Recently, I was asked to speak at the wonderful lunch meeting of the American Association of Certified Wedding Planners (AACWP). They had a lovely event at the Dallas Museum of Art’s Seventeen Seventeen Restaurant and provided a great program for their members - a wonderful group of professional wedding planners who are committed about being informed. I really loved talking and comparing ideas about weddings with Shannon Schultz. So I was thrilled when she wrote a post about the event on her blog. (Thanks, Shannon!)
I spoke to the group about the First Impression created by wedding stationery and the current trends in the industry. In the April 2010 issue of Harper’s Bazaar, David Tutera said that “Invitations should set an exciting tone for your entire affair! The outside of the envelope, the stamps, the layout — all the details count.” We couldn’t agree more.
Wedding stationery tells your guests what to expect… Whether you are having an elegant and formal wedding, a casual fun-filled family oriented wedding, or a tropical adventure, should be reflected in the stationery you select. The save-the-date is a teaser. It hints at the event you have planned, but the invitation should provide your guests with a wonderful first experience of your wedding day. Receiving a hand addressed envelope in the mail makes us all stop and anticipate what’s inside. Seeing the lovely invitation that reflects the personality of the bride and groom and the wedding they have planned will make your guests excited about the forthcoming event.
There are a lot of trends in the stationery industry as there are in most retail industries. While there have been a number of articles suggesting an increase in nature-inspired themes, Asian themes and silhouettes, Dallas Brides make their own trends! We have seen gorgeous design, romance, color and elegance in all of our recent invitations.
Our favorite trend though is still letterpress! We love it… The paper, the originality of the designs, the customization, and above all the texture… It’s impressive. We were able to bring a number of our invitations to the meeting to show the wedding planners and had a great time explaining the whole process of letterpress. Invitations should be touched to be appreciated, and we loved being able to share them!
