3 Tips for Keeping Your Guest List Organized

Hello lovely!

We are so excited to share our tips on keeping your guest list organized, but I am going to be honest with you, the real gem of this post is the awesome download at the end! We have spent some serious time testing and tailoring it to help you keep track of all things on your guest list. 

Think about it, by the time you are done you have most likely sent save-the-dates, rehearsal dinner invitations, bridal shower invitations, wedding invitations and countless thank you notes. All of those addresses can be handled in one document. Truly lifesaving.

---

our three best tips:
 

1. Customize your list:

Take a moment to consider what information you will need before you start gathering all those guest names & addresses.

Think about things like: 

• Will you be including inner envelopes with our invitations? (if so, add a separate column for those names)
• Will you be sending out separate invitations to other weekend events? Think rehearsal dinner, bridal luncheon, Sunday brunch. (if so add columns for each, and mark which guest will get what when you add in their names)
• Know someone who may move between sending save the dates and invitations? Make a column for them so you can check back before the final send-off. 

All of these can save you from having several lists, and so much time when it comes to stuffing and sending out everything. 

2. Track everything

On the download, you will see columns for all these different elements, and you may have even added more from the tip above, but all that setup will be so worth it when you have an organized list that will save you hours! 

Think of this as your command center for tracking all of your guest information. Don't just make a list for mailing, but use it to track who will be attending what and who you will be inviting to which events. 

3. Share your list

This is the most helpful part of this list, in my humble opinion, it not only is so helpful for you to know what has been sent, and who gets what invite, but it is a great tool to pass on to all of the lovely people who are helping you along the way. From bridal showers to thank yous, keeping all of your lists in one location will make keeping things together a breeze. (Well at least a lot more organized and less chaotic)

Our Timeline and Guide for Your Wedding Invites + Save the Dates

Our Timeline and Guide for Your Wedding Invites + Save the Dates

Ahhh, wedding planning… the endless to-do list. You have a checklist and it feels like you can never complete it! Or maybe you have 7 different checklists, one for each vendor… lists for days.

And if you are anything like us you have several categories of lists that are all controlled by one master list. (I may or may not have some slight OCD when it comes to list making.)

Today, we have a handy checklist all ready for you on when you ACTUALLY need to send out those save-the-dates, invitations, thank yous, and much more. We will even go into detail if you are planning a destination or a local wedding.

---

First Things First

First things first, if you haven't already, let everyone know you're engaged! It is such a heart-filling moment to have all of those closest to you be so happy and excited for you on this newest adventure! 

---

Start with a vision

There are many things to check off your list before it is time to meet for your wedding suite, but one thing we encourage brides to do from day one is to create a vision for your big day. If you don't already have a mood board full of ideas, now is the time to fill it up. (We are loving gomoodboard.com) If you’re not sure how to find inspiration that’s unique with items you love, don't worry! We’ve got you covered in this blog: How to Find Your Wedding Inspo.

But don't fill it with things you kind of like, instead fill it with fewer things you love.

list maker here

I would even suggest making a different board for your main priorities: venue, florals, table settings, and of course paper goods.

*If you would like some ideas, check out our Pinterest boards

Okay now let's get to your actual wedding paper timeline!

Up first, Save the Dates

Once you have your date and location locked down, its time to send these bad boys out. The range we suggest is 6-12 months before your wedding date. The earlier the better for these - especially if you're planning a destination wedding. In that case, send them even earlier!

We suggest meeting with us 4-6 weeks before you’re ready to send Save-the-Dates out. This allows for plenty of time for a consultation, any revisions and design approval, ordering of letterpress plates, and printing.

Bonus: Save-the-Dates and invitation suites only need one consultation. Its all about the big picture, and how all the pieces work together. And it’s best done if you cover all the elements at once. 

Go ahead and put it on your calendar now - we DARE you!

Round number two, Your Wedding Suite

At this point, you have all of your vendors booked, all your deadlines in hand, and a full vision of your big day. If you didn't find us until after you sent your Save-the-Sates, don't worry - we’re bummed too, but that means it’s time to schedule a consultation for your wedding suite. Yay!
 

Wedding Suite

The pieces we suggest including are: invites, reply cards, detail cards, and weekend events. The “weekend events” card might include other wedding related gatherings such as a bridal luncheon or a groomsman golf round. It all depends on what fits your wedding! 

Again, we suggest meeting with us 4-8 weeks before you’d like to send them on their postal way - ideally sending them out 1-6 months in advance. This is really where sitting down with your wedding planner (or us) will help to determine what timeline is best for your wedding. Generally, destination weddings should be sent out much earlier than most stateside weddings. 

If you're running a little behind you can send them as late as 1 month away, *IF* you're having a local wedding where most of the guests live.
 

Don't forget your thank you cards

You’re gonna have a LOT of thank you’s to write - shouldn’t they look good too? Showers and gifts are on the horizon if you haven't already received a few. Having these in hand really helps you stay on top of writing all those Thank You's before they build up!

The finale, day-of pieces

These are important items not to put off until the very last minute. Although we can get them to you quickly, you don't want to be worrying about these right before your big day.
 

These pieces include item such as:

• programs
• escort cards
• table numbers
• menus
• favor tags
• welcome bag items
• etc 

Day of pieces typically require another chat or meeting to go through the specifics, and really nail down those final pieces your guests will see. 

---

We know everyone loves a good free download, so we have just that for you! A simple timeline checklist of when to schedule a meeting and send out your wedding paper goods!

6 Unique Ways to Word Your Wedding Invitations

One of the most common questions we get from our brides is "What wording should I use." Although there are so many guides about wording out there, today's won't be a regurgitation of formalities or common wording options, but instead unique wording options real brides have used over the years.

We really believe in showing off your personality as a couple through your wedding suite, and this definitely includes your wording from save-the-dates through your thank yous. 

Before we break this down, these are just a FEW of the unique wordings we really like and think stand out from the crowd. If you have something unique as a couple roll with it. Afterall your wedding day is all about you two as a couple, so make it fit! 

so put it on your calendar

In our eyes, Save-the-Date cards are the beginning of your wedding suite. Everything from save-the-dates through thank yous should be a breath of the same air. So go ahead an have fun and show off those personalities starting here. 

Here are a few examples of some of our favorite save-the-date wordings. Remember you don't need to say too much here! Its main purpose is to let your guest know where and when your wedding will be held.

Our Favorite Unique Wording for Save-The-Date cards:

1. FYI, you have plans...
 

2. August Twenty Fourth 2019, we're getting married...
 

3. We'd love for you to join us on...
 

4. We set the date...
 

5. Mark your calendar for...
 

6. We are getting married {month, day, year}. We'd love you to join us.

On pretty paper

Your wedding suite often contains many pieces in order to communicate everything your guest need to know about your wedding and all the details and events that surround it. For this post, we are going to cover the basics of your invitation, rsvp, and detail cards. However, there are many more items that may be included such as your rehearsal dinner card, brunch card, map + directions, accommodations, etc. 

and watch us kiss

Your invitation is typically the most formal piece of your wedding suite, but that doesn't mean it has to be stale, boring or common. So here is our take on some fun ways to be a little more formal.

Our Favorite Unique Wording for Wedding Invitations:
 

1. You inspire us. You ground us. You fill us with endless joy and gratitude. We would be honored and privileged to have you join us as we exchange vows.
 

2. Because you have shared their lives with your love and friendship we joyfully invite you to celebrate
 

3. With full hearts we invite you to join us as two love birds become husband & wife.
 

4. It is because of your love, support & friendship which has guided and inspired us that we invite you to join us as we exchange our vows.
 

5. Please join us for a weekend getaway in celebration of our marriage
 

6. {Bride and Groom} warmly invite you to share in celebration of their marriage

 

Would you like Fish or Chicken?

Most RSVPs are rather plain and frankly not exciting. That doesn't have to be your RSVP though. We love adding graphics for food choices, or couples who want to know their guests song request.

Our Favorite Unique Wording for Wedding RSVPs:
 

1. ¿Sí o no? 
 

2. Happily accepts | sadly declines
 

3. Can't wait to party at the wedding | unable to attend (and very sad about it) 
 

4. yes! Woudln't miss it. | no. sorry to miss it!
 

5. ____ out of ____ guest(s) will attend
 

6. Yes! We will have our dancing shoes on | No, Sadly we'll have to miss out on the fun

or join us for brunch

Although this card is sometimes optional, we find that most of our couples need at least one extra piece beyond the invitation and RSVP. Cue a lovely details card that lets your guest know about your wedding website, where to find accommodations or even some things to do while they are in town. 

Our Favorite Unique Wording for Wedding Detail Cards:
 

1. Find all the details at: meandyou.com
 

2. Drinks on us!
 

3. All the weekend details: meandyou.com
 

4. Here is the who, what, when, where and why for the weekend.
 

5. Unplugged and Adults Only
 

6. A few of our favorite things

---

If you like a few of the wordings from above, no need to scroll up and screenshot them. We have crafted a download of them here so you can save them to that ever-growing wedding folder on our desktop.

We really hope this guide helped you think about what ways you may make your wedding wording have more personality and less common. These are just a few wording options, during our consultations we brainstorm with each of our brides, and help them find wording unique to them.

xoxo,
Amanda and Melissa

6 ways to keep your letterpress suite on budget

We know. You know. Letterpress ain't cheap. But there are ways to make it more affordable. We're all about showing you how to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to your dream invitation suite. That's why we created this quick guide for you! (and because we get this question a lot from our brides!)

Here are 6 tips to help get cost down, without skimping on what's really important to you.

1. Skip the extras

You know how sometimes you get a wedding invitation and there are 14 pieces that fall out? Cards, bands, additional envelopes... a lot of that stuff is totally unnecessary. Sure, they're fun to look at before they get tossed in the trash, but your guests really only save the invitations. Sticking to the essentials keeps your suite pieces to a minimum and allows your few pieces be more impactful.

 

Our Essentials Are:

• Save-the-date
  THE INVITATION SUITE
• Invitation
• Reply Card
• Reception Card
• Thank you note
• Envelopes (save the date, invitation, reply card, thank you note)
• Return Address

 

But you can really get by with:

• Save-the-dates and Envelopes
• Invitations and Envelopes
• Reply Cards
• Thank Yous and Envelopes

---

2. Keep it to one color

Remember, even if we just print one color,  your invitation has 2 colors - the paper color and the ink color! Adding more than one print color can be nice, but it isn't necessary, and it is one of biggest ways to reduce cost.

Each color adds a new plate and adds another run through the press. Going from one color to two doubles printing production time, so you can see how the cost can add up quickly. 

If you are sold on a two-color design but want to cut cost, keep the two colors on the invitation, but simplify to one color on the other pieces. Or try using different colored papers.

 

Your guest will never remember your reply card was one color but your invite was two!

---

3. Use a rubber stamp

If your up for a little DIY, a rubber stamp is a great way to save. 

Getting a custom rubber stamp made is a great way to add your return address to all of those envelopes (because trust us - there are a lot of them).

 

save-the-dates | invitations | reply cards | thank you notes x your number of guest

---

4. Choose the right stock

 

Stock is just our word for paper..

So don't let that intimidate you. So many brides worry about picking their paper, but we make that process as easy as possible.

We only use premium stocks, so even our thinnest stock (1 ply) has more texture and is thicker than your average stock. 

We offer 1 ply and 2 ply stocks for our wedding suites. Choosing 1 ply stock for your wedding suite will stretch your dollar the most. 

If you're really loving the thicker feel use it for your invitation, and then keep your details and reply cards on the thinner paper.
 

---

5. Save on postage

#POSTCARDS

We are totally crushing over some beautiful postcards lately, and we think it is such a fun way to send out your reply card. Bonus it saves you money in envelopes and postage! Which makes it much more environmentally friendly.

The reply card is a great place to save some money - they're only in your guest's hands for a short period of time before they mail them back to you.

 

TIP: We don't recommend save-the-date postcards however because they get damaged in the mail, and won't look as nice on arrival to your guest!!

---

6. Include your website

 

Whoever says putting your URL on your invitation is taboo is living in another century. Everyone uses wedding websites for all the info from booking rooms to buying gifts. Including your wedding website URL somewhere in your invitation suite can be a great way to streamline the info you need to print. Which may may mean you can print less cards, or smaller cards, saving you money.

---

We hope you learned a few ways to make your letterpress printed wedding suite more affordable. If you found this blog helpful let us know what tips you liked most in the comments below.

5 ways to tag your invite

We love adding something a little special to every wedding invitation suite that is created in our studio. One of our favorite ways to add that "something special" is by adding a tag to an suite piece. Adding that simple element takes the whole suite to a new level of detail. 

 

5 ways we love adding tags

1. mark it with your date

A great way to remind all of your guests to mark their calendars is to attach a tag with your wedding date. It is simple and fun. 

2. add your monogram

If you are already wanting a monogram on your invitation, this may not be the way to go, but if your not, it's your lucky day. Adding your monogram can be a great way to add that extra detail.

3. hashtag it

We love couples who include this detail on their tags! It is a great way to incorporate that you want your guest to help record your day without printing in on the invite or on a details card. 

4. show your wedding location

Some weddings are a hop and skip away for their guest, and some are a bit further away. In either scenario, a tag letting your guest know where to join you is a great way to mark your invite. Our personal favorites are with coordinate degrees or by state. 

5. say something special

A quote is a great way to set the mood for your wedding. It is a sneak peek into your personalities, and a fun way to greet your guest as they dive into your suite. 

---

There are so many other ways to tag your invite, but hopefully, we introduced you to a new idea and a way to add a little something special to your suite. 

We have included a little something special for all of our readers. Click the link below to download your free printable gift tags.