Wedding Literature: Invitations, Seating Charts, Reception Signs, etc.

Wedding Literature: Invitations, Seating Charts, Reception Signs, etc.

Your wedding literature is important for your guests to know the who, where, why, what of your wedding! From your Save-the-dates, invitations, seating charts, reception signs, etc. These are essential for any celebration.

There are a lot of paper and letter signs that are required for the big day.


There are also many ways that you can get these:

• DIY it yourself
• Buy it from a commercial printing store (i.e. OfficeMax or Costco) or online (i.e. VistaPrint or Shutterfly)
• Professional wedding letter shop (i.e. Minted or Zazzle )
• Buy it from an artist online (i.e. from Etsy or a calligrapher you found on Instagram)
• Buy it from a craft store (i.e. Hobby Lobby, JoAnn's or Michael's)
• Your university's printing center

Here I have a few tips to help you decide what signs and paper goods you want to include in your wedding celebration.

(Photo by Angie Garret)

DIY it or Buy it?

It's easier for a bride to think that DIYing the majority of her wedding is the easiest way to save money...and she's right.

I would recommend starting to practice your calligraphy and lettering skills as soon as possible. You want to have beautifully done signage for your wedding day.

If you aren't particularly comfortable writing out the signs yourself, look for a friend or family member who is artistically gifted and ask them if they could help.

If you aren't in neither of the above situations, then your last resort it to buy it. 

If you look out for coupons for any of the major craft stores (sometimes up to 60% off!) or any coupons online for other printing/calligraphers.

Invitations

The etiquette when it comes to invitations is to send them one to three months before the wedding. However, if you have people coming in from out of town and they want to make their travel arrangements, then it's okay to send these out earlier.

Personally, we are sending out our Save-the-dates as soon as possible and our invitations six months before the wedding. Since the majority of our guests are traveling from out of town, we want to give them enough time.

In the invitations, you want to include all the information of who, what, when and where along with the RSVP deadline.

• Who: obviously you and your fiance; optional your parent's names and if you'd like your wedding party
• What: the wedding ceremony and reception
• When: When is the big date? Also, the time you want them to be at each specific location.
• Where: the location of the wedding (may be one location or the church address and then the reception venue)
• Deadlines: include by when (date and time) do they need to RSVP by.

There are many online wedding invitations sites. These sites make it easier for you to find everything that you need to build your custom invitation (i.e. stock invitations or custom invitations, envelopes of different sizes and textures, envelope inserts, invitation tri-folds, etc.).

A money saving tip is to make your invitations yourself online. You can design them yourself and buy art to include in them from Etsy or other online artists. Personally, we bought some floral design downloads that we are included in our invitations and creating them on Canva (there's also Picmonkey)

I would recommend researching where you can have the invitations printed for the lowest cost. For example, my fiance and I are having ours printed at his university's printing center. 

You can also save even more money and simply send out an online invitation for your guests' emails or through social media. This is the cheapest way. You can also create a private event on Facebook where your guests can communicate with you and each other easily.

RSVP Card

If you want to save money, have your guests RSVP online. You can still include a cute RSVP card in your invitation mail package if you'd like or simply include it at the bottom of your invitations.

This will save you money from not having to include the envelope and stamp for the RSVP, but also in how much money you need to pay to have your invitations shipped (the weight).

Welcome Sign

There are so many designs on how to welcome your guests. You can have a plain cardboard sign, wood sign, or even a neon (electric) sign. There are so many examples out on Pinterest.

It all comes down to your budget and the style of your wedding. For example, I am doing mine. I bought a picture frame from Michael's (with a coupon) and am writing the letters with an oil paint marker. Of course, I am comfortable with it and have been practicing for some time now. There are so many resources out there to help DIY signs like these. Or, you could also just buy a premade Welcome sign and ask a friend to include your names into it.

Seating Chart & Table Numbers

You can print the seating chart and table numbers, or buy them, as said above. Here are some examples on Pinterest and YouTube.

You can be as creative, whether you DIY or buy, and depending on your wedding style. You can go the traditional way and print them on a board, have a calligrapher write them on a mirror, or put them creatively in a wall or on a table.

Other Options

Other paper goods that you can consider including in your wedding are:

• Menus: You can place on for every guest or just a few on every table. I would recommend making these as simple as possible and on cardstock.
• Bar sign: You can print this out as well or write it out on a chalkboard. featuring signature drinks or announcing the types of drinks there is.
• Programs: These are really a waste of money for a person who is on a budget. A few people read them and most get left and thrown away.
• Food Bar sign: There are cute when you have a dessert or food bar.
• Song request card: If you'd like, on the back of your RSVP card, you can encourage your guests to send you their favorite dance tunes. This will not only make them feel part of the planning, but also look forward to the dancefloor!

Please leave comments and questions below & share!