How Your Stationery Plays a Key Role in the Guest Experience

Wedding Tips

Mar 11

Your stationery plays a pivotal role in your guests’ experience leading up to and during your wedding. Using thoughtful and intentionally designed paper goods, we can help set expectations, eliminate confusion and seamlessly transition your guests throughout your wedding weekend.

Save the Date. The very first touchpoint you will have with your guests is through your Save the Dates. These cards let your guests know well in advance that they will be invited to your wedding. They can reserve the date on their calendar and, if applicable, plan travel and accommodations. It is likely that this card will be hung up on their refrigerator doors for months, even a year leading up to your wedding day! Every time they look at it, it builds anticipation and excitement around celebrating your special day.
Invitations. Jumping ahead around 3 months prior to your wedding day, things are getting real! There is so much crucial information that gets communicated through your invitation suite. The time, location, and dress code of your wedding. Any weekend events, including a welcome party or farewell brunch, which hotel to stay at, whether you will be providing transportation to the venue, and arguably the most important detail: how and when they can submit their rsvp. Your invitations set the entire tone for what to expect going into your wedding.

3. Welcome Bags. The wedding weekend is here! If your guests are traveling from out of town, a welcome bag is a great way to greet them in their hotel room. Branded gifts keep the excitement flowing as they enter the weekend, and your insert cards can help provide them with the key details they need for the events to come.

4. Welcome Signage. Your wedding day is finally here! Now your day-of stationery jumps in to continue the guest experience. Upon arrival, your guests will need to know where they are headed. Welcome signs will help guide them to the ceremony location and confirm they are in the right place.

5. Ceremony Programs. Once in the ceremony space, guests will like to know what they can expect. Is this a formal mass? A quick ceremony? Will they be expected to participate? A program is a great way to map out exactly what is happening throughout the ceremony. It is also a great way to acknowledge any special readings or songs shared by loved ones.

6. Bar Signs. After the ceremony ends, the party can begin! Cocktail hour kicks off the transition between ceremony and reception. Your guests will be lined up at the bar wondering what they can order. A signature cocktail and list of offerings will allow your guests to review their options as they approach the counter. Bonus points if the drinks are personalized with custom cups, stir sticks, or cocktail napkins.

7. Seating Display. Once the doors open into the reception space, your guests will need to know where to sit. Seating displays are one of my favorite ways to get creative and guide guests to their table.

8. Place Cards. Once they find their table, it is a question of which seat to take. Place cards are a wonderful way to tell your guests, we saved this seat just for you. It also eliminates any awkwardness and confusion about which seat they should choose or who to sit next to.

9. Menus. Now that your guests are seated for dinner, they may not remember which entree they selected back when they submitted their rsvp. A menu will let them know exactly what they will be served throughout the meal.

10. Post-Reception Celebrations. Whether the party is continuing all night or you will reconnect over brunch the next morning, your guests will already have that information! Your well-considered stationery will already have informed them about any additional plans.

Your stationery is a crucial component of your wedding weekend - not only for yourself, but for hosting your guests well. All the hours of thoughtful planning you put into your wedding weekend can be clearly communicated to your guests through each of these items. I can’t wait to help you bring your guest experience to the next level.