Looking for inventive tricks to up the “WOW” factor in your reception décor?  Take a cue from seasoned event planners and incorporate printed menus into the design of your tablescapes – allowing the printed stationery to add to the beauty of each table’s design. This strategy, frequently used by professional party planners, is a savvy, cost effective tip for brides who want to maximize their decorating budgets!

Classic Menu from The Green Kangaroo

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At the beginning of this year, the number one heralded trend in weddings was “Back to Basics.” In the wedding stationery business, we have certainly seen this trend taking hold, though perhaps in a different form than the doom-and-gloom economic forecasters predicted!

Opting for a single accessory card streamlines the presentation of your wedding invitation. (Modern Snowflake wedding invitation from The Green Kangaroo).

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Your wedding invitation is a mirror of your wedding ceremony and reception.
An amazing invitation will bespeak your message, theme and entice your guests to the magic of your wedding. Frankly, ordering the invitation should be one of the first items on your agenda, after your set the date, church, venue and organized the guest list.

The process of selecting your invitation establishes your the tone and theme of the wedding; it sets the foundation for the myriad of choices you will be making throughout the process. Remember, my famous matrimony query: What is your Bridal Signature? Are your traditional, urban contemporary, or a blend of both? Understand who you are, establish your style! Carry it out with confidence and grace.

Need a little professional advice, an insider’s knowledge of what wedding invitation albums you should peruse? Which ones make the best sense in this challenging economic climate? My book, The Write Stuff, gives you a handbook on how to choose as well as provides the latest information. Need a question answered quickly, pose your question, or comment on this blog.

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The Green Kangaroo's "Grace" reply card

Believe it or not, back in the good old days, wedding invitations did not come accompanied by multiple accessory cards, such as the reply card. In fact, traditional etiquette dictates that the proper manner in which to respond to a formal invitation is by handwriting your acceptance or regrets on your own formal stationery.

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Last week we touched on the merits of pocket invitations, which provide plenty of space to communicate key information to your guests.  And one of the best items to include within your pocket invitation is a map card!

These days, it’s not at all uncommon for a good portion of the wedding guest list to include out-of-towners who will be traveling some distance to attend your big day.  And every good hostess wants to do her best to streamline event logistics for her guests.  But we meet lots of brides who fret that including maps, hotel information, and other pertinent details along with the wedding invitation will diminish the beauty and formality of their carefully selected stationery design.  Not so!  Just take a look at some of these maps we’ve created that perfectly fit into the overall style and special tone of the wedding invitation suite.  We think you’ll agree that you don’t have to trade practicality for loveliness!  (All images courtesy of The Green Kangaroo.)

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Astrid Mueller creates amazing wedding illustrations that can be used in everything from your stationery (including Thank You cards) to seed packet favors and dance floor light projections. One of the great things about this concept is that you’re left with a beautiful rendering of the day, to be cherished as you celebrate your 1^st anniversary and for the rest of your lives.

Closest to my heart, of course, is that Astrid can incorporate your wedding dress in an illustration. I wish I had an illustration of me, my gown, and my sweetie.  When I got married, I had no idea such a thing was even an option!

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On the Wedding Aces blog, we strive to give you the true insider’s skinny on the wedding stationery business.  In Part One of this topic, we weighed the merits of reply cards and wedding programs.  So here’s Part Two of our scoop on determining which stationery items you need – and which ones you don’t.

4) Save-the-Dates: If many of your guests will be traveling from out of town, or if you have a particularly large guest list with relatives and family friends you might not see often, then sending a save-the-date card 6-12 months ahead of your wedding is a good idea. For a smaller event, or if you feel confident most of your guests are well aware of the date of your pending nuptials, you can afford to skip sending save-the-dates.

"Cari Postcard Save-the-Date," from The Green Kangaroo

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Photo by Ruby Muza.com

Lallie is the diva of the wedding stationery world!

There is no talent out there like it. Once you enter its gravitational pull, your preferences, tastes will never be the same. Lallie changes you: extends your horizons, deepens your creativity, brings out your brilliance, in the overall concept, in every detail, and in the final delivered piece. It is wedding and stationery experience like no other.

The question is: Why wouldn’t you have Lallie as the center of your wedding? It can be dazzling, or understated. Let Lallie influence radiate out from your save the date, to your wedding trousseau (all the invitation pieces), the program, the social card, and on. Lallie is very individual; it possibly is you.

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When it comes time to select wedding stationery, it can be tough to determine which items you truly need and which ones may be potential budget busters. As with any other wedding purchase, the cost of your wedding stationery suite can quickly add up! In working with our customers, we find the line between what a bride needs and doesn’t need varies widely, depending on a variety of different factors surrounding her event. Size? Location? Formality? … each of these factors plays a role in what wedding stationery is appropriate.

To be budget-savvy, it’s wise to know in advance of your purchase which stationery items will best suit your particular event. Here’s part one of our tutorial on how to know what you need – and what you don’t! – when you’re buying wedding stationery.

1) Wedding Invitation (and envelope!): Unless you’re going completely paper-free, you’re going to need a wedding invitation! The most basic set includes a single sheet of paper with the “who, what, when, where” and an envelope (or envelope set) for mailing.

2) Reply Card (and envelope) or Reply Postcard: While traditionally guests knew to reply to a wedding invitation (on their own stationery!) within three days of receiving the invite, these days you stand a much better chance of determining an accurate headcount if you make it easy for guests to reply. We consider a reply card such a key piece of the wedding invitation package, that we always include one with our invitation orders.

"Hydrangea Wedding Program," from The Green Kangaroo

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I feel like I saved the best for last here with my final recap of the 2010 National Stationery Show.  I say it’s the best because the unveiling of the new $0.64 Butterfly Stamp eases postage headaches for brides and non-brides everywhere!  On May 17th at the National Stationery Show, the US Postal Service announced the first in a series of $0.64 postage stamps for irregular shaped envelopes – yep, the square envelopes that all brides know and love have finally been paid some gorgeous attention!  The greatest thing for regular, everyday mailings is that manufacturers of cards that require the extra postage will print a silhouette of a butterfly on their envelopes making the decision of “What stamp do I have to use?” simple as pie.

Butterfly Stamp Unveiled at 2010 National Stationery Show