What is included in wedding stationery is basically everything that will be part of your offline communications with your guests.
More specifically, it’s any offline message or communication you want to be preserved by non-electronic means.
That applies to invitations, thank-you letters, and any other paper messages of the sorts we’ll get into in this guide.
And it also applies to those messages you’ll send both before and after the wedding.
Additionally, we can include all the tools, accents, and flares you’ll use to make those messages even more beautiful and touching than just the words on the page.
Here, we’ll start with the first one you’ll send and go in order that way.
P.S. Stay with us until the last section because it’s probably the most important one in this whole guide. 😉
1. Initial Announcements
These are also often called “save-the-date” letters, and they’re the first on the list of what is included in wedding stationery.
Traditionally, you’d send these out as soon as your official date has been officially decided, officially marking the transition from the wedding planning phase to the actually-doing-it phase.
Importantly, these are not your invitations (those come next).
Timeframe
Depending on how far away your wedding destination is from wherever your guests live, you’ll want to send these announcement letters out anywhere from 4 to 12 months before the wedding.
2. The Invitations
As far as what is included in wedding stationery is concerned, this is really the main event.
While the previous letter you sent out informed everyone of your wedding’s date and time, it didn’t formally invite your guests.
This is how you do that.
And if you want to keep things eco-friendly, as we’ve recommended before, you can easily do that by opting for sustainable paper and envelopes.
Timeframe
Depending on how far your guests will need to travel to attend your wedding, you’ll want to send this one out between 6 and 12 weeks before your wedding.
3. Wedding Day Stationery
Yeah, that’s right.
What is included in wedding stationery doesn’t end with the invitations.
Once your guests arrive at your wedding, you’ll want to ensure they don’t get lost or confused.
Also, you’ll want to express your gratitude to them for showing up on your big day.
The way you accomplish all of that is with your programs, escort cards, place cards, welcome signs, and even your menus (if applicable).
Timeframe
These are all for the actual day of your wedding. 🔔💐
4. Thank You Letters
You’d be surprised by how many people forget this one, but it matters.
Every guest at your wedding probably went out of their way to be there.
They likely took a day off work or canceled something else for the occasion.
So, it’s appropriate to show your gratitude and appreciation to them for that.
And a lovely way to do this is to send them a thoughtful, personalized memento of the day when they were there to support both of you when you started your new life together.
Timeframe
If you want, you can create these before your wedding, but don’t send them until around 2-3 months after your wedding.
(Pro Tip: You can add a little touch or anecdote to your pre-written thank-you letters after the wedding to remind each recipient of something personal from that day.)
Now For The Big Secret …
You might be a real wordsmith, and that haiku or Bible verse you included at the bottom is probably a great touch.
But there’s a lot of other stuff you can do to dress up your letters and make them truly memorable.
And this other stuff is the often-untalked-about and underappreciated element of what is included in wedding stationery.
If you get a handle on it, you’ll be able to see that difference immediately (and so will your recipients).
High Quality Craft Paper & Other Media
Instead of printer paper, swing for some robust craft paper or calligraphy paper.
Generally, the thicker and heavier a piece of paper is, the higher quality it is.
That’s especially true if it’s textured and has rougher, uneven edges that won’t give you a papercut.
Calligraphy Pens and Ink
Have you ever seen images online or visited a museum displaying old letters and documents from over a hundred years ago, before everything was typed and printed by machine?
Doesn’t every document look like a work of art that could be framed, even if it’s just a standard personal letter from one friend to another or a ship manifest?
Well, part of why those documents all look so pretty is that they weren’t written with cheap, disposable office pens.
Get yourself a proper calligraphy pen and some premium ink, practice a little with them before writing on your good paper, and make your letters something special.
Handwritten Calligraphy and Written Flourishes
You can either hire a professional calligrapher or write your letters yourself.
But whichever way you choose to go, handwritten letters cannot be compared to printed ones.
Anyone can print anything in a few seconds, but handwriting a letter is a rare art that requires a certain amount of time, effort, and care.
And when you write it by hand, you can throw in all kinds of flourishes, illumination, and whatever else you can think of.
Laser printers are faster, but faster isn’t always better, and it’s definitely not as personal.
Envelopes & Other Containers
You don’t want these to be those cheap envelopes from Office Depot or Staples that come in packs of 50 or more.
Remember that your recipients will see the package before they open it to find the letter inside.
If you’re feeling eccentric, you can even place your letters inside little boxes filled with other things, like little paper hearts or dried flower petals.
Dried Flowers, Twine, Ribbons, Wax Seals, and Other Bits of Flair.
Both inside and outside of the envelope/container, these are the additional touches that just put the proverbial icing on the cake.
And these touches are not only memorable, but they also further visibly distinguish your letters from any other pieces of paper at your recipient’s house.
In other words, these things make it less likely that your letters will get lost, misplaced, or otherwise mixed up with other documents.
Make It Personal
The last thing on the list of what is included in wedding stationery isn’t really a “thing” so much as a rule or guiding principle: everything should ideally be handmade.
Think about it, when was the last time you got any letter in the mail that wasn’t either spam, a jury duty summons, a bill of some kind, or some unpleasant legal document, like a cease and desist order?
It’s probably been a minute.
So, you’re already going to be making a statement by physically mailing anything instead of lazily blasting out a bunch of emails or texts.
But you can do even better than that and make your letter even more memorable and precious by handmaking as much of it as possible yourself.
Even if you’re not the best calligrapher, the fact that the letters on the page were clearly written by a human, not a laser printer, counts for a lot, emotionally.
