Happy Monday, friends! I can’t believe that wedding season is just around the corner! All the final details and planning are coming together for so many sweet brides out there! Today we are going to hear from another amazing Hampton Roads wedding vendor about a very important aspect of wedding planning- your wedding stationary design! Your wedding invitations set the tone for your big day, so it’s important that they are properly representing your style and aesthetic for your wedding! Here are a few tips from Evelyn of Letterlyn Studio on designing your wedding stationary! And feast your eyes on these photos of some of her amazing work!

I am Evelyn Cunningham, paper and calligraphy designer atLetterlyn Studio. Calligraphy simply means “beautiful writing.” I create just that: beautiful custom stationery and calligraphy for modern couples who love deeply and admire elegance. I work in a variety of calligraphy styles, from organic and modern to graceful and classic. I love to include custom, hand-drawn elements to stationery as well. Thank you, Audrey, for letting me talk about my passion today!

Stationery with Feeling: cohesive, amazing paper elements unique to YOU.

Your wedding stationery, starting with the save the date and the invitation, tells your guests what they should expect from your wedding. Perfect example to see what I mean:

A fun, square wedding invitation with cute, loopy calligraphy and seersucker stripes is for a different kind of wedding than a 5×7 invitation with more formal, classic calligraphy and a chic, timeless design.

If I received these two invitations in the mail, I would dress much more formally to the second invitation than to the first. I would expect different decor, and location.

But, you might be thinking, how do I tell which direction to go in? How do I use this same information for the day-of stationery elements like place cards and escort cards?

Get you’re story straight (no joke!)

Save the dates and invitations are often ordered before the event is completely planned, so I know that can be scary – you don’t have everything planed yet. But, answering these questions will point you in the right direction: cohesive stationery that coordinates with all the wedding-day details.

What’s your love story, your venue, your favorite things to do together, favorite flowers and favorite colors?

What style of calligraphy or groomsman or place setting attire are you most drawn to?

What kind of shoes do you want to wear, what kind of dress?

Now, describe the themes of those things. Are they romantic, edgy, classic, preppy, bold? You’ll see themes start to pop out, colors and textures and words. Great! Use those themes to get your design started.

How do you want your guests to feel?

Seriously, this question is so important. If you want your guests to say, “how cute!” you might go with a more quirky or sweet place card – think light watercolors and girly lettering styles. If you want them to feel wowed by the drama, you might go with black calligraphy on off-white place cards that have been dipped in gold ink. If you want them to feel simply impressed by elegance, you might go with a classic style on white or off white.

But, this question goes beyond design. How you want your guests to feel determines what kinds of stationery you include in your wedding day. Most weddings don’t NEED all the stationery and calligraphy bells and whistles like place cards or printed menus (though they never hurt!). However, any wedding that is black tie or more formal should have place cards in addition to a seating chart or escort cards. A formal wedding should probably have a printed program and menu cards too.

The Stationery Essentials

After you’ve got your story straight and feel like you know the direction of the design, you’ll want to make sure you have all the essential elements. Paper goods make you’re guests feel like they are taken care of, because it tells them exactly what’s happening, what they should expect and do.

Here are my stationery essentials for any wedding:

1. Save the dates, invitations and a form of RSVP – while save the dates and invitations should definitely be printed and mailed, RSVPs  can be sent online for more casual weddings.
2. A program, printed or written on a sign – it tells your guests who is who and what is going on during the ceremony. Truly, it is a courtesy to your guests.
3. Escort cards or a seating chart. Avoid mayhem! Seriously, seating even 35 people without any kind of plan can get chaotic. You want your guests to feel calm and taken care of.

With these essentials and a cohesive design, your guests will be singing the praises of your wedding for so long! If you have any questions, I would love to talk to you! Feel free to get in touch.