Bridal HipHop

You have to admit, planning a wedding is not for the faint-hearted. There are too many things to plan for and think about that if you’re not up for the stress and challenge, you can easily break apart. Take the wedding stationery for example. It’s not as simple as sending the invitation design to the printer and expect that everything will be all right. What if you send it too late to the printer and the invitations don’t arrive on time? What if there’s a trouble with the invitation mailing that guests were not able to receive them? See, there are lots of mishaps that can happen if you’re not careful. Needless to say, you need to have perfect timing for everything, hence this wedding planning checklist for the stationery order. We promise you, it would help you a lot!

6 to 12 months before the wedding – Save the date

Since it won’t be practical to send the invitation early at this point, save the date cards can save the day! These are designed for the purpose of allowing your family and friends to save this date for you without requiring you to send the actual invitation just yet. Save the date cards are fun and creative. Not to mention, they come in all shapes and sizes. It’s best to order these cards six to 12 months before the wedding. You can also order as soon as you’ve finalized the wedding date. Send these to your wedding guests, wedding party and wedding suppliers and vendors as early as possible so they will have plenty of time to make travel arrangements, request time off from work, and buy you a precious gift!

2 to 6 months before the wedding – Invitations

Six months before the big day, you should already start planning the invitation ensemble. Invest time in researching invitation trends, browsing through options on patterns, textures, colors and designs, and reading up invitation blogs and websites for inspiration. Once you have decided on what type and design you’d like to have for the invite, you may order four to six months in advance. Mailing, on the other hand, should be completed six to eight weeks before your exchange of vows. Triple check the spelling of name and address before you send out the invites.

1 to 3 months before the wedding – Reception stationery

Reception stationery include place cards, table number cards, wedding favours, guest book and many others. Be sure that these are personalized to match the invitations and the overall theme of the event. It’s appropriate to order the reception items at least three months before the wedding. Order one place card per guest or couple, adding an extra 25 just in case there are any mistakes, late RSVPs or last-minute changes. Fill in the names two months before the wedding. As for the table numbers, the quantity of these would depend on the size of guest list and seating capacity of each table. The formula is number of tables = total number of guests / number of guests per table. So if you’re inviting 100 people to the event and each table can sit 10 people, there would be 10 tables and 10 table numbers.

1 to 3 months after the wedding – Thank you notes

It’s recommended to send the thank you notes a few days after the wedding. Don’t wait until the wedding is more than three months over before you start sending the thank you notes. Thank the guests not only for their attendance but also for their gifts. It would be nice if the notes are handwritten so the guests will feel the sincerity of your gratitude.

Every girl dreams of having a beautiful wedding. To some, a princess-like ceremony is the fulfillment of this fantasy. To others, having it in a garden filled with all kinds of flowers marks its realization. And to those who prefer a casual and fun-filled celebration, walking down the aisle of a sandy shoreline is the reality of that vision.

If you are having a beach wedding (or any other type of wedding), one of the most important aspects that you and your partner should pay attention is the wedding invitation. An invitation is a letter, which, aside from serving as your request to the addressee to come and join you and your partner in the most important day of your lives, informs your guests as to your wedding itinerary. It tells the receiver that his or her presence is of importance to both of you since you took time to send the invitation to his or her home address. Moreover, it reflects the kind of couple that you are. For instance, those who prefer beach weddings are seen as the fun loving, adventurous types of couple for this type of celebration in regarded as non-conventional. Lastly, it allows you to express yourself freely, for it generally follows no format. You can be as creative as you want in telling everyone that you are going to tie the knot on this day, at this place and time, and this guest’s presence is much desired so that you day would be complete.

Another wonderful thing about beach weddings is that you have plenty of options when it comes to your wedding decorations and invites. There’s the typical paper invitation, which you can place in a bottle instead of inserting it in an envelope. You may send your guests beach slippers, telling them to wear these on your special day. Or you may opt for some rocks printed with details of your wedding. Postcard-style invites are also common these days, so you may also consider this as an option. The thing is, you can easily transform simple wedding invitations by incorporating them with the elements of the sea.

What are the things to consider when deciding for your unique beach wedding invitations?

• Know what you want. There are a lot of options to choose from, which oftentimes make it difficult to decide which ones to use. Do you want it printed on parchment paper? Do you want it engraved? Knowing what is it that you want makes it easier for both of you to narrow down your choices.
• Match the elements with your wedding. If you are going to use seashells in your invitation, make sure that there will also be seashells in your wedding. There has to be a connection between the invite and the celebration. It is not enough that you chose the item that you would be using for your invitations. It is also about matching these with the actual celebration.
• Look for suppliers. If you are sending your invites with flip-flops, you may have difficulty finding 100 pairs of slippers of the same design if you are going to buy them in the mall. So after you have decided what you want, look for suppliers for your chosen nautical element to add to your wedding invite.
• Set the budget. Invites for a beach wedding are more costly compared to the traditional type of wedding because they require more than just mere printing of words in the letter. Beach weddings require that you incorporate elements of the sea on your invitation. Make sure that your invitations will be included in your budget. If you think you will be short of money, you may lessen the elements of your invitation (meaning less seashells, for instance) or opt for items that cost less than what you originally preferred.

Having a beach wedding is the ultimate choice for those who want to veer away from the traditional formalities of church weddings. In choosing what kind of wedding decorations to have at your reception and ceremony, keep in mind that they should mirror the kind of wedding that you want to have. Lastly, it is not all about being creative and incorporating the elements of the sea into your invitations. On the more important note, it is about letting your guests know that their presence would be highly appreciated.