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Hi there, my name’s Katherine, and I run Giftast Wedding & Event Stationery, based in Batley, West Yorkshire.
There are plenty of suggestions online for what Wedding Reception Stationery you need, and the amount of options on offer can feel overwhelming! I want to run through some of the main Wedding Stationery ideas you might not have thought of when planning your reception, to help you decide what you really need for your wedding.
Order of Service
Whether or not you need this probably depends most on the type of ceremony you're having. If you're including a lot of personal readings, it can be nice to include these on your order of service. That makes this a really nice keepsake both for your guests and yourselves. You can also use your order of service to let guests know the timings for the rest of the day.
Table Plan
There’s no getting away from it - the dreaded table plan! It’s almost certain that you’ll need one of these, be it printed on a board, written on a mirror, a blackboard, or any of the other myriad ways you can find on Pinterest.
For my own wedding - a very small affair - we decided against a table plan, however we are the only people I've heard of doing it that way!
This worked for us because we had
a) 40 guests who mostly knew one another already, and
b) a serve-yourself buffet meal.
I made a poster explaining that guests could pick their place cards up at the door (copper plant markers with their names on) and stick them in the table centres (decorated herb pots) on the tables of their choice. This definitely won't work for larger parties, and is unlikely to work for sit-down meals, but it's worth noting that other options are available.
Table Numbers
If you've opted for a Table Plan then you almost definitely need table numbers/names. But do they need to be printed? Not necessarily - this can be an opportunity to get creative with your table centres, and merge the two.
Place Cards
Unless you're going all out on a scenario similar to my wedding breakfast, you're going to need place cards. If your budget can stretch to it, I'd recommend getting your guest names printed on (at Giftast we always include a few blank spares for those last-minute changes). However, if your budget is tighter, either buy blank to write yourself, or consider ideas for combining place cards with wedding favours. There are loads of ideas for how to do this on Pinterest.
Menus
Some people like their guests to know what they're eating, some don't mind. If your guests have picked their menu choices, this may be better added on to the inside of their place cards, as most people will have no recollection of what they asked for months/over a year earlier! If you're serving everyone the same, a menu can be a nice touch, and also an opportunity to include some more handy information.
For example:
Timings for the rest of the day
Special thanks
Information re: any donations you did in lieu of wedding favours
Taxi phone numbers for later in the night.
Signs
This is where you can get really creative and personal!
Are you having:
flip flops,
blanket baskets,
photo booth,
wedding hashtags,
Please-don't-post-on-Facebook-yet instructions,
welcome messages,
sweet stations,
reserved seats....
If so, then a sign can be a really nice way of flagging these up to your guests. But most people know a sweet station when they see it, so just go with what feels right for you! At Giftast, if you order table numbers, we will make matching signs the same size and shape for the same price. But talk to your stationer, as you can also have posters, chalk boards, standing banners, table-plan sized boards...
And there you have it! A non-conclusive list of Wedding Reception Stationery ideas you may not have thought of.
At Giftast, we don't sell Wedding Stationery as a package - you can mix and match to fit your needs, and we can always personalise everything to be just what you want.
What next?
For more Wedding Stationery ideas, as well as many pictures of cats, you can follow @giftast on Instagram. If you’d like to chat about your wedding stationery options, you can contact Katherine here, or email on info(at)giftast.com to arrange a free consultation call.
Looking for something extra special?
Check out their Bespoke Design page for more information on how they can help you realise your wedding-stationery dreams!