Eight Things You're Doing to Drive Your Wedding Stationer Crazy

If you want to have a great relationship with your wedding stationery designer, there's more to it than being fun to work with (though that does go a long way!). You'll want to be respectful of their time, their attention to detail, and their art. You'll want to show that you care about their craft. You'll want to work with someone whose style resonates with your own. Most of all, you'll want to avoid any of these annoying behaviors that drive stationers crazy.

Bringing Too Much Inspiration to the Table

This is a mistake almost every couple makes. Just remember, one perfect image is better than 50 imperfect ones. If there's something you love in your designer's portfolio, let them know you'd like to use it as inspiration and bring some elements from your venue into it. This is a clean, simple way to approach designing invitations without overwhelming your stationer (or yourself).

Asking for Too Many Revisions

Most invitation design processes take one or two revisions to get things right, but if you go beyond that, your designer may have to start charging you for additional time. Try to catch all the mistakes on round one and you can cut out a lot of the back and forth.

Not Allowing Enough Time for Design

If you're ordering custom invitations and save-the-dates, start the process as early as possible. If you wait until a few months prior to your wedding, most custom designers will be fully booked and unable to add your project to their roster. This can easily be avoided by planning ahead. Give five to six months if you're designing wedding invitations only, or ten months to a year if you're designing an entire suite, including save-the-dates.

Waiting Until the Last Possible Second to Finalize Seating Charts

Seating charts are inherently a last-minute call, but all stationers have cut-offs in order to get your information finalized and printed. If you're fretting over a dozen revisions of the seating, and can't seem to get a complete version together, it might be helpful to have your stationer design a seating display that can be changed easily by your coordinator up until the day of your wedding.

Wanting to Replicate Someone Else's Design Work

Stationery designers, like all designers, can appreciate the beauty of another artist's work, but are unlikely to want to replicate it for both legal and ethical reasons. If there's an invitation design you've seen that you absolutely love, your designer may be able to use it as inspiration, but they won't be able to copy it exactly.

Trying to Negotiate Design Fees or Printing Costs

You can change the type of printing, paper quality, or other details to accommodate budget, but design fees and printing costs are non-negotiable. While it's perfectly fine to ask for more affordable options, it's not cool to try to negotiate set costs.

Not Proofreading Text Before Sending It Over

The final proof of your paper materials shouldn't be the first time you're looking for typos. You should always proofread, and ask friends to proofread, text before sending it to your designer for layout. This is the best way to avoid big mistakes as well as a lot of back and forth revisions.

CommunicatingToo Much or Too Little

Many couples start the design process with a ton of ideas, which might be shared (or overshared) over emails, phone calls, and in-person meetings. By the time the wedding rolls around, they tend to be harder to contact and slower to sign off on time-sensitive paper materials. Don't be that couple. Be available when things get chaotic, and show up for your vendors the way they show up for you.