Ordering Your Wedding Stationery - 7 Top Tips from Berin Made

Pretty paper goods make us really happy. Opening a beautifully designed hand-written card, writing on the first page of a brand new note pad, wrapping a carefully chosen present in crisp, thick wrapping paper - I don't know what it is, but it's just so satisfying! So when it comes to wedding stationery, an aspect of the big day that starts months and months before the big day itself - we get really, really excited. We've loved the designs from Berin Made for a long time. They've been on our handpicked recommended suppliers list, The List, since the beginning, we've seen them grow as a company, develop their product lines and start to be stocked at some the of UK's biggest retailers (hello Oliver Bonas...) They also donate 10% of profits on wedding stationery orders to charity, something they don't shout about either. Erin's work is the perfect combination of fun design, excellent quality and total professionalism, with a large twist of loveliness thrown in for good measure. Today we're sharing their 2016 Ready-to-go collection, which encapsulates the spirit of their signature style (bold prints, bright colours and strong typography) but with an on-trend range of four designs - Tropical palms, Wildflowers, Orchids and Modern fairytale. Erin has also provided us with some top tips for things to consider when ordering your stationery - it's a great read and there are lots of things I hadn't even realised would be an issue! If you're in the process of choosing your wedding stationery at the moment, this is a must-read.

The Design Process

Erin at Berin Made: Our design team is on-hand to help guide couples through the process of crafting their wording, advising on etiquette and choosing the right pieces and colours for their dream wedding invitations. We see our designs through to production and packaging to ensure that all our pieces are perfect. They say that your wedding invitations are the first glimpse into what kind of wedding you’ll have...it’s got to set the scene, they say. And yet, there are so many technicalities and pitfalls, not to mention what your mother says, what your aunt says, what the future mother-in-law says about it all. Whose name should go on it? Who should get a shared invitation? How many invitations to order? Is your head spinning yet?

7 Things To Consider When Ordering Your Wedding Stationery

Having worked with hundreds of brides over the years, we have seen all types of scenarios and come across just about every type of wording conundrum you can think of. Here, we’ll crack a few of these toughies and hopefully get you a jumpstart on Invites Etiquette 101, alongside the reveal of our 2016 Ready to Go collection. We hope you love it!

TIP 1. Determine the host of the wedding celebration and use it as a starting point for the request line. (NB. The request line is traditionally the first line on the invitation that requests the recipient to attend the big day!)

TIP 2. Use the names of the hosts, i.e. whoever is paying, (or your own names if you are hosting) to begin the request line. For example, “Together with their families, Libby and Andrew request the pleasure of your company...” If the celebration is held at a place of worship, the request line should be “request the honour of your presence.” If your celebration is held at a non-religious setting, the request line should read “request the pleasure of your company.”

TIP 3. Paper choice is crucial as this determines the work that is set out for your calligrapher. Highly textured, metallic, or oddly coated paper are usually impossible to write on. Your calligrapher has to figure out a proper pen and ink combination to use for the paper you select. This process is limited by your colour and style preferences as well. So the earlier you include your calligrapher in the planning of your invitation suite, the better. You'll also need to provide your calligrapher with a complete, triple spell-checked, and properly formatted list of guest names and addresses.

TIP 4. This is a traditional etiquette point, so if you’re having a more casual, contemporary celebration, feel free to throw it out the window! Etiquette says that you must spell out all your words. No abbreviations! “St.” should be “street”; “5 July 2016” should be “the fifth of July, Two Thousand and Sixteen.” Although a lot of brides opt for abbreviating and having a more casual feel, this is worth noting especially for more traditional celebrations where older generations will attend.

TIP 5. Work in a bit of personality! For more informal celebrations, use more creative and imaginative phrases that reflect the style of your invitation. For example "Celebrate with us!" or "Are you ready to party?" for RSVP. More non-traditional invitations can often incorporate a glimpse into the celebration, for example, a song request line for the band and dance floor. Most calligraphers usually charge more for dark or lined envelopes, as they would have to draw and erase guidelines per envelope. Metallic inks are harder to use as they require frequent mixing and clog pen nibs quicker, so calligraphers would also most likely charge more for this option.

TIP 6. I can’t say this one enough: no “please” in front of “RSVP”, because it’s already in the French—répondez s'il vous plaît. Make sure you order extra envelopes to allow for mistakes – an additional 10% of the total envelopes is a safe number.

TIP 7. Always order at least 10% more invitations! Almost all printing processes will involve a start up cost included in the price and if you decide to order just a handful more after the main bulk has been printed, the same start up fees may incur making it a costly process.

A big thank you to Erin at Berin Made for providing us with this super list of things to consider when ordering your stationery. If you have any questions at all over invites, RSVPs and other lovely paper goods, then please leave a comment in the box below the post and Erin will do her best to help you.