Editorial note: I originally published this blog post on choosing wedding stationery in March of this year, but given the events of 2020 many weddings were postponed and/or altered. Now that things feel like they are gearing up again, I wanted to bring this post to the forefront once more to help anyone currently searching for their own wedding stationery. Choosing my wedding stationery was one of my favourite parts of the whole wedding-planning process, and I hope that this post is helpful to you if you too are currently a bride or groom to be!

Papier have also very kindly extended my Papier discount code for longer, to accommodate for newly-engaged couples, and anyone who may have had to delay their celebrations. See below for details! Thanks Papier!

A Papier Discount Code For You!

Papier have very kindly given me a discount code to share with you, so that you can choose your own dream stationery suite!

Use the code ELGINAVENUE15 for 15% off of your wedding stationery.

Choosing Our Wedding Stationery with Papier

Choosing our wedding stationery was one of the elements of wedding planning I was most looking forward to.

I’ve long loved beautiful stationery (I could peruse Instagram for hours coo-ing over lettering, designs and paper weights!), and have lost count of the number of stationery-centric Instagram posts I’ve double tapped on and pins I’ve saved!

You’ve got a true paper nerd over here!

Though stationery may feel like a small part of your wedding day — in comparison say, to the venue — for me it always felt like a big and important part. 

After all, your Save the Date is the first element of your wedding day that your guests will experience. It’s a glimpse of what’s to come!

With this in mind, choosing wedding stationery that reflects you, your partner and the overall feel of your wedding, is — I believe  — something worth paying close attention to. 

When it came to choosing our wedding stationery, Oli and I quickly made a choice to go with Papier. I’ve been a fan of Papier for years, having been gifted journals and writing sets by friends, as well as ordering from the brand personally. 

I’m over the moon to be sharing today’s blog post in partnership with Papier!

Here’s how Oli and I went about choosing our wedding stationery, and tips for how to select yours too, if you’re currently navigating this decision. 

How We Chose Our Olive-Themed Design & Tips For Choosing Your Stationery Suite

Choosing Your Wedding Stationery Theme

As I mentioned in my wedding day blog post, our wedding venue, which was filled with olive trees, inspired the olive emblem and olive hue which ran throughout our wedding.

When I was browsing Papier for wedding stationery, I had this olive emblem in mind, and quickly landed on the ‘Greenery’ design by Emma Block. 

If you’re currently choosing your own wedding stationery, I suggest thinking about the overall look and feel of your wedding day.

Where are you getting married? Is there something about your location you can include?

What kinds of colours do you want to incorporate in your day?

Are you and your partner quite traditional/romantic/colourful?

Really think about the two of you, and what kind of style would represent you best.

Ordering Stationery Samples

Much like you’d order samples for a wall paint, or kitchen tile, it’s important too to order samples of your potential wedding day stationery. 

It’s a completely different feeling to hold your Save the Date, or Invitation, in your hands, as opposed to seeing an image online.

For Oli and I, though we already had a soft spot for our first-choice design, we went ahead and ordered five sample options.

We chose a variety of sample designs, each of which had some essence of the Mediterranean to them.

From ‘Wild Flowers’, to ‘Spring Anemones’, ‘Blush Bontanicals’ and ‘Foliage’, we looked at five options in total, but ultimately went with our first choice – Emma Block’s ‘Greenery’ design.

And here’s the spooky thing! When you order a sample from Papier you can order a personalised sample, or an unpersonalised sample. We went with unpersonalised, but the bride’s name on the sample invite still said ‘Monica’, as well as having Saturday 14th (our wedding day) written down! 

It felt like fate!

Papier make it SUPER easy to order stationery samples. It’s £1 per sample, which is great value, and you can order a whole bunch for comparison.

I also suggest ordering a couple of paper weight options so that you can compare a heavier card, with a lighter one.

Once we’d decided for sure on the Greenery design, we ordered our Save the Dates. For these we went with a lighter weight, and for the invitations we went with a heavier weight since we wanted it to reflect the importance of the day for us. 

What Is A Wedding Stationery Suite? And Should It Match? 

If you’re new to the topic of stationery, a “stationery suite” will sound completely alien!

Simply put, a stationery suite is a full collection of stationery items. 

In the case of a wedding this can – but doesn’t have to – include your:

Save the Date

Wedding Invitation + additional information cards (if applicable)

Day-of paper goods, including: menus, a seating chart, name cards and table numbers

Thank You Cards

Papier has a dedicated Wedding Section, featuring a plethora of curated design options for your big day.

All of the wedding designs have multiple elements, so that you can easily create a cohesive stationery suite for your big day.

As for whether or not it should all match . . . 

I’m ALL for mix and match, but a thread which can tie it all together looks elegant. 

Oli and I went for Emma Block’s Greenery design for our:

Save the Dates

Invitations + Information Inserts

Wedding Day Menus

Table Plan

We then chose a simple ‘Serif’ design for the table numbers, and the ‘Nom au Complet’ minimal design for the name cards.

We went with a consistent type font combination throughout. 

If you’re thinking of going for a mix of stationery designs, my advice (again!) would be to order a variety of samples so that you can try a few designs combinations side by side.

A friend of mine who’s getting married this year just recently did this, and it was so lovely to see a contrast of complimentary designs for her Save the Dates and Invitations. 

Your wedding suite doesn’t have to be consistent throughout, but harmonious design elements always work well.

You Wedding Stationery Timeline

When Should You Order Your Stationery? And When Should You Send Your Save The Date and Invite Out?

Papier has an amazing dedicated section of its website for ALL things wedding!

From invitation wording (“whose name goes first?!”), to addressing your envelopes and so. much. more.

I can’t recommend checking out Papier’s Wedding Inspiration resources enough.

In terms of your timeline, Papier has a super handy ordering guide detailing when you need to be thinking about various elements for your wedding day. 

Your Wedding Stationery Timeline – According to Papier

Save the Dates: 6 – 8 months before your wedding

Wedding Invitations: 2 – 3 months before your wedding

Order your Finishing Touches (menus, table plan, table numbers etc): 1 month before your wedding 

Thank You Cards: 1 – 3 months after your wedding

Whilst the above is the traditional timeline for sending items out, my advice would be to get your Save the Dates, and Invitations out as soon as possible, since your guests will want plenty of notice for booking accommodation and making plans.

Papier’s Customer Service

I can’t share this blog post with you without mentioning a major hiccup (of my own making) which Papier’s customer service team was able to help me with. 

Just as we were beginning to think about packing for Menorca, I realised that our Table Plan was WAY too big to fit in any of our suitcases. I had thought, since we’d be using our biggest cases, that we would be able to lay it at the bottom (wrapped of course), but on trying it out it was an absolute non-starter. 

I honestly had no idea what to do, and so I decided to reach out to Papier’s customer service team for advice. 

The Papier team were amazing, and over a few emails were able to confirm that they could ship directly to Menorca. Though it meant printing a second Table Plan, it was by far the best option, and when Oli and I arrived in Menorca there was a perfect Table Plan awaiting us. PHEW!

Throughout the whole process, Papier’s customer service team were in constant contact, and made me feel like they had my back. A huge bonus when you’re navigating multiple elements of wedding planning.

Thanks Papier!

A Reminder: A Papier Discount Code For You!

Papier have very kindly given me a discount code to share with you, so that you can choose your own dream stationery suite!

Use the code ELGINAVENUE15 for 15% off of your wedding stationery.

Overall

Oli and I were both so thrilled with how our wedding stationery turned out. 

We went on to order our thank you cards through Papier too, and (in case you hadn’t guessed already – ha!) I can’t recommend Papier enough.

If you’re currently navigating the world of wedding stationery, I hope that today’s post has been helpful to you!

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Love, Monica x

Photography by Charlotte Bryer-Ash

~ The post was created in collaboration with Papier ~