The endless details of prep and printing that go into making your wedding day special need not be exhausting. In fact, it can be an exciting experience given the right printer and timeline! The sooner you get started on your wedding stationery printing, the better.
Follow our guide to wedding printing below to discover all the different wedding stationery and printing essentials. We’ll even note some wedding printing embellishments that might interest you. Don’t think we here at Gold Image Printing only cater to those after a lavish wedding. We can cater to those looking for the cheapest way to do wedding invitations. We’re happy to work with those looking for mid-range beautiful wedding invitations and other essentials. And, of course, we are ready for those looking to make their own royal (or near-royal) wedding.
Wedding Stationery Timeline
We are no strangers to the fact that many people want to send out a quick email and that’s it. However, as our The Need for Print Invitations blog post points out, doing so isn’t always the best idea. Imagine your carefully crafted online invites are lost in a friend’s email inbox. The result? They don’t realize your wedding is coming up before it’s too late! It is very difficult to miss a physical letter, so get your wedding stationery paper prepped and ready to go!
Before
You might be full of ideas for how everything will look the day of, but don’t leave things until a few weeks beforehand to start printing! There’s actually a lot you can and should get done for your wedding printing as early as 12 months out.
8-12 Months
This far out, the only thing that you need to worry about is sending out your Save The Date Cards. Technically speaking, you can wait until 6-8 months prior to sending your save-the-dates. That said, for a destination wedding or one with many out-of-town guests, 12 months is a good rule of thumb. Keep in mind that the purpose of these save-the-dates is to ensure everyone can mark their calendars and set aside the proper time and funds, so it never hurts to do things a little further in advance!
6 Months
Frankly, this is the time when you’ll decide on the bulk of your wedding stationery expenditure. Get your wedding invitation design prepped and ready to go. Depending on the size and location of your wedding, you may want to start sending out those wedding invitations as well at this point. They can be All-in-One Wedding Invitations to save you hassle and money, or you can go all out with a combination of Raised Foil Wedding Invitations, RSVP Cards (due at least a month or two before the wedding), Registry Cards, Accommodation Cards, and the like. Tit it all together neatly with Wedding Belly Bands.
Also, please don’t forget about Wedding Envelopes. While a plain white envelope might seem inviting to your budget, it won’t properly set the stage for your beautiful wedding invitations or invitation suite. (It also decreases the chances of someone ignoring it).
3-4 Months
Here is where your previously decided wedding stationery expenditure comes into play. Send out everything you designed and ordered in the “6 Months Before” window.
1-2 Months
Time for Bachelor and/or Bachelorette Party Invitations, Rehearsal Dinner Invitations, and to really push for those RSVPs. 1 month prior, you should have your confirmed wedding guest list so you can design and order everything you’ll use “During” the wedding.
During
Oftentimes when we think about wedding printing, we get caught up in all the invitations, save the dates, cards, and on and on. Even those of us in the printing industry feel overwhelmed at times with the sheer volume of printing that can go into a wedding. At the end of the day, it always feels worth it. That silver lining is what pushes wedding planners and wedding havers to keep going.
Now without further ado, it’s time to talk about the setting up of your venue with the essentials. No matter how much you replaced wedding stationery printing with websites and digital alternatives before this point, this isn’t an element you can ignore.
If you haven’t already guessed, we’re talking about Wedding Signage. Unless you intend you spend a fortune on monitors and screens just for the day of the wedding, we recommend getting yourself Wedding Direction Signs for shared or larger venues, Wedding Welcome Signs to highlight the entrance, Wedding Order of Events Signs and/or Wedding Programs, Wedding Seating Signs and/or Place Cards, and any other Wedding Signs you may need.
Your tables can stick to the essentials of Wedding Menus, Table Numbers, and Personalized Wedding Favors should that be your desired approach. Or, you can deck the halls with luxury Wedding Coasters and Foil Napkins as well.
After
Your big day might be over, but for one, you should have plenty of mementos, photos, and even videos to help you keep everything close to your heart. But while the day of your wedding has passed, there is still one thing left to do as you reminisce and settle into your married life: Wedding Thank You Cards.
These let you get as personal as you wish to show your appreciation to each and every guest. Settle on the base design to print out, then add handwritten personal notes thanking your guests for their presence, memories, gifts, and anything else they may have contributed to the wedding.
And That’s a Wrap
That’s all. Stop reading and get printing.