When should we print our 'Wedding Day' Stationery?

The question you've all been asking!

There's a sweet spot between printing too soon and printing too late. Have a read and see what my thoughts are on this, as it will save us all time, money, and stress!

Photo by Beth Beresford

Printing too soon?

Whilst you may have the urge to print as soon as your designs are ready, so that you can tick another thing off the 'to-do' list. Actually, printing too soon can often lead to complications, and costly re-prints towards the Wedding Day if/when things change.

• Extra Signs As you get closer to the day, you may realise you've forgotten some stationery and want to add to your order. Whilst not completely needed, signs for 'cake', 'cards & gifts', 'signature drinks', 'guest book instructions' etc are a lovely addition and help create a well thought out and coherent day. If you've already approved the rest of your stationery for print, adding on extra signs after this can be complicated and cost more in the long run, both on prints and postage.

  
  

• Seating Plan You may have your Seating Plan all figured out, and have done for months. Sadly, in reality, people's plans change. Whether it's a last minute work commitment, illness or your bestie has gone into hospital to give birth, it's not uncommon for the seating plan to be altered in the final weeks leading up to the day. If your seating plan has already been printed, and you need to do some drastic last minute changes, you will need to pay for a reprint. However, if just one or two people have dropped out and you're happy for their name/s to stay on the seating plan (who is actually going to notice or mind), then keep it as it is - it's not the end of the world. But if multiple tables need altering, and the tables guests are sat on changes, then a reprint would be needed.

Photo by Eighth Avenue

Printing too late?

Every stationer works differently, so I'm purely talking about how Rose & Grace works in this next section.

I would LOVE nothing more than to print in house - but large format, special print techniques and cutting methods requires a lot of expensive equipment. Therefore, the majority of my stationery is printed with trusty printers (online) I have been using for years and years. I have built up good communication with my printers and nothing is too much trouble.

• The print always arrives with me for a quality check, before I deliver / dispatch. Now, it's very rare, but occasionally, the print can get damaged in the post or arrive not as I expected. Printing too late, leaves zero opportunity to ask for a reprint if needed.

• Occasionally, print can even arrive with me late. DPD once delivered 2 days late because the driver was bitten by a dog! There was a very small chance that they weren't going to be able to deliver in time for the Wedding, so I spent the few days before the Wedding searching for other printers who could print the signs in such a short time frame. I got quotes and had printers lined up just in case. The quotes far exceeded my normal pricing, meaning if I had to go with them as a last resort, I would have been completely out of pocket and made zero profit on the job. Thankfully...DPD did manage to deliver, but it was far too close for my liking.

Photo by Urban Photo Lab

So, when should we go to print?

As I said before, this is just what I would recommend - other stationers are different. I would like to send your items to print no later than 2 weeks before the Wedding. Ideally, 2-3 weeks before.

Print Deadlines

If I give you a print deadline, we absolutely need to stick to it. If I haven't given you a print deadline, then we are on time and there is nothing to worry about. You can relax...

If I do give you a print deadline, please be proactive in helping finalise everything in order to meet the deadline. If I am constantly chasing you for approval of items (spellchecking etc), and you're sat there watching Love Island instead, rather than getting back to me, then it only causes more stress.

Please be communicative. If you're busy and can't approve the items, let me know. Please don't just leave me guessing. Often, to save on postage, I print multiple Weddings in one go. I may have many items sat in the basket, waiting to pay, and yours is the only approval I'm waiting on. If you're busy, just say so. Please avoid making me need to chase.

Please note

This is not a telling off, and neither is it meant to scare you. I'm just trying to put helpful things in place, so that there is minimal stress towards the Wedding day for both yourselves, and me.

Rebekah x