Elements
There are a few elements in your wedding stationery that are definitely needed as they serve a purpose and mainly help the guests know what’s what and where they need to be when. These elements are:
Programs: The program supplies a timeline for the day and the names of the people involved (parents, bridal party, the MC, band/musicians and who will be doing speeches.)
Seating plan: You can create small cards with the names of all guests or do a big poster with your table layout.
Name cards: Placed on the tables, these cards allocate a seat to each guest.
Menus: You can have one menu per table or create bigger name cards and place the menu on the back.
Table numbers: You can create paper table numbers to compliment the look of your wedding.
Signage: To show your guests where to go for what.
Wedding favours: You can incorporate your design look and feel into this too.
Coffee table book: You can have guests write in a designed book. Anything from memories to heartfelt notes to you as a couple and a some photos into it from your wedding day once you receive them.
Trends
Envelope liners: Envelope liners are a fun and easy way to play with the style and design theme of your wedding. It is the first thing your guests will see when they open it up so get creative and think of a unique element to add in there, be it you wedding date or a bright, colourful pattern.
Calligraphy and Handwriting Inspired: Pretty penmanship, unique calligraphy and flowy lettering are all in the now. Calligraphers are creating new, modern hand done fonts that feel fresh and up to date - no more old fashioned styles.
Watercolour: There are many ways to incorporate this lovely style into your wedding stationery. You can play with colour and any sort of shape or pattern here, the choice is yours! It fits in anywhere and is never too overpowering making it a subtle choice.
Graphic + Geometric Details: Sharp edges and edgy shapes are a beautiful element to ad some edge to your trendy design style. It can be harsh and bold making all sorts of statements or it can be delicate, light and intricate giving you a completely opposite feeling for your wedding theme. It also depends on the colours you use with them - bold and vibrant or delicate and conservative - you decide.
Maps: Hand-drawn maps are a beautiful way to orientate your guests on the whereabouts of each section of your wedding day. There are so many ways to do this and you can match it perfectly to your design style making it a very flexible choice to ad in to your design elements for the day.
Gold foil: If glitz and glamour is what you’re after for the theme of your wedding day then look no further! You can play this up in such a big way making everything just as fabulous as you are.
Clean and Modern: Clean lines and a minimalistic design is very trendy at the moment, if your wedding theme is going to be subtle details with very subtle, delicate details on your wedding dress then this trend is absolutely perfect for you. Dress it up with some colour or tone it down with muted tones and soft colours and textures.
Moody colours: A bold and moody palette has taken the wedding stationery paper with deep plum, dark navy and even black by storm. It gives everything a bold, daring feel and you can roll with this theme throughout your wedding them or tone it down with tints and tones of said colours.
Tips & Tricks
Clearly define your wedding style: You should have an idea of the type of event you’re throwing whether it’s classic and elegant, casual and relaxed, or glam and modern before you start shopping for wedding stationery because that will help you decide exactly what to buy so everything fits within the same theme.
Know Your Colors: Once you know which colours you’re going to use for your wedding decor and theme then you can buy paper or ink or paint or anything you want to use to make you stationery. Using colours outside of the classic gold and ivory is always a good idea because it matches with your wedding theme making everything much more unified and beautiful.
Play With the Shape and Size: A 4.5-inch-by-6.25-inch rectangular card is the traditional size and shape for wedding invitations. But there’s nothing stopping you from playing with more non-traditional shapes and sizes to ad a little extra unique touch to your wedding stationery - think circles, squares, anything!
Make Sure They’re Legible: When thinking about patterns as a background, fonts to use, sizes, etc. Make sure your information is always clearly written and easy to read! Otherwise there no point really is there?