So when you think of wedding stationery, I'm betting you automatically think of wedding invitations, save the dates and rsvp's. But have you considered your day of stationery?
There are several elements on your wedding day that will require stationery. Not everything is obligatory and you can pick and choose what you want to include. But some areas you will need to consider to help make things easier for your guests, so they know where to go and what to do when.
So Let's break the day down into sections and talk about what items you may include at those points:
Ceremony
Order of service/ ceremony- So during your wedding ceremony, it may be a nice idea to include an order or service / order of ceremony. It is called an order of service if it is a church service and an order of ceremony if you are having a civil ceremony..
This may be in the form of a card or a small booklet. You will want to include that it is your wedding ceremony and the date and location. Then inside you will want to add what is planned during the ceremony. Whether there are speeches and if so by whom. If you have chosen gyms, it is a nice idea to include the words for these. Guests will be very grateful for that! It is also a nice moment for guests to keep.
Parking- If the parking is not very clear, it may be an idea to put some signage up at this point? Alternatively you can have an usher guiding guests to the car park.
Welcome Sign- You may want to add a some beautiful signage to the entrance of your ceremony to welcome them. This may simply say 'welcome' or perhaps 'welcome to the marriage of....'
Take a Seat- If you are having guests seat themselves on particular sides, you may want to make this clear. However you may also want to let guests know that they can sit wherever they like. Pinterest has some wonderful ideas for short poems and rhymes for this. Alternatively an usher can take on this role.
Drinks Reception
During drinks reception, you may want some signage to help aid your guests experience.
Welcome Sign- So if you had your wedding ceremony at a different location, you may wish to have some signage as your guests arrive at the reception venue to welcome them and to let them know they have made it to the right location.
Unplugged Wedding- If you have decided to have an unplugged wedding (check out this post if you are considering this), then it is crucial that your guests are made aware of this. So single is key! Make it visible and possibly have more than one, so that people can stick with your wishes.
Wedding Hashtag- Perhaps you are totally fine with social media and people taking photos at your wedding? You may decided to even have a wedding hashtag, to make it easier for you to discover everyones wedding pictures. Make a beautiful sign to display this, so that your guests know to use it.
Signature Cocktail- If you've decided to choice your own signature cocktail for your drinks reception of a cocktail hour. Why not have the menu displayed on the bar, so that guests can see it?
Timeline Of The Day- Knowing what is happening when, puts people at ease. Especially when it comes to their tummies. If guests know what time the wedding breakfast is and when the dancing begins, they will likely relax into the day even more. So consider having a timeline of the day drawn up and putting
this at the entrance for when guests arrive. So right from the word go, they know what is happening, when!
Wedding Breakfast
During the wedding breakfast is where you will find the majority of your on the day wedding stationery.
PLACE NAMES- Place names indicate where a guest should sit during the wedding breakfast. Without them, they will sit whoever they want on their designated table. Which is fine if that is the desired effect and you are perhaps doing sharing boards.
TABLE NAMES- Each table is named, so that guests can find their way to their table a lot easier. It can be as simple as numbers 1- 10, or you may wish to call your tables within your wedding theme or something relevant to you as a couple. For example holiday destinations or even your favourite bands.
TABLE PLAN- A table plan is how you display where your guests are sitting and at what table. They would look at the table plan, find their name and see what table they are supposed to be seated at. They can then easily make their way to said table and find their place name, to know which seat is theirs.
ESCORT CARDS- Escort cards are an alternative to a table plan. You would display what essentially looks similar to your place names, but on the back it may say the table name or number where the guest would be seated. Each guest collects their escort cards, see's there table and then makes their way to their table finding their place name.
MENU- Menu's are not essential, but can be a nice touch. You can have one per table, so guests know what they will be eating, or even one per guest or one between two. There are no rules. I have previously had a client have menus that were illustrated with drawings of the food, we then had them printed onto fabric and used them as a napkin for each guest as well as a menu.
Evening Reception
This is the point of the day where you may have just a small amount of wedding signage or stationery. Most guests have settled in to the day. However you may have evening guests arriving, so a little bit of information for them is always nice.
Guest Book- An indication of where this table is situated is always nice, if you have decided to do this. If you have gone for a modern take, then you may wish to add some notes, so that your guests no what you would like them to do.
Gift/Card Table- If guests buy you a gift or bring a card, there will need to be an area to put these. Perhaps have a sign created for a tables o that guests know they can leave it there, instead of holding on to it for hours.
I hope you have found this blog post helpful today. Until next week....
Happy Planning
Lauren xx
