The team at Bridal Spectacular sat down with a few of Las Vegas’ best stationery vendors: 1st Impressions Invitations, Alligator Soup, Paper and Home and Visionary Pen, to provide some great tips and ideas for our readers. Last week, we covered how to work within your budget and the recommended timeline when planning your Las Vegas wedding stationery. This week, we have the vendors’ tips and trends when creating your save-the-date announcements and wedding invitations.
Before You Begin
Owner of Visionary Pen, Paula Gold said the two most important things to know when you go into an invitation consultation are your budget and how many invitation sets you will need. Cathy Colbert, owner of 1st Impressions Invitations also recommended that you decide on an overall concept prior to meeting with your designer. For example, do you want formal, quirky, casual, bright, minimalistic, etc.?
Then to ensure all of your pieces are consistent, Paula said it’s best to work with the same vendor from beginning to end. Some couples want fun and playful for some pieces and formal for others, so they think they need to use different companies or separate vendors to accomplish both looks. If you are using a custom designer, they can design each piece to suit the mood you are trying to achieve so everything flows seamlessly together and you are able to create an overall theme.
Helen Edell, owner of Alligator Soup added that your invitations do not always have to match your wedding colors and theme. She said when your save-the-date and invite don’t match exactly, this can help keep your wedding theme a surprise for your guests!
Latest Trends
There are so many great choices for colors, papers, folding, themes and finishes for your save-the-dates and invites. Here are a few of the current trends our vendors have been seeing this year:
Cathy, owner of First Impressions Invitations said Pearlized/Metallic finish papers are huge right now and they lend a feeling of glamour and formality to your pieces. For themes, she said peacock coloring and feathers, lace, and a country/vintage feel are all really big trends. And for colors, purples rule! All shades of purple, mixed together or paired with silvers, golds, greys, and black, white and ivory.
Alligator Soup’s Owner, Helen said the color mint green and pocket invitations have been a very popular choice. She also noted that she’s seen a lot of simplicity when it comes to the details and style.
Michael from Paper and Home said muted tones are very fashionable. For example, choosing blush instead of fuchsia or lavender instead of eggplant. For the invitation, the functionality and style of a pocket invite is really in demand by today’s couples. With pocket invites, couples are able to neatly present an invitation card, reply card and insert cards in a singular package. For the RSVP card, Michael likes allowing your guests to include something quirky in the reply card such as “I will shake it on the dance floor if you play the following song: ______.” And for printing techniques, he said a luxurious trend this year is the use of foil stamping and edge tinting on wedding stationery.
Visionary Pen owner, Paula shared with us that vintage and eco-friendly are two huge trends right now. For couples who are looking for a more modern or glamorous feel, she’s also seen a lot of metallic – everything from pastel pearlescent papers to gold, silver, and bronze metallic papers.
Envelopes, Proofing & Mailing
After you’ve created your perfect wedding invitation, be sure to ask your vendor for a proof before you print and don’t forget the envelope! Since the envelope is the very first thing your guests will see, it should be just as beautiful as the invitation.
When you are ready to print, Helen, owner of Alligator Soup said you count your invites/save-the-dates based on households, not the actual guest count. Paula added you should prepare a guest list, count the actual number of invitations to be mailed, and add at least one to keep for yourself and an extra 5-10% for any last minute guest additions.
Now, you’re ready to mail! Consider asking your vendor about having your invites professionally addressed, stuffed and mailed. Most vendors will offer a discounted rate and this will help you save a tremendous amount of time and aggravation.
Stay tuned next week to learn about fun stationery ideas for your wedding ceremony and reception. In the meantime, for more wedding planning tips and information, please visit http://www.bridalspectacular.com. Also, be sure to save-the-date to attend our Autumn Bridal Show August 16 and 17 at Cashman Center where you can meet Helen, Michael, Cathy and Paula in person!