All You Need to Know About Wedding Stationery Items (And What You Need to Order for Yours)
- 11 hours ago
- 10 min read
If you've never planned a wedding before, the world of wedding stationery can feel like a foreign language. Seating charts? Escort cards? Order of the day? What's the difference, and do you actually need all of it?
This guide is my answer to every question I get asked on first consultation calls. It covers most of the stationery I offer - what it is, what it does, and why it might (or might not) belong at your wedding. Read it all, or skip to the sections that feel relevant. There's no right or wrong answer. There's only what's right for you.
Before the Day
These are the pieces that reach your guests before they arrive. They set the tone, manage expectations, and give your wedding its first visual identity — weeks or months before the day itself.
Save the Date
What it is: The first thing your guests receive. A card, digital message, or printed piece that simply says: hold this date, something is coming.
What it does: Saves the date (obviously), but more importantly, it buys your guests time to plan — particularly important for destination weddings, weddings with many overseas guests, or celebrations on long weekends when flights and hotels book up fast. It also gives people a first glimpse of your aesthetic, months before the invitation arrives.
Do you need it? Not always. If your wedding is local, your guest list is small, and you're giving plenty of notice with the invitation itself, you might not need a separate save the date. But for destination weddings or celebrations with guests coming from far away — yes, it's genuinely useful, not just pretty.
Typical timing: 12–18 months before the wedding for destination; 9–12 months for UK.
Invitation
What it is: The main event. The piece your guests actually receive that officially invites them to your wedding.
What it does: Communicates all the essential information - who, when, where, and how to respond - in a way that reflects the spirit and aesthetic of your celebration. Your invitation is often the piece guests keep long after the wedding. It's the cornerstone of your stationery suite.
Do you need it? Yes. Without exception.
What to include: Names of the couple, date, time, ceremony location (if different from reception), reception location, dress code, RSVP instructions or deadline, and a note about any additional information cards enclosed.
Details / Information Card
What it is: A supplementary card that sits alongside your invitation to share additional information your guests need.
What it does: Takes the pressure off the invitation to include everything. Accommodation options, travel directions, parking, a note about the dress code, dietary requirements, your wedding website URL, a QR code - anything that would clutter the invitation itself lives here instead.
Do you need it? Sometimes, yes. The longer your guest journey (destination wedding, multiple locations, complex travel), the more useful a well-designed details card becomes. Even for simpler weddings, it's a considered touch that guests genuinely appreciate. Depending on the chosen invitation format, it can be incorporated into the design.
Illustrated Map Insert
What it is: A custom hand-drawn map of your venue, the surrounding area, or the journey between ceremony and reception.
What it does: Guides your guests - particularly those travelling from elsewhere - while adding a genuinely beautiful piece to your invitation suite. A hand-illustrated map is more than functional: it's a keepsake. Guests frame them.
Do you need it? Particularly valuable for destination weddings, multi-venue days, or weddings at venues that are hard to find. Also lovely as a standalone piece even when navigation isn't the challenge - just because they're beautiful. Depending on the chosen invitation format, it can be incorporated into the design.
Envelope Linings
What it is: Decorative paper that lines the inside of your envelope, visible the moment a guest opens it.
What it does: Creates a first impression before the invitation is even seen. It's the difference between opening a plain envelope and opening something that feels considered and intentional from the very first moment. A botanical print, a repeat pattern, a watercolour wash - the lining sets the tone before a single word is read.
Do you need it? No - but it's one of those details that quietly elevates everything around it. Couples who choose envelope linings consistently say their guests commented on them.
On the Day
These are the pieces that live at your wedding itself - the details that transform a venue into your world, and help your guests move through the day with ease.
Welcome Sign / Board
What it is: A large-format piece - typically displayed at the venue entrance or ceremony space - that greets guests as they arrive.
What it does: Sets the scene immediately. It might carry your names and wedding date, a favourite quote, a note about the day ahead, or simply the visual identity of your suite - blown up to a scale that fills the room. It's also one of the most photographed pieces of wedding stationery on the day itself.
Do you need it? If you have a venue where guests need to know they've arrived in the right place - or simply want to make a strong first visual impression - yes. A well-designed welcome board is one of those elements that makes a venue feel like yours.
Ceremony Programme / Order of the Day
What it is: A printed guide to the ceremony (and sometimes the full day) that tells guests what's happening, in what order, and who's involved.
What it does: Gives guests context and involvement. Who is officiating? What are the readings, and who is reading them? What hymns or songs will be played? When does the ceremony end and where do guests go next? Without a programme, guests are often left uncertain - with one, they feel oriented and included.
Formats: Booklets, single folded cards, large-format signage, scrolls - the format should match the tone of your day. A formal church ceremony suits a structured booklet; a relaxed garden party might suit a single beautifully printed card.
Do you need it? For religious or more formal ceremonies, yes — guests genuinely need guidance. For very informal celebrations with no ceremony to speak of, it's optional. If in doubt, a simple card that outlines the order of the day (not just the ceremony) is always appreciated.
Seating Chart vs. Escort Cards — What's the Difference?
This is the question I get asked most often, so it deserves its own section.
A seating chart is a single large-format piece - usually displayed at the entrance to the reception - that lists every guest by name and directs them to their assigned table. Guests find their name, note their table, and find their seat themselves. It's one piece of design that does the job for everyone. It can be organised by tables or alphabetical order, with the table by the name (good for larger weddings or long tables)
Best for: Larger weddings, receptions where you want a statement piece at the entrance, venues with a clear flow from entrance to dining area.
Escort cards are individual printed cards - one per guest, or one per couple or family - each bearing a name and a table assignment. They're typically displayed on a table at the entrance, fanned out, alphabetically arranged or beautifully styled, for guests to collect as they arrive and take them to their table.
Best for: Couples who love the idea of a beautiful display moment (escort cards can be styled with flowers, greenery, or objects - like small vases with the guest's name and table numbers; situations where a large-format seating chart would feel oversized.
The key difference: A seating chart is one piece. Escort cards are many. Both direct guests to their table - they don't tell them which specific seat to take. That's the job of a place card (see below).
A note: Escort cards can double as favours if the card itself is something guests keep - a seed packet, a luggage tag, a miniature print; they bring the possibility of doubling as a place card - if you want to give your guests freedom on where to sit at their table. This is where the distinction between escort card and favour starts to blur, and where things get interesting.
Place Cards
What it is: Individual cards, one per guest, placed on the table at the specific seat they've been assigned.
What it does: Tells guests exactly where to sit, once they've arrived at their table. Place cards are the final piece of the seating puzzle - working in conjunction with either a seating chart or escort cards to guide guests all the way to their specific chair.
Do you need it? If you have assigned seating (which most formal and semi-formal receptions do), yes. They also function as a beautiful styling detail on the table — and many guests take them home as keepsakes.
Format options: Folded tent cards, flat cards, bookmarks, name tags tied to something, labels on objects. The format is an opportunity to carry your suite's visual language all the way to the table.
Table Numbers / Table Names
What it is: Markers that identify each table - either by number or by a name chosen to reflect your theme.
What it does: The functional version: helps guests find the right table. The poetic version: gives each table an identity. Table names are one of the most joyful opportunities in wedding stationery - couples choose rivers, Kew plant species, Oxford colleges, cocktail names, favourite films, cities they've lived in, dogs they've loved. The naming theme becomes a conversation starter.
Numbers vs. names: Numbers are simpler and universal. Names take more thought but add genuine personality and warmth. If you're going to invest in bespoke stationery, table names are a natural extension of that intention.
Menus
What it is: A card, booklet or even a board displaying the food and drinks being served at your reception.
What it does: Lets guests know what they're eating, accommodates dietary awareness, and elevates the table styling. A well-designed menu is often the piece guests engage with most during dinner - it sits in front of them for hours. When it's illustrated - with botanical elements, signature cocktail drawings, or food-inspired motifs - it becomes a conversation piece and a keepsake.
Formats: Individual cards (one per guest), shared cards (one per couple or per two or three guests), or larger placards or boards at the bar or buffet. The format depends on your service style.
Favour Tags
What it is: Small printed tags attached to guest favours.
What it does: Ties your favour into the visual language of your suite. Whether it's a jar of honey, a candle, a seed packet, or a bottle of something, a custom tag turns a generic gift into something that feels considered and cohesive.
Do you need it? Only if you're giving favours. If you're not, skip it. If you are, a favour tag is a small touch that makes a real difference to how the favour lands.
Guest Book Cover
What it is: A custom-designed cover for your guest book - the book in which guests leave messages, drawings, and wishes on your wedding day.
What it does: Transforms a generic guest book into an object you'll actually want to display. Your guest book will sit on your shelf for the rest of your life - it deserves a cover that reflects the same care as everything else about your day.
Do you need it? If you're planning to have a guest book (which most couples do, in some form), yes. A custom cover is a small investment that has long-term meaning.
After the Wedding
The stationery doesn't end when the day does. These pieces carry your celebration forward.
Thank You Cards
What it is: Printed cards sent to guests and gift-givers after the wedding, expressing your thanks.
What it does: Closes the chapter. A well-designed thank you card that carries the visual language of your suite transforms what is essentially an administrative task into something that feels like a final gift. Guests who receive one are reminded of your wedding in a way that a text message or email simply cannot replicate. You can also use it beyond your wedding day as the couple's card for gifts etc., becoming your signature as a couple.
Timing: Aim to send within 4–6 weeks of the wedding. Brief the designs before the wedding if possible - that way the files are ready and you just need to write the messages.
Photo Album Cover
What it is: A custom-designed cover for your printed wedding album - the physical book your photographer produces from the images of your day.
What it does: Turns your album into an object of art. Most photographers offer standard cover options - plain linen, generic text. A custom-illustrated cover means your album carries the same visual identity as your stationery, and feels as intentional on the outside as it is on the inside.
Do you need it? If you're having a printed album (which I recommend as a huge fan of photographs!), consider it. Your album will be looked at and handled for decades. The cover matters.
The Extras - A World Beyond the Obvious
Tony's Chocolonely Custom Wrappers
Tony's Chocolonely bars can be fully customised with bespoke wrappers - designed to match your stationery suite. They make beautiful bridal party invitations, day-of favours, or gifts for close family members. A sweet detail with genuine emotional impact.
Handmade Matchbooks (Physical product — UK only)
Custom matchbooks designed and hand-assembled at the London studio. Printed on thick cardstock with a matte finish and one row of matches - they're a playful, tactile keepsake for guests, or a refined styling detail for tables and bars. Because they're made by hand, quantities are limited and delivery is UK only.
Custom Repeat Print / Pattern Design
A bespoke repeat pattern - designed as a signature element of your wedding - that can run throughout your stationery suite, signage, day-of details, and, why not? Custom printed table cloths or napkins if you have the budget! Beyond the wedding, the pattern becomes endlessly versatile: wrapping paper, tote bags, fabric, packaging, and other objects that let your wedding's visual world live on indefinitely.
Custom Playing Cards
A full deck of playing cards, custom-designed with your illustration suite on the back. A memorable favour, a beautiful detail for game tables, and a keepsake that gets used long after the wedding is over.
A Note on What You Actually Need
Here's the honest answer: you don't need everything on this list. Nobody does.
What you need is the pieces that feel meaningful to you - the ones that, when you imagine your guests holding them, make you feel something. The rest is optional.
The best way to figure out what your suite should include is to talk it through. That's exactly what the free 30-minute consultation call is for.
Comments