Custom Wedding Accessories & Invitations

1/21/2021

Custom wedding accessories and printables are often an underestimated part of wedding planning. These signature features set the mood for your destination wedding weekend and get your guests excited about what they will be experiencing.

Personalizing your printed wedding items and accessories is a great way to set the tone for your wedding. Every customized detail helps to carry a cohesive design throughout all planning phases including your actual Wedding Day.

CREATING YOUR DREAM WEDDING WEEKEND

Don’t let the thought of designing your wedding accessories and materials overwhelm you. Start by creating your guest list and mapping out the overall flow of your wedding weekend to determine which events are going to need extra information.

Have your wedding planner help you create a budget for all of your paper items, including (but not limited to): Save the Dates, Invitation Suite, Menus, Escort Cards, and Place Cards.

Digital printing is an excellent option for smaller budgets. Custom methods such as engraving and letterpress will naturally be a larger investment. You can highlight custom wedding accessories in high-impact places such as the menus, as they will become an intricate part of the table decor.

INSPIRATION FOR CUSTOM WEDDING ACCESSORIES

Let your fingers do the walking and explore vendor options and styles on Instagram. Start looking at details such as personalized wax seals, paper layering, and unique shapes. It’s ok to like it all! Save your favorites and you’ll start to see a pattern for what style your eye gravitates towards.

Once you’ve identified a vendor (or two) make an appointment to get the process started. Talk to them about timelines and turnaround times. Creative solutions can always be found to help you with the initial design, but logistics can become sticky if you’re on a tight timeline.

DETAILS & DEADLINES

During your conversation confirm details regarding how quickly they need the content and make sure that you understand the proof & review process. The deadline for final approval needs to be confirmed to avoid stressful situations. Also, have your vendor confirm how many revisions are allowed before incurring additional costs.

You can also utilize a website to design all of your printed materials. Some great options for this include Artifact Uprising, Zola, and Zazzle. In addition to its design capabilities, Minted is a hosting platform for your Wedding Website which seamlessly carries your design from online to social media through your custom wedding accessories.

CREATING A WEDDING LOGO

A wedding logo is a great way to “brand” your wedding weekend. It’s a way to customize your wedding from the very beginning. Choose modern and minimalist or whimsical and creative.

A custom logo can be used in a million different ways and applications. Your logo can be included on all printed materials and signage. It’s an amazing way to have something special from your wedding day that you can use moving forward.

SAVE THE DATE

A Save the Date notice for destination weddings is a great way to get your guests excited for your wedding and ready to travel. Before sending out your Save the Date you’ll need to have some details in place.

Your 1st project is getting your guest list finalized and contact details organized. This might involve several rounds of editing and family input. Make a fun weekend out of it: pop in some good music and open a bottle of bubbly.

While you’re getting your list perfected work with your wedding planner to solidify your Wedding Venue, Room Block contract for your accommodations, and most importantly solidify the Wedding Date. Once the Room Block contract is in place, you’ll be able to provide a booking link to your guests.

THE INVITATION SUITE

The Invitation Suite includes multiple elements, and this is the perfect place to show off your color palette and design concept. Include your logo and small customized design details that tie in all of your creativity. We all know that the devil is in the details and in creating a truly unique wedding you’ll want all the fabulous details you can get.

Elements of an Invitation Suite: Outer Envelope, Inner Envelope, Wedding Invitation, Itinerary, Accommodations Card, Response Card, and postage.

THE WEDDING INVITATION

The Wedding Invitation is a given element of the Invitation Suite, but what information should it contain? Although it might seem obvious what to include, it’s easy to overlook including some very important information.

You want to make sure your guests know the time of the ceremony, wedding date, ceremony location, and reception location. A great place for quick bits of information is corner copy. Information that you might put in the corner copy is ‘no gifts please’ or ‘leave your heels at home for a toes-in-the-sand ceremony.

If applicable, your wedding website should also be displayed on your invitation.

THE INFORMATION STATION

The Itinerary for your destination wedding weekend should be situated at the information station for your guests. This is the best way to ensure that everyone is in the right place at the right time. Details for all hosted event(s) should be disclosed along with dates, times, and locations.

Display transportation details if an event is taking place outside of the resort and convey to your guests what attire is appropriate. You can also include information about your destination city, activities to do during downtime, and local restaurant suggestions.

If you’re utilizing your wedding website to communicate with guests, you can send an electronic version of your Itinerary to your guests the week of the wedding. This keeps the information fresh in their heads and they can save it directly to their devices to make it handy everywhere they go.

RESPONSE CARDS ARE A MUST

Response cards are key to the success of your wedding weekend! You’ll want a confirmed headcount for each event you are hosting. This will help you and your coordination team finalize quotes for food, beverage, décor, and printed items.

Request that RSVPS are returned 45 days (or more) ahead of time. You’ll need to submit the final headcount to venues and vendors 30 days prior to events for final payments. This is also the time and place where you’ll capture meal selection and ask guests about food allergies & restrictions.

Here’s an example of RSVP wording:

Kindly Respond on or Before April 1, 2021

Name(s)

___ I would not miss it for the world

___ I will be there in spirit

___  Steak

___ Fish

Dietary Restrictions _____________

ESCORT CARDS OR PLACE CARDS?

Escort Cards and Place Cards have different jobs. The purpose of an Escort Card or Seating Chart is to show guests and loved ones what table they are to be seated at. The Place Card shows them which seat at the table is reserved for each guest.

Depending on your meal service you may not need to assign a particular seat to each guest. For example, if your guest is choosing between 3 meal options, you will want to assign a seat so that the seating chart can be used as a reference for the service staff. Assigned seating is optional if dinner service is plated or family-style.

As a coordinator, I suggest always assigning seats for the key players such as the bride and groom, parents of the bride and groom, and the wedding party. With these key assignments, you could leave a special takeaway (gift) in lieu of the place card.

THE PROS AND CONS OF A PRINTED MENU

A custom-printed menu can add so much to the table décor. It can tie in color, design, or details such as ribbon, fringe, or a special tassel. If assigning seats for a selected meal, you can personalize them with the guest’s name and include the meal details they selected. Additionally, it’s a special takeaway for the bride and groom so they can remember those little details of the day that made it so special.

As you can see, there are so many ways to add custom wedding accessories to your celebrations. Each one helps to serve as a reflection of your dream event. Happy creating!

Cheers to you!!!

Amy

Custom Vendors for Printed Items:

Bells & Whistles Cabo

Lavanda y Tinta

Serendipity Cabo

Swell Press
Papira Design
Danger & Moon
Southern Fried Paper
https://ruthieandoliverletterpress.com/
https://www.threelittlebirds.ie/
http://www.pshop.com.mx/

Couture Paper Selections:

Peterkin Paper
Paradise Design Co.

Ceci New York

 

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