When you’re choosing your wedding stationery, you could opt to go for a generic design. But why would you do that when you can get something beautiful that has been tailor-made to your specifications. After all, many people keep their invitations as mementoes of the day, and they will be much more special if they reflect something of your personality and that of your partner. There are plenty of bespoke wedding stationers out there and many of them can offer surprisingly competitive prices.
So why should you choose to go down this route? Well, for one thing getting a person to design your stationery exactly the way you want it means it is entirely personal to you. Nobody else will have the same invitations you have had and that’s just one more thing to make your wedding day unique. All the colours, themes, materials and so on will match your requirements. If you choose mass-produced invitations then you will have to accept that this will not be the case. You may want something very ‘arty’, or you may want it to reflect your hobbies. You could also bear in mind here that if sustainability is very important to you, many high end stationers work with only eco-friendly materials.
It also means that you can choose to include photos of yourself or your partner – or indeed anything else that’s significant to you as a couple. If you want to, it gives you the chance to be quirky and create something really memorable for your guests. It can be worth spending a little more money for this. You also get a great choice as the images and invitations themselves can be pretty much any size you want them to be.
Also, bear in mind that if you use a bespoke wedding stationer for your invitations you will get a really professional lay-out – not something that looks like it could have been knocked up on a home computer. You should expect to be offered a few consultations so you can go through any ideas you have and come up with a concept that works. And the cost doesn’t have to be astronomical – a stationer like this will usually be able to work with most budgets and you don’t have to go for the most expensive materials.
If all of this has convinced you, the next thing to do is go about finding a good stationer. It’s worth taking your time finding just the right one. Begin by going around all the companies in your area and asking to see examples of their work. This will give you some idea of the kind of skills they have and the kinds of clients they normally work with. Also, if you already have any materials or design ideas in mind this will give you the chance to check if they can even provide that for you. Otherwise you will need to look elsewhere.
It’s also important to find out what kind of turnaround time they will offer you. Obviously you should be choosing your stationer well in advance anyway, but it may be that it still takes you a while to decide on just the right design. You need to be sure that they can still get the invitations out to you in time. Remember that this has to leave a window for people to RSVP so you can then get on with working out how many people to cater for and so on. It’s surprising how many people don’t ask this question and don’t leave themselves enough time. Be very clear about what your deadline is.
It is also wise, before you settle on a company to work with, to find out who their suppliers are. There are two reasons for this: the first is that there are less likely to be hold-ups because of late deliveries if they have solid, long-term suppliers relationships. The second is that if there are any last-minute changes to be made, it is more likely these can be done before the print run is started if there are good lines of communication open. Finally, don’t be afraid to haggle for discounts by pointing out that your orders is particularly large, that you can recommend them to other people or by suggesting you may go to another firm in the area.
Summary: To make their wedding day extra-special, many people go for bespoke invitations. This article looks at why you should consider finding a bespoke wedding stationer, and how to go about it.
