Sorting Out The Stationary: The Necessities Versus the Niceties

Figuring out what to do with your wedding stationary can be puzzling for any couple. Somewhere between RSVP cards and Menu cards, your head starts to swim with all the details as you try to figure out what is needed and what is not. When you're on a tight budget, these decisions become even more important.
The invitation is the main staple of your wedding stationary. (Invitation exclusively designed for Creative Weddings and Occasions.)If you're trying to prioritize, there are three main stationary items you should look at for your wedding:

- Invitation / Invitation Set
- Escort Cards
- Thank-You Cards

Invitations are the most important and necessary piece of wedding stationary. They give your guests all of the pertinent information in regards to your wedding. The should include the date, the time, and the location of your ceremony and reception. They also usually include an RSVP card (and an addressed and stamped envelope) for guests to send back so you can know whether to count on their attendance or not. Other options are to include are maps or directions to ceremony and receptions sites. Your invitation is often the first hint your guests will have about your wedding. When possible, they should include elements of your wedding theme and colors.

Escort Cards are available for guests to pick up as they arrive at the reception. On each card, the guest's name is printed, as well as which table they are assigned to sit at for the meal. A definite necessity for large weddings, escort ideas are still a good idea for small ones as they ensure that close relatives and family friends are seated in prime locations and seated together. It wouldn't be right for grandma and grandpa to get stuck in the back corner or for families to be split up. If you're opposed to individual escort cards, another option is to build a seating board that can be mounted on an easel outside the reception venue. For a large wedding, you might even make two. These boards show the position of each table and who is assigned to each one.

Thank-You Cards should be self-explanatory. Common courtesy dictates that you should give a personal thank-you note for each and every gift you receive. This includes shower gifts, engagement gifts, as well as wedding gifts. The same applies to everyone who attends your wedding. To save time, many try to combine the wedding thank-you with the wedding gift. To save yourself time and trouble later, make sure you have someone help you when opening gifts by keeping a detailed list of each item and who gave it to you. This will make your life significantly easier when doing up the thank-you cards. The rule of thumb is that all cards should be sent within six weeks of the wedding.

It is up to each couple to determine the importance of other stationary items.

Save-The-Date Cards are especially useful for couples planning a destination wedding or a wedding around a holiday period or long weekend when you want guests to know about the event six to nine months before the actual wedding. While e-mail invitations are considered tacky, you can get away with e-mail Save-the-dates.

Place Cards are another fairly common item, assigning guests their actual seat at each table. Not necessary, but sometimes add to the decor and theme at each table. It also ensures that enough seats have been left for families and couples. Note that if you are having a small wedding of 30 people or less, you may want to skip the escort cards completely and use place cards instead.

Programs are considered a nice, but unnecessary item. They can be used to explain the order of events at the ceremony, especially the order of any special cultural traditions that guests may not be familiar with. Sometimes they also list the wedding party and any other additional information that you may want shared, such as hymns that will be sung, or prayers that require a response. Others include meaningful poems or maps to the reception venue.

Menu Cards are another item that is really up to the couple on whether they need them or not. Whether it's a buffet or plated dinner, they let guests know what they are about to eat. I'm personally okay without them, but if guests get to make a choice on what to eat, they are a nice idea. If you feel that they are important, another option is to print one larger one for each table to share instead of individual ones.

Like most aspects of your wedding, it can be easy to get carried away when choosing your wedding stationary. I would recommend you decide ahead of time on what pieces are most important to the two of you and stick to your guns!

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Cathy MacRae is a certified wedding and event planner, and owner of Creative Weddings and Occasions and Del Sol Destination Weddings. Located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, she plans wedding for couples in and around the Calgary and Banff area. She is also a destination wedding and honeymoon travel specialist helping couples plan their weddings in paradise all around the world. For more information about planning your own wedding or for advice from Cathy, please contact her at info@creativeweddingsandoccasions.com.