas most standard packages, also known as house designs or ready-made designs, can be turned around in 2-3 weeks. Visit my website for all my Ready-Made collections.
Most stationers, including myself, provide co-ordinating Save the Dates and invites so if you want a seamless wedding design/theme throughout your wedding stationery, then you should really think about this as soon as you are ready to send out Save the Dates.
Save the Dates should be sent out at least 1 year in advance. The main reason is to make sure your guests keep the date free when planning an event so far in advance but if you're having a destination wedding, a wedding on a bank holiday weekend, or a wedding during school holidays then you might still want to consider sending one even if your wedding is less than 12 months away.
Your main invites should be sent out between 6-9 months before. This leaves enough time for the RSVP’s to be returned to give your venue final numbers.
Then, once you have final names and numbers, that’s when you can start to order any On The Day Stationery. These should be ordered around 4-6 weeks before your wedding date.
Happy wedding planning!
Sarah @ So Bespoke Design xx
