Are you breathing a sigh of relief that you sent out your save-the-dates? Now it’s time to follow them up with your wedding invitations, the first touchpoint of your celebration (yay!).

You may be wondering … why are we so concerned about stationery when we have a wedding to plan? Your invites set the tone for your celebration, giving your guests all the details they’ll need to know for your wedding day. Without wedding invites, there is no celebration – literally. Offering a preview into your wedding’s aesthetic and style, your invitations are also the perfect place to share your relationship and story in a beautiful format that gets guests excited about your event.

Read on for everything you should consider about your invitations and whether you should get custom wedding invitations or, simply, customizable ones from Minted, ZOLA, Shutterfly, or other wedding invitation design websites.

 

Establish Core Details

Before you begin working with a designer to create your wedding invitations, you’ll want to make sure your most important details are securely in place.

Here’s a list to get you started:

Wedding Date

Names – You’ll want to confirm how your parents, in-laws, and you and your partner want to be referred to on the invitations.

Ceremony Location

Ceremony Time

Reception Location

Reception Time

Wedding Menu, if guests will need to RSVP with their meal choice

Accommodations, if you’re blocking rooms

Transportation, if you’re offering it

Wedding Website – This is particularly important if guests will be responding to your invite online instead of using snail mail.

RSVP Date

Photography: Jose Villa | Stationery: Yonder Design

 

Start On Your Wedding Invitations As Soon As Possible

As with your save-the-dates, it’s always a good idea to find and begin working with a stationery designer or searching for a platform to design your invites yourself, stat. Since most designers book well in advance, you don’t want to miss out on the professional of your choice because you couldn’t get onto their calendar.

Everyone’s process for designing custom wedding invitations is slightly different. Most designers will begin the process by talking through inspiration, aesthetics, and your wedding style before presenting invitation options. I definitely recommend leaving some wiggle room in your wedding planning timeline to pull these details together and give your designer plenty of time to work their magic.

Which brings me to my next point…

Photography: Mariel Hannah | Stationery: Matinae Design Studio

 

Decide If You’re Going To Get Custom Wedding Invitations

Before you can send an invitation to your guests, you’ll have to do some digging. At this phase, you’ll need to decide between custom wedding invitations or customizable wedding invitations. If you’re looking for convenience, affordability, and a plethora of already-designed options, I’d recommend going with a website like Minted. You can design your own invitations right away and choose from hundreds of templates you can easily customize and send.

On the other side of things, if you have a particular vision and desire a refined aesthetic for your wedding invitations, go with an independent creative wedding invitation designer. I often recommend working with local stationery designers because you can meet in person, see and touch invitations, and collaborate with a creative who may be familiar with your specific venue. Plus, the shipping time from your designer’s studio to your home will be that much quicker.

From the colors and paper to the style and story, every element of your wedding invitation will be created just for you. That means your stationery won’t look or feel like anyone else’s. A custom wedding invitation can be like a work of art, something that you frame and keep for decades to remember the celebration.

Photography: Rachel Jane Photo | Stationery: Matinae Design Studio

 

Remember That Snail Mail Isn’t Instantaneous

You can easily opt for your guests to RSVP to your invitation digitally, but you can’t avoid the fact that the postal service needs to actually deliver your invites. Ideally, you’ll want to send your wedding invitations at least 6-8 weeks before your wedding day, and 10+ weeks if your guests are traveling to your wedding destination.

Something else to keep in mind: postage may be slightly higher than a standard letter because it will have multiple pieces and additional weight. To make sure you send your invites with the right postage, head to the post office to weigh an invitation and get details on which types of stamps you’ll need for each invite. Once you’re ready to mail your invites, don’t forget to hand cancel your invitations to ensure they’re safe in shipment.

Photography: The Ganey’s  | Stationery: Matinae Design Studio

 

DTE Tip: If you are looking for an “in-between” option whether that decision is based on cost or personal preference, custom wedding stationery designers are now offering semi-custom options! These are pre-designed invitation suites that you can choose from that are fully customizable so you can still get that bespoke invitation feel without dishing out a ton of cash for a custom design.

Tell me: are you leaning towards a custom wedding invitation, creating your own online, or maybe something in-between?