Your Questions Answered: A Guide to Wedding Stationery
When planning a wedding, you might have some questions about wedding stationery. Well, hey - I’m Carly (she/her) and I’m a professional wedding stationery designer. I’m going to break down the main questions I get asked by my clients and let you in on all the answers.
I see myself as a graphic design sidekick, and whilst you’re planning I may be able to offer insight to all things ‘wedding planning’ - not just your wedding stationery! I’ll always be your cheerleader, get excited about your plans and support you with supplier and material recommendations.
I’ve collated the most commonly asked queries, but if you have other questions, just send me a message! I’ll be happy to help.
1. When should we send save the dates and invitations?
You want to make sure that your guests book any time off work and all travel with as much notice as possible. I always say it’s never too early to save the date! But in general I’d advise:
Send out save the dates 8 to 12 months before your wedding. If you’re having a destination wedding, your wedding is across multiple days or planning something that might overlap with summer or bank holidays, I’d increase this to 12 - 18 months. If you’ve gotten engaged and booked a venue but it’s still 2 years away, I’d still start and let people know so they don’t book to go away at that time!
For invitations, sometimes called ‘formal invitations’ to differentiate them from save the dates, I recommend sending these out 6 - 9 months before your wedding. These will include a lot more information about travel, accommodation and potentially dress code, so giving people plenty of advanced warning is a good thing. They can book how they’re getting there, where they’re staying and buy any new outfits with no stress.
2. How many invitations do we actually need?
Remember, you need one invitation per household - not one per guest! I’ve had this come up before where nearlyweds have over-ordered and had lots of invitations left over.
Write your guest list and then group people who live together. Count up the amount of groups and add ten to fifteen spares in case you end up inviting extra guests. If you’re having addresses printed on envelopes, get your spares printed with blank envelopes and hand write the names and addresses should you need to use them. You might like to use on of the spare sets in a flat lay taken by your photographer next to your shoes, perfume and trinkets on the morning of your wedding.
You may have some guests that you’re inviting for a longer celebration and then a few more for an evening reception. I can create you the same design with different text to cover all bases and you can opt to print different amounts of each; for example, 60 invitations and 30 evening invitations.
3. What cards do we need to include in invitation packs?
You do not need to have a million different cards. If you like the style of having different shaped cards overlapping (and honestly, these are my favourite to create!) and your budget allows, then of course we can do this. Alternatively we can get all the information you need onto a double-sided card, or direct guests to a wedding website (I make those, too!).
These are the categories of info I would recommend giving to your guests:
The main invite
This will have your names, the date and the venue on it. The big hitters! This will be what gets stuck to the fridge by a whole heap of your guests, so set the tone visually but also help them to remember the key information.
The details card
This card is key! It’ll have all the need-to-knows about timings of the ceremony, when to arrive, policies on plus ones and bringing children, a note about gifts and often a line about ‘carriages’ which is a fancy way of saying when the party ends and you have to go!
You can skip this card if you’re having a wedding website and can put all the info online.
The RSVP card
When to RSVP by, how to RSVP and what to include. Examples could be dietary and sensory requirements, favourite song for the dance floor, if you’re bringing a plus one, your menu choices and if you’re planning to stay with the newlyweds in accommodation. Not all of these will apply to your plans, but if you need to know it, get them to tell you via an RSVP.
Guests can either fill in a card that you provide and post it to you (in which case, include your address!), or they can email, text or fill in an online form. Do what is best for you and makes collating the answers easy for you to use and share with caterers, venues and planners.
Optional extras
Some to-be-weds like to include a menu that they’d like their guests to choose from when they RSVP. You can also have envelope liners for an extra wow factor when guests open their envelopes, and functional-but-pretty items like clips, ribbons and folded elements. You might like to get your stationer to lay out all the names and addresses and get them printed onto envelopes to save you hassle, and then you’ll only have to pop on stamps and post them.
4. Okay, so how much would an invitation pack like that cost?
I can only speak to my own prices, but I’ll lay it all out as it stands in May 2026. My prices do increase over the years as the costs of supplies go up. Prices cover the design, printing and crafting the finished product. I’ll break it down using the most popular choices in terms of size and shape.
5x7 inch shaped invite card + any colour envelope ………….. £5.00
5x7 inch rectangular details card …………………………………..………….. £3.90
A6 shaped RSVP card with gold paperclip ………………..……………. £4.40
Envelope liner ………………………………………………………………………………….…….. £1.90
Total for the full pack ……………………………………………………..………………….. £15.20
Bespoke designs cost £365.00 which covers the design time. This covers you whether you have one welcome sign or save the dates, invites and all the wedding stationery you can imagine! You will also have to factor in delivery costs from me to you (I always send First Class Special Delivery which is tracked, insured and arrives the next day) and then the cost of stamps into your budget.
If you don’t want all those cards or your budget for stationery is tighter, then we can still work together! Lots of my customers have one rectangular card in a lovely envelope which cost £3.90 each. You still get a professional graphic designer, beautiful print and crafting finishes and a cheerleader to help with wording!
All paper items are digitally printed on texture 300gsm paper stock, which balances luxury feel with popping colours. I can change the paper stock if you want me to!
5. What is ‘on-the-day’ stationery and when do we order it?
On-the-day stationery or wedding day stationery refers to all the paper goods used during the ceremony and wedding reception.
It can include:
A welcome sign
An order of the day sign
Orders of service - these are sheets that people look at during the ceremony to know what’s going on and who is speaking
A seating plan
Place cards
Menus for food and drinks
Table numbers or table names
Ideally you’ll have all the RSVPs and menu choices for me to place into your designs by six weeks before your wedding day. The designs will be ready and approved by you before then, ready for text to be placed into the design files. It takes a few days to put the text in and format it, then you need to proof-read and sign it off. Then you’ll be invoiced, the print order will be placed and once the prints are with me, I’ll craft everything, wrap it and post it to you.
That six weeks offers us a little bit of a buffer if the prints are wrong, you spot a typo after we go to print or if there is an issue with posting. I always put spare place cards in your order, free of charge, in case there are any last minute changes!
6. How can we keep stationery costs down?
You might really want printed stationery but everything else on your wedding planning list is competing for budget. That’s okay, here are my top tips!
Go digital
Send digital save the dates and create a website with all the details. This will significantly reduce printing, paper and postage costs. I can also provide digital, print-ready artwork for you to print, craft and finish yourself (but I would recommend using this option only if you’re confident with a scalpel and ruler and have a lot of spare time as this is no small feat!)
Be clever with formatting
You could have larger sheets of paper that fold down to reduce the number of cards you purchase. If you wanted finishes like foiling, shaped cards, tassels or fringing, these would add up. The less paper and fewer finishes you choose, the lower the overall cost.
Combine details
Like I said before, you can have one double-sided rectangular card that holds the same amount of info as there fancy shaped cards. Additionally, instead of a welcome sign and an order of the day sign, you can have one sign that does both!
Use a customisable design
Save on bespoke design fees by using a pre-designed house designs. You’re allowed to choose colours and finishes to make it your own and add any type of card, in any shape. The prices for the items and postage is all you will pay, with design costs already wrapped up in those costs.
7. How long does it take to design wedding stationery?
It’s important for you to know the timelines so that you can book and plan accordingly. I’ll breakdown a rough guide for what happens when. There’s some variation, as I work at your pace. If you’re quick to reply, give feedback and pay invoices, then I will be sick to design, send receipts and prepare designs for print. If you need more time, I’ll follow suit. Whatever makes the process the most comfortable for you!
Day 1: Booking in
To book in, I’d send you a digital contract to sign and details for paying a deposit. This deposit covers my initial design time and is deducted from your first invoice.
Days 7-10: Initial designs
If you’re going bespoke, I’ll usually create 2 or 3 initial designs that meet your brief, alongside costs for variations in finishes. If you choose a design to customise from my house collection, it’ll be more like 5-7 days and you’ll get a few colour palette choices.
Days 11 - 21: Refining your designs
This really is a rough ballpark, as this depends on how quickly you send me feedback! But by week 3, we should hopefully have your designs ready to place text into and sent to you digitally to proof-read and sign off. If you’d like a printed example before you send everything to print, this will add 7 days.
Days 22 - 35: Printing, crafting and delivery
Your stationery is printed at a professional print house and sent to my studio for me to quality assess, craft and wrap. I’ll then post it via Royal Mail Special Delivery for a tracked next day delivery service.
To summarise, it usually takes 4-6 weeks from booking in to receive your stationery!
8. What are our options for displaying menus?
This is one of the biggest variations wedding-to-wedding so I’m not surprised I get asked this a lot! This really depends on the look you want and the budget you have. Here’s a few ideas that I use commonly:
One big A1 sign
This is perfect for sharing family-style buffets or barbeques, which are placed next to the food or food truck so everyone can see them whilst they’re selecting what to eat. They’re mounted on Foamcore and displayed on an easel. Ask your venue if they have easels for you to use before you go and buy or rent one!These cost £88.00 each (as of May 2026).
Self-standing A5 menus
These are great for a one-per-table situation, and look great if you have the table number or table name in the same format. The Perspex that they’re mounted on comes in a range of colours and you can have paper on both sides or just one. They also come in a range of shapes, such as arch, half-arch and wavy edges. At the time I’m writing this, these cost £15.00 each.
Paper A5 menus
Printed on 300gsm textured paper in any shape, these are the simplest and most affordable menus. You’ll need to purchase a little easel like this to lean them on, or frames to place them in. Other ‘table number holders’, in my experience, just tip over with the weight of the paper. If in doubt, send me a link and I’ll let you know if I think they’ll cut the mustard! These are £5.00 each or £7.00 if you include personalisation on each such as names and each guest’s menu choice.
Paper DL menus or 5×7 inch menus
These are ideal if you’re hoping to have a menu per guest. This is a really popular option for nearlyweds who love a full tablescape vibe, with individual menus next to place cards. The DL size is a third of a horizontal A4 page, which is sleek and can accommodate text that’s about 2 options per course. If you have much more text in your menu, either with more options or with lengthy description, then I recommend a 5 × 7 inch card that is wider and have more spce for text. These cost £3.90 each for DL (or £5.00 with personalisation) and £5.00 each for 5×7 inches (or £7.00 with personalisation).
The final word
If you have any questions, I’d be happy to help. I work with nearlyweds who want personal stationery with bold, considered style. This covers everything from modern, cute illustrations to dark rock n roll and all things in between. I’m not Sally found creating pastel florals or traditional wedding stationery.
Those who work with me often say how they’ve found the process easy, quick and enjoyable - which is lovely to hear! I’ll have your back, hold your hand when you need me to and follow instructions when you know what you want. So with that, if you have any other questions that I’ve not covered here and you want to know more about wedding stationery, the design process and working with a graphic designer, just send me a message!