Throughout your wedding you’re highly likely to want to inform your guests about numerous things at various points – when the speeches will be, what culinary delights are on the wedding breakfast menu, where the entrance to the venue is, and so on. However, you’ll generally want to avoid repeating this information to everyone from Great Uncle Larry to Cousin Daisy – there could literally be hundreds of guests! A solution – written, visible, attractive and informative wedding day stationery and signage.
We recently met Faye, calligraphy expert and owner of "Wild Calligraphy", who specialises in creating beautiful bespoke items that reflect the personality of her clients. She is absolutely passionate about words and loves to incorporate personal touches to illustrate character in her work.
Faye initially took interest in calligraphy when searching for bespoke stationery for her own wedding where she struggled to find examples that weren't overly "girly", or too fancy to read. She therefore took it upon herself to utilise her A-Level Art knowledge to hone her skills and create Wild Calligraphy (please note - it’s not an easy craft to master!).
Both Faye and ourselves agree that those little personal touches can make a real difference to the feel of your big day. Hand written letters and notes are disappearing due to technology, but they feel so personal, warm and welcoming – so step aside Arial and Times New Roman! Add some style and a touch of uniqueness for you and your guests with bespoke wedding stationery!
With the above in mind, we went to see Faye to ask, what are the…
…Top 3 essential pieces of bespoke on the day stationery?
1. A Welcome Sign or Two
Greet your guests as they enter your wedding venue for the first time – tell them that this is YOUR personal venue for the day and give them a taster of what to expect. This can be a large sign made from crates at the start of the driveway, a row of charming little signs dotted up the path with personal touches to give the ‘awwwww’ factor, or anything in between.
2. Order of the Day
The order of the day is something that most guests can refer to for checking what’s happening and when – a very handy item indeed. It’s not only useful for guests in general, but perfect for your bridesmaids and ushers to utilise to remind them of their upcoming duties! It will even help the groom to remember to show up at the correct time for the first dance!
3. The Seating Plan
Or, as Faye specifically recommends, a wedding favour seating plan – AKA, escort cards!
Attach your place cards to individual wedding favours for guests to simply grab their name upon arrival to the wedding breakfast. This will tell them which table they will be sitting at and provides them with a little wedding favour treat at the same time. This type of seating plan removes the need for a traditional, formal seating plan and allows the guests to select their own seats on the allotted table – much easier for the couple doing hours of planning before the day (but, be aware – not all venues would be pleased with this – always best to check first).
Faye suggests that escort card seating plans, by combining your favours, place names and table plan, have the added benefits of almost certainly saving you money and being kinder to the environment. A true win win scenario!
Bonus Top Tips
Faye recommends a number of key things to consider with bespoke wedding stationery and signage. This included what materials to use and your wedding colour scheme. There are so many different options to choose from in terms of materials! Faye loves working with both cotton rag card and wood – they not only look great, but have a reduced impact on the environment compared to standard card and PVC signs. In terms of colours – they world is your oyster!
Take your time to find a font style that speaks to you, while still being suitable to use as a sign, by being, well, legible! There are hundreds – no, thousands of fonts to choose from, but what works for your wedding? Faye likes to find out about you, your venue and your theme to expertly select the font style that will suit. It’s like she knows what she’s doing!
Lastly, you’ve spent so much time and money on the venue and styling for your wedding day – signage can really add to this, or detract if done on the cheap! Personalise the venue to make it unique for you. Turn it into YOUR big day. Then you’ll love it! All of it!
A special thanks to those involved in making the blog photography and content possible, including:
Calligraphy | wildcalligraphygb.com | @wildcalligraphygb
Styling | perfectdaychairs.co.uk | @perfectdaychairs
See you at the next blog!