• Blog
• 09/01/19

Designing wedding invitations – A timeline

Congratulations! Now you’ve set the date to say ‘I do’ it’s time to schedule everything in. One of the first questions we are asked about when working on bespoke invitations is the question of time, both when to send out save the dates and invitations and how long they take to design and make. So here we are, all the answers to your questions are right here!

12-6 months to go

Book your Design Consultation and order your ‘Save the Date’s, especially if you are planning a destination wedding.

– We like to meet all of our couples for an in-depth design consultation straight from the off. We can then get to know each other, hear all about your story and vision for your big day. Here we will gather as much information as possible and run through possible formats and styles to establish a design route to take moving forward.

– Leave 2 weeks to a month for design time of save the dates, sometimes they are easier to design together with your invitation therefore this will take longer, if however, all you require is a simple save the date and time is of the essence, leave 2 weeks for design and 2 weeks for production (unless you opt for an e card which can be launched as soon as design is signed off).

-If designing a website this process needs to begin now.

– Send your designer every single element of information you would like included in your design, from creative elements such as photographs you may require illustrating, to all the practical information, begin the work of collating the spreadsheet containing all of the logistical travel information your guests may require and all of the wording (help with this is in this guide later on!)

9-6 Months to go

Send out your ‘Save the Date’ cards or e-cards. Timing is dependent on logistics, if you or your planner are arranging all the logistics for your guests, then you are ok to send save the date out later, if you require your guests to book travel then send your save the dates out as early as possible.

– Invitation design will be in full swing, continue to send over all of the details to your designer in formats provided, it’s best to send in documents that are collated and organised rather then lots of e mails where information risks getting lost!

-By now all of the wording and logistical information needs to be with your designer so they can draw up and lay out all of the illustrations and typography

5 Months to Go

Start seeing your designs come to life with visual presentations

-Now you can sit back and enjoy the process as your hard work is done and the designer has been working on your designs ready to show you that first look!

-As you have been so organised sending over all the details, the design should be almost there with only minor amendments to make, this is where you work together with your designer talking through amendments you may require and starting the proof-reading process. Prototyping will also be happening between your designer and the workshop to ensure your details are perfect prior to final sign off.

-Once the final design is signed off, proof-read and everyone is happy, the exciting part begins! Your invitations will now be worked on thoroughly again to lay everything up for print and production. This is a very important part of the process, where there is alot of work and where your designer comes into their own as they have to turn a digital presentation, your vision, into reality. We ask for 3 weeks for production time, this allows design time to prep for print, printing time, laser cutting time and then every element is hand assembled and put together in our workshop individually.

3 Months to go

Send out your day and evening invitations to all of your guests

-there is nothing quite like opening a Cutture parcel to finally see and feel your invitations having worked so hard on them digitally for months, this is the moment we work for and love!

-Cutture can provide a service where we send the invitations out directly for you, or often your wedding planner will do so, if you would like to send them out yourself all you need to do is stamp them and send, they will be pre-packed, we provide address labels if required and a secure envelope of box to send them in.

2 Months to go

Get back in touch with Cutture to start designing the all-important day stationery.

-it’s a good idea to pop a reminder in your diary when we are working together early on to remind yourself to work on day stationery, we will also be in touch and will have ideas to help you design all the details for on the day.

-Once we have had a design consultation about the day stationery, we can begin working on ideas and practical solutions for your order of service, menus, table plans, table number, signage and many other details, pick our brains, we work with the best of the best in the event world and could help you come up with some creative ideas that are beautifully designed and in line with our wedding invitations also. Add that personal touch via personalisation and do ask us about our charity initiatives alongside designing place cards in place of favours.

-Introduce us to your florist/caterer also, we can can work magic together!

1 Month to go

Approve final designs of your day stationery

-As before we like to leave 3 weeks for production, day stationery can be alot of elements so giving as much time in production allows us to make sure we have it all correct, the logistics are huge!

1 Week to go

Receive your day stationery items, via our reliable couriers, check and enjoy creating your dream wedding!

-we like to deliver a week before the wedding to allow for any unforeseen circumstances, plus to give you time to get your items to the venue in good time!

-Enjoy creating and seeing your vision come together

On the day

Have one of the best days of your life, surrounded by beautiful stationery!

-your guests will love seeing all of the personal elements to your day, your personality and vision will shine through

After the big day

Send out those all important thank you cards to your guests

-we can design some matching thank you cards to finish off your stationery suite, why not add a photo of your day in a creative way.

One Year after the big day

Don’t forget your first year anniversary is – Paper!

-we can turn your wedding invitation into a work of art for you for your first wedding anniversary, boxed and ready to frame, they are 3 dimensional laser cut pieces, so very special…

So there you have it! A definitive timeline to how the bespoke design process works as well as key times to send out your wedding invitations, timing is everything, so we do hope you have found this useful. Please do get in touch if you have any special requirements, every wedding is unique and we work very closely with you, no matter what your timescale, to give you the best possible stationery for your day.