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Stationery Guide

This is a useful guide to help you when ordering your stationery.

Save the Date Cards
Save the date cards are a relatively new trend for hectic lifestyles of today. Sending out a “save the date” card means your busy guests will be able to keep the date available to attend your wedding. Lovebug Designs recommends you send them between 9 and 12 months before your wedding day. Save the dates are very useful for a Bride & Groom getting married abroad and are also popular if your wedding coincides with a holiday date e.g. Bank Holiday weekends, main summer holidays, Christmas time etc.

Invitations
Unless you send a “save the date” card, your invitation will be the first glimpse of the type of wedding your guests can expect to attend. Before ordering your wedding invitations, you should have decided on your colour and theme if you have one. Lovebug Designs can draw inspiration from the colours, theme and flowers you have chosen for your wedding. Remember you do not need an invite for every guest, as most will be in couples so it will be one per household. Children are also included on the parents invite if they are invited. You should send your invitations at least 12 weeks before the day. Give your guests approx 4 weeks to reply and check when your caterer/venue needs a final number of guests.

Guest Information Cards
These are sent out with your invitations and contain any additional information that may be useful to your guests such as directions to the church and venue, local accommodation or details of your wedding list.

Reply Cards
People can be forgetful in replying to your invitation. Reply cards allow your guests to respond faster so there is no excuse for guests not to send their reply card back promptly. Reply cards are also a good way to keep track of your guests’ attendance. They can also be used to ask if your guests have any special dietary requirements, such as food allergies or are vegetarian etc. You can then liaise with your caterer / venue on any special menus. They should be sent out with your invitations.

Order of Service / Order of the Day
If you are having a Church wedding, the Ushers usually hand out the Order of Service sheets to the guests as they arrive at the entrance of the Church. You can order one per guest if your budget allows, but one per couple is sufficient, plus a few more for your single guests, Minister and choir. The Order of Service lists the agenda of your ceremony and will usually be 4 inner pages for the text, plus the outer card with the coordinating design you have chosen for your stationery. The hymns can also be printed to save giving out hymnbooks. It is advisable to go through your chosen service with the Minister / Registrar so they can check they are happy with everything before you send it to Lovebug Designs to set in your chosen typeface. Order of the Day Cards are used for civil ceremonies. They do not include hymns so usually an A5 card is fine.

Place Cards
Place cards are essential if you have a table plan as they allow guests to find their seat with ease so there is no confusion. Place cards are designed to complement the wedding table plan – they make a beautiful final detail to the wedding breakfast. They are printed with the guest names to save you hand writing them – this way they will coordinate with your other stationery and look more professional.

Table Names or Numbers
These are displayed on each table at your reception to enable it to be easily identified by your guests once they have looked at the table plan. If you have chosen a particular theme, you can name your tables according to this or just use names that will add a bit of fun and a talking point at the tables. Examples of previous names are: Favourite pubs, holiday destinations of the happy couple, pets in the family, fashion designers etc. If you are not following a theme you can have numbers as numerals or written words.

Table Plans
In addition to place name cards, an overall seating plan is usually displayed at the entrance to the dining room, so that guests know the general location of their seats. If you are planning a traditional sit down wedding breakfast, a table plan is a good way to ensure your guests will find their seats without any hassle or confusion. Lovebug Designs offer table plans in a range of sizes to suit any size wedding party and are tailor made to coordinate with your invitations and other items of stationery. They are made on sturdy stretched canvas and make a lovely keepsake of your wedding for you to hang after the special day.

Menus
You may also wish to provide menus for your guests if you are having a sit down wedding breakfast rather than a buffet-style meal. They provide something on the table for the guests to read whilst they are waiting for everyone to be seated – it is always nice to know what you are going to be eating. One per table of 8 is fine, but if you have larger tables you may wish to consider having two.

Favours
The tradition of giving Bonboniere to celebrate special occasions such as weddings was started centuries ago in Italy. Favour boxes or bags traditionally contain sugared almonds, symbolising health, wealth, happiness, fertility and long life. Usually positioned at place settings, they make a wonderful way of saying thank you to your guests for sharing your special day. Favours are perfect for decorating wedding tables and make lovely gifts for your guests filled with sweets or little gifts.

Favour boxes are made to match your wedding stationery design. They are supplied empty ready to fill with your own gift.

Tulle favours are the more traditional style of favour and they are filled with 20 white or ivory chocolate dragees. The favours can be designed to coordinate with your stationery and previous designs have included feathers, diamante, roses, butterflies etc.

Favour Tags
These are attached to your chosen wedding favours at each place setting or they can be displayed together on a special table for guests to help themselves. The tags can be printed with the name of the couple and the date of their wedding or with a personal message to the guests. If they are displayed at each place setting, then they can also include the guest’s name to be used instead of place cards.

Sweet Buffet Stationery
Candy / sweet buffets are right on trend for weddings at the moment. Your sweet buffet stationery can coordinate with your chosen wedding stationery design or you can choose something completely different and have a design that is influenced by the sweets you have for your buffet. Lovebug Designs can make the tags to hang on the sweet jars, bunting for your table and also table cards with a message for your guests.

Post Box
As many couples already live together when they are planning their wedding, they often have everything they need for their home so they ask for vouchers or money rather than having a traditional wedding gift list. Post boxes are ideal if you are having vouchers or money as they can be placed on a table at your reception so guests can leave their envelopes in a safe place so they do not get mislaid. The post boxes can also be used as a keepsake box to store your cards after the big day. Lovebug Designs post boxes are decorated in your chosen design and will be personalised with your names and wedding date.

Guest Book
A Guest Book is a lovely reminder of all the guests who have celebrated your special day with you and are fun to look back on for years to come. The Chief Bridesmaid or Matron of Honour usually takes on the responsibility of passing it around for guests to add their special messages to the happy couple. Lovebug Designs handmade guest books are decorated in your colour and theme and will be personalised with your names and wedding date. All guest books come complete with a matching presentation box.

Thank You Cards
These are sent out to guests after your wedding to thank them for attending and also to thank them for their wedding gifts. If you have a gift list service at a department store, you will have a list with the guests name and their chosen gift, but if not, when you open your presents make a list of who bought what present so you can thank them for the specific gift. You should never write a generic message of thanks – this is considered bad etiquette as it looks like you do not know what you have received from them. You should aim to send out your thank you cards within a few weeks of your wedding or return from your honeymoon, so it’s a good idea to set the ball rolling and have them made whilst on your honeymoon so you can write them on your return.

Albums
These large albums are ideal if you are leaving throwaway cameras on the tables at your reception. You can display the snaps in the album, which you can have embellished to match your theme and colours. They make great gifts for the bride and grooms parents to keep their set of wedding photos safe. Also available for Honeymoon and Hen Night memories.

Keepsake Box
Many brides like to keep mementos of their special day. An embellished keepsake box is perfect for keeping those treasured memories safe. Lovebug Designs hand made boxes are large enough for your wedding shoes or you may want to store samples of your stationery, items you have collected when planning the wedding or your lucky horseshoes. Also available for Honeymoon and Hen Night memories.

Hen Night Invites
Modern brides take as much time planning their Hen Night or Weekend as their wedding, so if you are planning something special for your friends what better way to invite them than with a themed invite from Lovebug Designs. Just let me know what you are planning and I will design and invitation around the theme. Previous designs have included the stage show ‘Dirty Dancing’ in London and a ‘Learn to Pole Dance’ weekend.

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