July 20, 2025 • 38 mins
Do you need place cards, a seating plan, a welcome sign, an order of service, menus, signs to the toilet.... SO MUCH! Should you make yourself? We are going to help you navigate the things we recommend and the things you can go without and go through the pro's and con's of professional vs DIY!
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Welcome to the bridal brief. My name is Stephanie Fitzpatrick
from Beautiful Illusions Event Styling.
And Ruth Ryan from Ruth Ryan Photography.
The purpose of the Bridal Brief is to help you before, on and
after your wedding day with our advice.
Plus bringing on a few friends along the way.
Another episode, Ruth and today.We are going to talk about
wedding stationary. Yay.
(00:21):
So we're gonna go over invitations, seating plans,
place cards, signage, and a little bit more like including
some pricing and timelines when you should try and get things
done. That is great.
Yeah, I think so. Steph, what did you have for
your invite? I made them.
We made them ourselves. I mean, Jodie helped me because
we used to do wedding invitations for Beautiful
(00:44):
Illusions, but and I just wantedsomething really simple.
Did you kind of have an idea of what you wanted?
I did because I really like the laser cut.
Like open once. And so, you know, like you would
have seen, obviously you got one.
But yeah, I really liked that laser cut look.
But I tell you what, when we were doing them, because they
made them myself, I had this whole idea of this ribbon that
(01:05):
was going to slide off with a buckle on it, and I put it on
there and I just didn't like it,OK?
So I ended up just going with a plain paper band with our names
printed nicely on it like a Pearl.
Yeah, kind of, you know, paper. Yeah.
And it just complemented it. So I think for me, simple was
better. Yeah.
(01:26):
Yeah. What about you?
You know, we made ours as well. I mean, 20 years ago.
It was a little bit different aswell.
Lots of hot glue. The style was different.
Yeah. Yeah.
And I look at all the beautiful ones now and I'm like, oh, I
feel so tragic. Yeah, 'cause you couldn't really
buy like laser cut ones back then and.
Stuff. No, it was sort of just, we just
did a plain rectangular invite and then I just a little
(01:48):
starfish, a blue starfish on it.Lovely.
Yeah, Yeah. And it was.
Similar to what? Jody had, I think she had a
really similar type of thing. Yeah.
Buried. Her in the same time maybe?
I think so. So trendy it may have been.
Well. We had ours at SeaWorld Nara
for, I mean, reception. So that's right.
I had that Beachy and we had sort of fringe of pennies as
well I think on there as. Well, that was the theme back
(02:10):
then that was really popular. Yeah.
Yep. Yeah, that's nice.
And it suited. Your venue, too.
Yeah. I think it's important to make
the. I feel like the wedding invites
are like the first opening to what the wedding's gonna be.
Yeah, usually. I mean, I think some people want
to mix it up, but I think it's agood idea actually to.
Well, it's set the tone. Yeah, exactly.
(02:31):
Yeah, it does. It sets the tone and people are
like, OK, I was really picky because obviously I had my
engagement party many, many, many, many, many years ago.
And back then I knew already thecolours I wanted.
So I focused on because I wantedthe ivory, black and gold.
I focused on the black with a little bit of gold and like, and
(02:54):
ivory. And so for the wedding, I wanted
like the ivory and the gold withthe little bit of black.
So yeah, you know, I made that happen in the invites.
Yeah. Nice little twist.
Yeah, So that's nice. Let's.
Look at some celebrity wedding. So we've got a few here.
Did you know that Paris Hilton and Carter Ram actually spent 50
(03:14):
grand on their wedding invitations?
A lot of money just for the invites.
It is. That's some expensive.
Paper, yes. That's more than a lot of people
would spend on their actual wedding.
It is. That's true.
That's true. Well, Kim Kardashian and Kris
Humphries. Currently.
They actually have two on eBay selling for a whopping 2 grand
(03:37):
and $440 as well for a plain black and white.
Yeah, in the box. I have seen that in five and I'm
not gonna lie, I would never spend that amount of money on
it. It's not that interesting.
I mean like they don't have enough money as it.
Is well, I mean, I think they'reon eBay for like buy it now, not
for auction still, so I'm just gonna throw.
It I reckon people would. Pay.
(03:58):
I know because they've been sitting there for a while, I
think. Oh.
Really. Yeah, it's really theirs.
I do, because the cheaper 1 is more damaged than the more
expensive one. OK.
And so maybe, maybe. Yep, people are like, oh, well,
that marriage is no longer. We don't need to own it now.
Yeah, maybe. Maybe.
(04:19):
Kate Middleton actually designedPippa Middleton's wedding
invitations. That's really nice.
And she's an art major. So Kate actually sketched a
pencil drawing of the church where Pippa and James were
married, and this was used on their order of service booklet.
Oh, that is sweet. That's really lovely.
That's nice to include the family.
Yeah. And Uska Sharma and Virat Kohli.
(04:41):
For those who don't know who Virat Kohli is, he's a bit of a
cricket legend from India. Right.
They had pastel invitation boxeswhich included a very small
small sapling for planting by the guests.
Oh, that's. Cute, yeah.
I wonder how they got. I mean, I'm guessing that most
of these were hand delivered. Probably.
Put in the post. Right, Yeah, you can't really if
(05:03):
it's sapling like if it seeds maybe, but yeah, actually was
actually. Yeah, there was a space for it
in the box that they was just. Sort of.
I saw one similar to that that had actually that was an Indian
couple as well. And they had, yeah, like teas.
Yeah. Like so that they could make a
tea and it had the ingredients for the tea, I think, like honey
(05:24):
and the actual tea and so. So maybe.
That's popular over there. Maybe I like the idea of the
boxes. I think that's more for the
upmarket weddings. Definitely, because it's not
going to be cheap to send a box to everyone, is it?
No. Yeah, now let's look at actual
station rates, so. Yes, people actually need.
OK, so I've we wanted to go overthis because there is so much
(05:46):
stationary you can get for weddings and it's not necessary
to do it all. No, that's right.
So probably take 50% of what we've got here.
That's what we actually need. So you don't have to, but these
are things you can have, for example, an engagement
announcement. Some people like to announce
their engagement, but it's not necessary.
I mean these days a lot of it's done by social media text
(06:08):
message, maybe calling the people that are closest to you,
then texting the ones the next level out in a social media
announcement. And the date used to be done in
the newspaper. Yes, it did.
Yeah. So I think it's probably nice.
Probably also a bit more upmarket, I think.
Yeah. To announce it formally, Yeah,
(06:29):
yeah, yeah. And then save the dates.
I think save the dates depend onthe time frame and who's coming.
Yeah. If you've got lots of overseas
guests, you might want to do a save the date because it's
important that they plan for that.
Yeah, because sometimes you don't send those invites out
till three months before. But they might want to book
accommodation and flights I think.
(06:51):
If you've, you know, if you've got a year long lead up, I think
it can't hurt six months out or seven or eight months out to
send a save the date. Even a year.
Out once you know. Yeah, that's right.
Once you set that date so that people actually know, Yep, Yep.
So, and then you've got bridal shower invitations.
I mean, a lot of that's done by social media now too.
(07:11):
It is. And I've seen a lot of bridal
shower websites as well now. So you know how a lot of people
have wedding websites? Yeah, right.
A lot of people will have bridalshower and and groomsmen.
Ones as well. Yeah, that's right.
So that's, yeah, that is Sandy. And then bridesmaid and
groomsmen proposals. OK, that's the whole thing.
(07:33):
I mean, I, I kind of did it. Yeah, yeah, I kind of, I, I did
something special with each of them.
And then I gave them a bag that had like some stuff in it.
Yeah. To say, you know, like in like
that was my big thing for to askthem.
That's nice. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that was nice.
And then obviously wedding invitations, kind of the
important one. This one you really can't get
(07:55):
around. No?
Yes. People need to know.
So however you're going to do that.
I mean, traditionally it was always done with a nice card.
That's right. So this one's really important
that you include the names, the date, the time, the venue and
the RSVP information. Yeah.
We would probably also suggest that you put in there the dress.
(08:19):
Yeah, because a lot of people get stuck on that if they don't
have it on there. No, that's true.
It is always nice to. It's nice to know.
Yeah, straight up. Especially you don't.
Want to be the only one turning up in a a full length toll gown
and and everyone else is little in minis so.
Yeah, yeah. Like, you want to know, don't
you? That's right.
(08:39):
There's lots of inserts as well that can go into your invite.
Yeah. So again, important to know
which inserts you need to include.
Like if you have guests travelling you, you don't have
to include every insert for every guest, no.
So for example, accommodation, you can just include that insert
for the people that are travelling.
(08:59):
You don't have to include it in every single one to save money.
Yeah, you know, and. But like GIF registries.
Yep. Like, definitely.
Do you think people still do this GIF registries?
Yeah, Yeah, I do think they do. I mean, a lot more people do it
online now, but it used to be that, you know, you would go to
David Jones and Maya and you would walk around with your pen
(09:22):
and notepad and write down all the things that you wanted.
Well, the. Scanner time beep, beep Yeah.
At that time there are some. Really cool ways to do it now
yeah so so so it's good to research your options Yep.
But like definitely tell people if you're having a wishing
world, for example, because thenand there's also nice poems as
well that you can use to to. Write them out so you're not
(09:43):
just asking for money, you just.Need to research it and you'll
get 30. Yeah, that's right.
And wedding website information as well.
So this is becoming a a popular thing now, so.
I think it's great because if you have an update for your
wedding, you can put it straighton there and.
People. Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely.
So on the day of the wedding, there's also stationary that
(10:04):
needs to get sorted out and again, some of it's.
Optional, for example ceremony programmes like I didn't do a
ceremony. Programme, no.
So it's it's probably more of a formal type.
Of or for a. Religious, a religious, you
know, any sort of church, weddings and things like that
that might have readings in there.
Yeah. Or any hymns or any songs that
(10:25):
might be getting sung. Just have the lyrics in there.
I have seen people do signs withthe ceremony programme on it OK
instead so that people kind of have an idea of what's gonna
happen walking. Through they they have a look at
that. Yeah, as opposed to having it in
front of them. Not a bad idea.
Yeah, OK. And then menus.
Yeah. OK.
(10:46):
Again, it's a tough one. It's it's probably not needed.
I think it's nice, though. I like to know what food is
coming. But you don't necessarily have
to do them for every guest. Like, for example, we put it on
the table. That's right.
Yeah. Like one on the table.
Yeah, in a stand or just a couple on the table.
I've seen them often, like 2 pertable and just sitting.
(11:06):
Yep. Straight on the table on either
side. Yep, Yep.
Yep, table numbers and names. Yes, definitely essential.
Yeah, I think, yeah, you, you really like this.
This is important. For you.
Yeah, for me. So they all kind of go together,
right? Seating chart, table numbers and
names and place cards. Yeah.
(11:27):
So I do have couples come in whoaren't sure if they're going to
do a seating chart. Yeah.
Now, if you don't do a seating chart, it means that people
possibly might get, like, wanderand confused, you know, around
Trump. Yeah, we might go into this a
little bit more further down. Yeah.
But yeah, they kind of all go together there.
So maybe we'll discuss that at the end.
(11:48):
Yeah. Good idea.
Welcome, science. I don't think these are
essential except if you're at a venue that has multiple
different weddings that might behappening at the same time.
Yes, good idea. Yes, yes.
So you actually want to direct people so it could be welcome
come this way with a nice arrow that's right towards and the
(12:11):
venue might do that for you. But for example, we have a
Parklands in Brisbane, Roam St Parklands that might have 3 or 4
weddings on at the same time. Yeah.
And it's a large venue, but you,you know, you could be forgiven
for poor Auntie Jane, who parks down the other end of the
Parklands and then wounds up thinking, oh, there's this.
(12:32):
Wedding. Yeah.
I had some people come one time when we were setting up and
these people came and they were all dressed up and I don't know
how much they had walked. Yeah, but we were at the one at
the top of the hill. Yeah, like the spot at the top
of the hill. And they came and they looked at
the welcome sign and they're like, that's not them.
And they look so puffed, these poor people.
(12:54):
But at least they told them theywere at the wrong one.
You don't, you don't know a lot of people.
Like you're an outsider and you're going to the wedding and
you don't know the other guests and you're not able to go.
Oh, there's so and so. Yeah.
You know. Yeah.
You don't want to know. Who's sweating?
It is. That's right.
Yeah. Yeah.
Somewhere like the Parklands, like you said, that has a lot of
a lot of places to get married and a lot of them are tucked
away and things like that. They are, they're not overly
(13:16):
noticeable. So yeah, it wouldn't be a hurt.
In a in a situation like that tomaybe include a map with the
right location. Yeah, yeah.
They are firm gully, yes, you know you need to actually have a
map because people don't know what that means.
They don't know. Yeah, Yep, Yep.
Favour tags, favour tags. It's up to you.
(13:37):
I think it depends on what your favours are, do you think?
Yeah, yeah, so. And sometimes people do use that
as their place card. So they might have a little bag
with some chocolates and they might actually put A tag on it
with the guests name. Yeah.
And then they don't need a placecard.
That's right. Fill two birds with one stone.
Yep. Custom signage as well, I think
(13:57):
I, I think it's necessary. I do too.
Depending obviously on the on the venue.
Because if it's in in the room. Yeah, so that's the signage.
For those that don't know, it's usually things like, you know,
arrows pointing towards restrooms or the bar or a photo
booth or something that might beoutside a food truck or
something like that. So I mean, at my wedding we
(14:18):
needed. Them for the toilets because
they had to go downstairs and throw a pool room that's you
remember Yeah that's right yeah.And if we hadn't told them, they
would have been like, and it doesn't hurt wandering around
the property. That's right.
Find it. Yeah.
If you're not going to do them, make sure your MC tells people
or your celebrant tells people, like depending on where you are.
And it's straight away full times, probably throughout the
(14:39):
night. Yeah.
Because I think yes. Wedding guest book.
I mean, I like it. There are lots of different
things you can do for this thesedays.
You don't. You have to have stationary for
it. Yeah, I mean, people have, you
know, those drop the wooden hearts into a frame and that you
can put it on the wall. So you don't have to necessarily
(15:00):
have stationary for this. No.
So you don't necessarily need the traditional wedding guest
book. Yeah.
So what, you mean you you had something unique?
Yes, yours. I did.
I had an engravable signature frame.
Yeah. They're not as popular, I think
because they're not as wild, widely available.
So it was an alloy metal around the outside and people could
(15:22):
sign it and and it would engraveinto that metal.
Yeah. It's something different.
It's not really stationary. Yeah, for me, that was great.
And you also had the the phone booth which the.
True. The audio guest book, like, like
from our previous episode with Amy from It's Your Call.
Yeah, the audio guest book. So there are other options other
(15:42):
than paying for a guest book if you don't want to pay for one.
Yeah. And a lot of people.
I mean, what did you have, Ruth?We had an actual Oh no, we
didn't. We had a, we had a photo album
and yeah, yeah, I mean, back then we had their disposable
cameras on each table. Nice.
That was the thing. Yep.
Quality photos. We we got each couple or each
(16:05):
sort of family or if you're justflying solo to, to write it on a
page each. And then I tried to put the
photos of that person on that page.
See. That's nice.
Yeah. So it was, it became like a
little photo album with guestbook.
I feel like you're more likely to look at that than you are
getting a guestbook that just has a whole heap of messages
written in it. Yeah.
(16:25):
You know, although I guess thosesmaller guestbooks, they are
smaller, so it's easy to store for.
That's true. Yeah, That's true.
Yeah. What about after the wedding?
Thank you cards, I still haven'teven done mine.
Oh, that's terrible. It is really bad.
I mean, I only just posted our wedding video last night.
I can't believe that. I thought I'd do it in honour of
(16:47):
our first anniversary. That's terrible.
It is bad. So don't talk to Steph about
thank you cards. Everybody else it is.
It is nice to do thank you cards.
I think even if you can just write a personalised message,
especially for people who have travelled, who have made an, a
bigger effort to, to come and also to, you know, any family
(17:10):
that may have lent a hand on theday or anybody who's contributed
in some way financially to the wedding or with their time or
maybe some of their skills. It's nice to write a little
thank you message. It is because on the day, you
know, you, you don't always get a chance to say thank you to
everyone. You don't and it's terrible.
And you might walk away from that day going oh, I can't
(17:31):
believe I didn't thank Auntie Jane for doing the cake.
You know how? Long is too late to send them.
I think now is probably cutting it for yourself.
I mean, if I hurry I could probably get in within the year.
But a hurry. Yes, Yeah.
OK, OK. Let's have a look at the seating
(17:52):
plan. Yeah, what we were talking about
before the seating plan, place cards versus free reign.
Yeah, as you said, I think it does stop the confusion.
It helps the social interaction between the guests so they can
actually stand around and and see that.
Yeah. And I think like, yeah, it.
It does help. I think it also manages dietary
(18:12):
requirements as well, so it's easier if they're sitting in
their proper spot. Yeah, for the caterers, for the
caterers, especially if anybody's, you know, vegetarian
or gluten free or anything like that.
It. Helps that I think so too,
because otherwise they were kindof wandering around aimlessly,
not knowing where those people are.
That's right. Yeah.
Or they have to find out. You know you'll.
You'll always get some guests that will move themselves
(18:33):
around. Can't really be helped, but at
least you've tried your best. That's true.
That's true. It also helps, I guess, with
tricky family dynamics, if there's anybody who does.
I do have this happen, and this happens fairly often, I think.
So, you know, if maybe parents are divorced and they don't want
to sit at the same table together, you might have, might
have that. Yeah.
You can control that. Yeah.
(18:55):
And it also helps with space. I think so, like because you're
not spreading, maybe having people as spread out as you
would if if you've got set seating.
That's right tables. Yeah, yeah.
I think it's possibly important to if you have like quite a few
single people going and you havethis situation where there's a
table of eight and then like they spread themselves out, then
(19:18):
a couple might not be able to sit together.
It also helps if you've got couples even, because a couple
might get to a table and they'resitting opposite each other and
they want to sit next to each other.
Yep, you know, they're sitting opposite each other because of
the way people have sat at the table.
That's right, you know. I mean, you can ask people to
shuffle, but, you know, I think it's just a little bit more.
(19:39):
It's more formal. Yeah.
And it erases that awkwardness of having to ask somebody to
shuffle over there, especially if somebody you don't know or
you know, it might be somebody that's right in the wedding if
you don't feel like you can ask them.
Yeah. So you've got like that social
anxiety aspect of it. For people who aren't
comfortable, it's very much easier for them if you just say
this is where you're sitting, goand sit down.
(20:01):
Yeah, You know, and they don't have to go single table.
Singles tables, Yeah, I think it's great.
Minds about it. You think it's great?
I think it's great. What about having been single
for a long time in my like 20s and 30s?
Like you know, I was often thereand they that was a fun table.
Yeah, OK, they're often the fun.Table.
(20:21):
Yeah, there were shots and all sorts of stuff that wasn't
happening at the other. Yeah.
The other option could be to maybe split them up, say if it's
a a table of eight, you could have two couples and then four
singles. Yeah, See, that'd be fine.
I think probably just depends I guess on who they know at the
wedding. That's right know.
(20:42):
Anybody and you've got eight people that don't know anybody
else. Great, put them all together.
But yeah, I guess I feel like though, like you were saying
before, having like, say 3 couples and four singles, yeah.
I think that it is important to look at the people, which is
it's tough. I did it, but I was like, those
people have this in common, so let's put them together, you
(21:06):
know, because then they've got something to talk about.
Yeah, that's right. You know, if you put just eight
people who don't know each otherand they don't have common
interests, they just don't. They're all just don't know each
other. Yeah, then they might not enjoy
themselves. Yeah, I agree.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, OK.
So that covers that. I definitely am a fan of the
seating plan. Yeah, you do.
(21:26):
You do like them. I do.
It makes sense. It makes sense.
What about do it yourself versusprofessional for your
stationary? OK.
The pros there is, yes. So the pros I would say for DIY
versus professional. So on the side of DIY is that
they save a lot of money. You get to use your creativity
(21:50):
to do it. Which could be a good or a bad
thing, depend on how creative you are.
It could be. And it's easy for you to make
another one if you need it. That's true.
You know, because like some, youknow, if they're personalised
with people's names on them, it's easy to print off another
one if you did them yourself. To order order one online or
from a professional. It's probably going to cost you
(22:10):
an extra postage or extra fees because you.
Didn't do it straight away. Have in case you've forgotten
somebody and then all of a sudden you just quickly have to
print. Someone out?
Yeah. I mean, I had one couple that
didn't get the invite. OK, I don't know what happened.
They just didn't get this. Yeah.
And I thought it was weird that she didn't mention it to me when
I saw her. And I was talking about it and
(22:31):
she and she had assumed that they weren't invited.
And yeah. And then I was like, oh, you
haven't, you haven't got back tome.
And she's like, about what? I'm like the invite.
I didn't get the invite. So, you know.
And so I was able to find out, though, and that that enabled me
to go check with random people. I went and checked all over the
place because I wanted to check.Everyone else got theirs because
(22:53):
they were all sent at the same time.
But yeah, yeah. And so I was able to double
check that. Yeah.
And everyone else got them. Just not them.
Just not that couple. Yeah.
And it also allows you to get that personal touch.
Yeah. Like, I mean, you can say I made
those myself. Yeah.
You know, that's right. I mean, for me to get those
little blue starfish onto my invites, I imagine if I had got
(23:17):
someone else to do it or would it cost an absolute fortune?
Yes, And we're. Someone who has done that.
Yeah, yes. And we were able to then also
put those same blue starfish onto the place cards as well.
Yes, yeah. Okay, yeah, and then you've got
cons. Yes, yes.
I mean it is time consuming. It is time consuming and you
(23:37):
allow time for that and recruit the bridesmaids.
Yeah. I mean, if you're somebody that
can sit down and at your table and and maybe put a movie on and
just sit down and get it done, great.
But if you're somebody that doesnot have the time for that sort
of thing or don't enjoy that sort of thing, that's right.
Particularly if they're intricate.
Yeah, that's right, you know. Yeah.
But yeah, maybe it's that professional sort of polished
(24:02):
look, I guess. Agreed.
Yeah. I mean, I don't think my
starfish were particularly well stuck on.
What did you use to stick them on?
Probably hot glue. Oh, yeah, yes, yeah, Hot glue
burns. Yes.
I definitely think this is a conof making them yourself.
This is a con of a professional making them.
(24:23):
As someone who was not very goodat some aspects, I often got
given the job of when we used tomake them of the hot glueing.
So he's like you can hot glue this to this.
I also have done this for a few friends when they've gotten
married and the burns are real. Yeah, they are real and also
your furniture or. Whatever it is that you've.
(24:44):
Got the glue on it. Doesn't matter.
Spider web, Something down or the spider?
Web. That's crazy, isn't it?
Yeah, and I guess it may end up costing more in equipment.
Like obviously I had to find a hot glue gun and whatnot so.
Yeah, that's right. And nowadays lots of people have
crickets and, you know, and that's sort of stuff.
Or you might need a better quality printer in order to do
(25:06):
it. Yeah.
I mean, there isn't, you know, special cutting implements.
I mean, you never know, you might want those.
Yeah. And, you know, and you may
already have them. And if you're sort of the person
that has them, I imagine you're the sort of person that wants to
do them yourself. Yeah, totally.
Yeah. But even for me, I have a
cricket and there was no way I was going to laser cut all of
those invitations myself. No, that's fair.
(25:28):
There is not, not my idea of fun.
Yeah. Yes, we've, we've come up with a
couple of just little cute ideas, I guess of extra things
that you could do or or little little bits that might go into
you might be able to add stationary.
On your RSVP's, you could go with questions so they can say
(25:48):
yes or no if they're coming, butthen they can also answer a
question like, you know what song is guaranteed to get you up
onto the dance floor. That's a good one that can help
you sort of develop your playlist as well.
It really can, because that's a tough thing to know, unless, I
mean, I put it completely in thehands of the DJ.
Yeah, yeah, because. You know they.
Do need some weddings, Yeah, butit's fun.
(26:09):
But you never know what sort of group.
I mean, I don't know how DJ's always.
No, I guess we'll delve into that when we when we do our DJ
segment. But you know, how do you really
know with the group? Is is into.
Yeah. Because, you know, most of the
time the boys are all wearing suits, but you don't know, are
they into heavy metal or are they into musical theatre songs?
(26:30):
Yeah. You know, in a suit, you can't
tell. Yeah.
And like, I guess that's also a way similar to that.
But being able to like, you know, on those RSVP cards also
get things that you want maybe from the couple.
Like we did a wedding where the place cards were all baby
pictures of the guests. Oh, that's cute.
Yeah. And so I'm.
(26:50):
Not sure how they got them all. They must.
They must have asked for them. Yeah.
And maybe in the RSVP. Please send back.
Please send. Pack a baby picture of yourself.
Yeah. Yep.
OK. Makes sense.
Some people have actually put little cute facts about the
couple on onto their place cards.
Or, you know, if you want to go to the next step, you could
embroidery it into the napkins. Yeah, that's nice.
(27:12):
I've heard about people, like writing a personalised letter to
every guest. Wow.
OK. Which is like thanking them for
coming and explaining why they were there.
Yep. Like we, we had the love quotes
inside our place cards. Oh, that's cute too.
So just like, you know, little lines from poems and things like
that. Oh, that's nice.
Yeah. My mum did all calligraphy on
(27:35):
that. I was about to say.
Yeah, because she's so she's so good talented.
Yeah. Etsy has some pretty amazing
artists that you can use. They can draw images maybe of
the couple and it can go into your theme as well.
So say if you've got sort of a pastel wedding, you might get
them to to draw you up somethingin a nice watercolour.
(27:57):
Oh, that's nice. And I've also seen some done,
you know, that Victorian silhouette type image.
Oh, that you can get. And that's, you know, that's
quite elegant for a black and white theme.
Yeah, to have silhouettes of thecouple done in that Victoria
cute head headpiece. Slightly odd, but sure.
I've seen it happen and I've actually seen it happen.
(28:19):
It was a a cousin of ours that her name is Victoria and the
theme was all black and white and it was beautiful and
elegant, lovely. And they had these Victorian
silhouettes. Oh wow, you don't know what they
are. Just Google them, I'll have to.
Yep, I feel like I need to know.Yeah.
If I find anything good, I'll post it on our Facebook page.
(28:39):
Feel free to follow our Facebookpage.
They, you know, they can also dosort of a Kate Middleton and
draw the church or the ceremony location to give people a bit of
a glimpse into what the ceremonycould be like.
Yeah, right. And you can use that for on the
invitations or, you know, on theorder of service book or
(29:01):
something like that. I think that's nice.
Yeah, I think that's nice. And a lot of people these days
are including AQR code onto their invite that leads you to
your website, your wedding website, which.
Is what I did. Yeah, maybe it's a great idea.
You can have a bit more in depthinformation, maybe a little
photo slideshow or and it can keep people up to date to if
(29:23):
anything changes or anything like that.
You can have directions linked to Google Maps.
It's not a bad idea. On that same note.
Yeah, like on that same note, ifyou are going to have a QR code
for your photos, maybe that's actually a better spot to
introduce people to that QR code.
Yeah. Because, I mean, we had it
(29:43):
available at the wedding, but I feel like maybe we've already
got more if we'd sent it with the invites first, perhaps,
maybe I, I mean, I don't know, just guess people sent though
before. No, but at least then they've
had a chance to go to that website and they might be able
to save that website that they're going to upload to.
That's true. You know that's true Prior,
Yeah. 5 fast questions. Yay.
(30:07):
OK, Sound as excited as you usually are about the five fast
questions. I'm always excited for the five
fast questions. Alright.
No, you might be tired. Maybe it has been a big week.
Has been a big week. It has.
Yeah. Yes.
I think we've got 4 weddings this week.
Wow Yeah, which is a lot for winter.
Yep, Yep. But you know, and I'm just
coming off the back. I'm not gonna lie.
I've been on like holiday Yeah. And it's not easy to come in
(30:30):
have yes, I'm a bit jealous of your big camp out in the yard.
Oh yes, it's. Fun, yeah, but alright, 5 fast
questions. What have we got?
Jade wrote in and asked. Does my wedding invitation and
place cards have to match? I guess we just kind of spoke
about this. I feel like they do.
I also feel like they do. But it really depends on you.
(30:52):
I mean, I guess if you've sent out your invitations and then,
you know, all of a sudden your theme has changed, obviously you
want to make your place cards match the new theme.
That's true. You have to match your
invitations. Just.
Yeah. But I think most people
generally get a theme in mind before their invitations go out.
That's right. If you are going to put a colour
(31:14):
on your place cards as well, tryand tie it in with the styling
of the reception. Don't.
If you decide to go with a different style to what your
wedding invitations were, I would suggest that you possibly
make them. Yeah.
Make the place cards match the wedding styling instead of the
invitations because it looks weird.
As someone who's seen it so manytimes, when you've got a
(31:35):
different style, the only way you should really get away with
not matching them is if your theme does dramatically.
Yeah. I mean, if you went with, oh,
we're going to have an elegant wedding and then we decided to
change it to a beach theme, you're better off going with
that beach theme and not the elegant one or something simple.
Yeah. Or maybe try match the font, tie
them together somehow. Yeah.
Yeah, if you can, Claire wrote in.
(31:57):
Do I have to send a photo to each couple if they are in the
same household? Oh, sorry, I'm guessing this
doesn't mean photo. I'm guessing that she means an
invitation. Like an invitation.
Yeah, I that depends on the people, I guess.
If they're in the same whole household, I feel like you could
put them all on the same invite.Yeah.
And I guess it's like if it's a family with adults and kids,
(32:20):
obviously, same invite. Yes.
What if the family had an older child who has who lives at home,
who's also coming? So if you were sending me an
invite, I was also sending one for my daughter Alyssa and her
partner. Maybe do them separate.
I mean, that depends on your budget, I think.
Yeah, I think so. You probably could get away with
(32:43):
either way. Yeah.
Like if you don't want to spend the money, yeah.
Alyssa actually did ask me this question.
Websites like Canva, are they OKfor wedding invites?
So popular, yeah. And I don't think there's
anything wrong with it. If you are really budget consent
like Conscious, there's Vistaprint, there's Canva, there
(33:03):
are all sorts of options out there for you.
It might not be as personalised,but I mean on Canva you can
design it yourself, can't. You can and.
They've got some absolutely beautiful.
Can you order it for print through Canva?
Or you can take the design off. Canva, I think you can do it
either way. Yeah.
So, yeah, I, I, I think I've heard of people taking the
design off Canva, downloading itand then getting them printed.
(33:26):
But I would suggest if you're going to do that, make sure you
get a high quality printing because that is what you're
going to get with a professionaldoing it.
And you may, unless you are really good at it, a
professional, we'll offer you a better product.
Yeah. But that's with everything we
talk about. You're gonna get a different
product if you use a professional for it.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, Taylor asked whose
(33:49):
name comes first. So boy or girl, whatever you
want. Whatever you want, I guess.
Yeah. Because I put, we put my name
first because everyone calls us Steph and Steve.
Yeah, Well, I guess that's the thing.
So Alyssa and I actually looked at this question earlier and we
went over this and we're like, Ithink it depends on how the
couple is often referred to. So I think when people talk
(34:11):
about Matt and I, they say Matt and Ruth.
They don't say Ruth and Matt. That feels weird.
Exactly. If that's the case, I would put
Matthew first. Yes.
Yeah. So it just depends.
I do what you want. People are referred to, but I
think do what you want, Andy said.
How do I politely say no kids onthe wedding invite?
Right, no kids on the wedding invite.
(34:36):
There are also for there's lots of little poems and things that
you. There are, I mean, lots of
people will appreciate. There are people who may get
offended, but I feel like it's your wedding.
Yeah. Do not let those people's
opinions matter. No, no.
And I mean, some weddings just aren't suitable for kids.
I've, I've seen weddings that have been done sort of up near
(34:57):
the the cliffs at Kangaroo Point.
And the last thing you know the mum wants as being a wedding
guest is to be running around after their four year old making
sure nobody goes completely so. I mean, for me, I didn't want to
hold the kids around. We had a big pool, Yep, in the
ceremony area. And like, I just wanted people
to be able to relax. No, that's right.
(35:18):
And. Small kids particularly, like I
think we, we did have have a fewkids.
They're obviously very close family.
Yeah. Because I have in conjunction,
sorry not to stretch out fast questions, but I, I think a few
times people are like, are people going to be offended that
I didn't invite their kids when we've got kids here like my
brother's children? Yeah.
(35:38):
You know, but I think if they're.
If they're nieces and nephews, it's different.
Different. And people will respect that.
Yeah. And people will also watch those
kids for you. Yeah.
Like, I think if they're the right people at your wedding, if
you've got the right people at your wedding, they know you.
They know you're not trying to offend them.
Yeah, yeah. They know that you just, they
want you want to have a good time.
(35:59):
That's right, you. Want your couple to, you know,
you want your guests. Sorry to have a good time.
That's right. And I mean, sometimes it may
come at a cost. It may mean that they need to
leave by 10:00 because the babysitter needs to go home.
Yeah. And so you as a bride and groom
need to be OK with that, too. That's right.
So that's sometimes be the tradeoff completely.
Yeah. So that kind of concludes this.
(36:20):
However, Ruth and I would like to say we did have someone
coming in to talk stationary today who unfortunately couldn't
make it through illness, but we wanted to get this episode to
you. If you have any questions,
please feel free to contact us because we can still reach out
and get those questions answeredfor you.
Yeah. And we would be happy to do
(36:41):
that. We will reach out to our
professional. Yeah, yeah.
Wonderful. Well, I had a lot of fun.
Actually. I like stationary.
Yeah, I like stationary too, but.
Also, can I just also just sure,I think it's important to say
that personalise it to you. Definitely don't, you know, I
mean, a lot of people will just go with a trend.
But if, if flowers are not your thing, don't do it.
(37:02):
Don't need to have flowers on a wedding invitation.
A lot of people don't these days.
I think these days, what would you say is the most popular
type? I I still think floral probably
is the most popular or or maybe not even floral so much but some
kind of greenery. You know, Olive or like in the
patent. No, Printed.
Yeah. Yeah, I'm finding printed
(37:23):
invites more and more are becoming popular over the
handmade look. Yeah.
And it's possibly because they're cheaper.
Possibly. And a lot of people are able to
do them on things like Camper. They are.
And they're able to pull up images.
And there is nothing wrong with that if you want to save money.
But there are some amazing wedding.
I mean, it's not as popular now with invites.
I mean, you know, if you do go to a wedding stationary shop
(37:44):
though, they're going to, you'regoing to get premium papers and
beautiful ribbons and things like that that you might not be
able to get standardly. That's right.
But the yeah, printed is also great if you can do it.
Yeah, Yeah, I agree. And I think if you are going to
do something like Canva, pay forthe premium subscription
subscription of Canva because itdoes open up a lot more options
(38:06):
for you. Yeah.
So it might be worth it even if it's for just the time that
you're doing this. I mean, I think.
You can just do it for a month, so oh.
So that's perfect. That doesn't hurt.
And just keep it until your wedding and then you can make
everything match. That's right.
Yeah. No.
Perfect. Yeah.
OK. Wonderful.
Alright. Thank you very much, Steph.
No worries. Thanks for.
Bye. Bye.
On the next episode we will be talking to the amazing Maddie
(38:29):
Ross from Mr Entertainment. We will delve into the world of
live music, DJing and MC duties,discuss the pros and cons of
having a professional versus a friend and iPhone.
Hope you can join us. That's all for today.
Thank you for joining us for thebridal brief.
If you want to hear more, don't forget to click follow on our
podcast, please. Send us any questions you need
(38:50):
answered or contact us directly at the
bridalbriefpodcast@gmail.com. Or through our social media
pages.
Welcome to the bridal brief. My name is Stephanie Fitzpatrick
from Beautiful Illusions Event Styling.
And Ruth Ryan from Ruth Ryan Photography.
The purpose of the Bridal Brief is to help you before, on and
after your wedding day with our advice.
Plus bringing on a few friends along the way.
Another episode, Ruth and today.We are going to talk about
wedding stationary. Yay.
(00:21):
So we're gonna go over invitations, seating plans,
place cards, signage, and a little bit more like including
some pricing and timelines when you should try and get things
done. That is great.
Yeah, I think so. Steph, what did you have for
your invite? I made them.
We made them ourselves. I mean, Jodie helped me because
we used to do wedding invitations for Beautiful
(00:44):
Illusions, but and I just wantedsomething really simple.
Did you kind of have an idea of what you wanted?
I did because I really like the laser cut.
Like open once. And so, you know, like you would
have seen, obviously you got one.
But yeah, I really liked that laser cut look.
But I tell you what, when we were doing them, because they
made them myself, I had this whole idea of this ribbon that
(01:05):
was going to slide off with a buckle on it, and I put it on
there and I just didn't like it,OK?
So I ended up just going with a plain paper band with our names
printed nicely on it like a Pearl.
Yeah, kind of, you know, paper. Yeah.
And it just complemented it. So I think for me, simple was
better. Yeah.
(01:26):
Yeah. What about you?
You know, we made ours as well. I mean, 20 years ago.
It was a little bit different aswell.
Lots of hot glue. The style was different.
Yeah. Yeah.
And I look at all the beautiful ones now and I'm like, oh, I
feel so tragic. Yeah, 'cause you couldn't really
buy like laser cut ones back then and.
Stuff. No, it was sort of just, we just
did a plain rectangular invite and then I just a little
(01:48):
starfish, a blue starfish on it.Lovely.
Yeah, Yeah. And it was.
Similar to what? Jody had, I think she had a
really similar type of thing. Yeah.
Buried. Her in the same time maybe?
I think so. So trendy it may have been.
Well. We had ours at SeaWorld Nara
for, I mean, reception. So that's right.
I had that Beachy and we had sort of fringe of pennies as
well I think on there as. Well, that was the theme back
(02:10):
then that was really popular. Yeah.
Yep. Yeah, that's nice.
And it suited. Your venue, too.
Yeah. I think it's important to make
the. I feel like the wedding invites
are like the first opening to what the wedding's gonna be.
Yeah, usually. I mean, I think some people want
to mix it up, but I think it's agood idea actually to.
Well, it's set the tone. Yeah, exactly.
(02:31):
Yeah, it does. It sets the tone and people are
like, OK, I was really picky because obviously I had my
engagement party many, many, many, many, many years ago.
And back then I knew already thecolours I wanted.
So I focused on because I wantedthe ivory, black and gold.
I focused on the black with a little bit of gold and like, and
(02:54):
ivory. And so for the wedding, I wanted
like the ivory and the gold withthe little bit of black.
So yeah, you know, I made that happen in the invites.
Yeah. Nice little twist.
Yeah, So that's nice. Let's.
Look at some celebrity wedding. So we've got a few here.
Did you know that Paris Hilton and Carter Ram actually spent 50
(03:14):
grand on their wedding invitations?
A lot of money just for the invites.
It is. That's some expensive.
Paper, yes. That's more than a lot of people
would spend on their actual wedding.
It is. That's true.
That's true. Well, Kim Kardashian and Kris
Humphries. Currently.
They actually have two on eBay selling for a whopping 2 grand
(03:37):
and $440 as well for a plain black and white.
Yeah, in the box. I have seen that in five and I'm
not gonna lie, I would never spend that amount of money on
it. It's not that interesting.
I mean like they don't have enough money as it.
Is well, I mean, I think they'reon eBay for like buy it now, not
for auction still, so I'm just gonna throw.
It I reckon people would. Pay.
(03:58):
I know because they've been sitting there for a while, I
think. Oh.
Really. Yeah, it's really theirs.
I do, because the cheaper 1 is more damaged than the more
expensive one. OK.
And so maybe, maybe. Yep, people are like, oh, well,
that marriage is no longer. We don't need to own it now.
Yeah, maybe. Maybe.
(04:19):
Kate Middleton actually designedPippa Middleton's wedding
invitations. That's really nice.
And she's an art major. So Kate actually sketched a
pencil drawing of the church where Pippa and James were
married, and this was used on their order of service booklet.
Oh, that is sweet. That's really lovely.
That's nice to include the family.
Yeah. And Uska Sharma and Virat Kohli.
(04:41):
For those who don't know who Virat Kohli is, he's a bit of a
cricket legend from India. Right.
They had pastel invitation boxeswhich included a very small
small sapling for planting by the guests.
Oh, that's. Cute, yeah.
I wonder how they got. I mean, I'm guessing that most
of these were hand delivered. Probably.
Put in the post. Right, Yeah, you can't really if
(05:03):
it's sapling like if it seeds maybe, but yeah, actually was
actually. Yeah, there was a space for it
in the box that they was just. Sort of.
I saw one similar to that that had actually that was an Indian
couple as well. And they had, yeah, like teas.
Yeah. Like so that they could make a
tea and it had the ingredients for the tea, I think, like honey
(05:24):
and the actual tea and so. So maybe.
That's popular over there. Maybe I like the idea of the
boxes. I think that's more for the
upmarket weddings. Definitely, because it's not
going to be cheap to send a box to everyone, is it?
No. Yeah, now let's look at actual
station rates, so. Yes, people actually need.
OK, so I've we wanted to go overthis because there is so much
(05:46):
stationary you can get for weddings and it's not necessary
to do it all. No, that's right.
So probably take 50% of what we've got here.
That's what we actually need. So you don't have to, but these
are things you can have, for example, an engagement
announcement. Some people like to announce
their engagement, but it's not necessary.
I mean these days a lot of it's done by social media text
(06:08):
message, maybe calling the people that are closest to you,
then texting the ones the next level out in a social media
announcement. And the date used to be done in
the newspaper. Yes, it did.
Yeah. So I think it's probably nice.
Probably also a bit more upmarket, I think.
Yeah. To announce it formally, Yeah,
(06:29):
yeah, yeah. And then save the dates.
I think save the dates depend onthe time frame and who's coming.
Yeah. If you've got lots of overseas
guests, you might want to do a save the date because it's
important that they plan for that.
Yeah, because sometimes you don't send those invites out
till three months before. But they might want to book
accommodation and flights I think.
(06:51):
If you've, you know, if you've got a year long lead up, I think
it can't hurt six months out or seven or eight months out to
send a save the date. Even a year.
Out once you know. Yeah, that's right.
Once you set that date so that people actually know, Yep, Yep.
So, and then you've got bridal shower invitations.
I mean, a lot of that's done by social media now too.
(07:11):
It is. And I've seen a lot of bridal
shower websites as well now. So you know how a lot of people
have wedding websites? Yeah, right.
A lot of people will have bridalshower and and groomsmen.
Ones as well. Yeah, that's right.
So that's, yeah, that is Sandy. And then bridesmaid and
groomsmen proposals. OK, that's the whole thing.
(07:33):
I mean, I, I kind of did it. Yeah, yeah, I kind of, I, I did
something special with each of them.
And then I gave them a bag that had like some stuff in it.
Yeah. To say, you know, like in like
that was my big thing for to askthem.
That's nice. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that was nice.
And then obviously wedding invitations, kind of the
important one. This one you really can't get
(07:55):
around. No?
Yes. People need to know.
So however you're going to do that.
I mean, traditionally it was always done with a nice card.
That's right. So this one's really important
that you include the names, the date, the time, the venue and
the RSVP information. Yeah.
We would probably also suggest that you put in there the dress.
(08:19):
Yeah, because a lot of people get stuck on that if they don't
have it on there. No, that's true.
It is always nice to. It's nice to know.
Yeah, straight up. Especially you don't.
Want to be the only one turning up in a a full length toll gown
and and everyone else is little in minis so.
Yeah, yeah. Like, you want to know, don't
you? That's right.
(08:39):
There's lots of inserts as well that can go into your invite.
Yeah. So again, important to know
which inserts you need to include.
Like if you have guests travelling you, you don't have
to include every insert for every guest, no.
So for example, accommodation, you can just include that insert
for the people that are travelling.
(08:59):
You don't have to include it in every single one to save money.
Yeah, you know, and. But like GIF registries.
Yep. Like, definitely.
Do you think people still do this GIF registries?
Yeah, Yeah, I do think they do. I mean, a lot more people do it
online now, but it used to be that, you know, you would go to
David Jones and Maya and you would walk around with your pen
(09:22):
and notepad and write down all the things that you wanted.
Well, the. Scanner time beep, beep Yeah.
At that time there are some. Really cool ways to do it now
yeah so so so it's good to research your options Yep.
But like definitely tell people if you're having a wishing
world, for example, because thenand there's also nice poems as
well that you can use to to. Write them out so you're not
(09:43):
just asking for money, you just.Need to research it and you'll
get 30. Yeah, that's right.
And wedding website information as well.
So this is becoming a a popular thing now, so.
I think it's great because if you have an update for your
wedding, you can put it straighton there and.
People. Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely.
So on the day of the wedding, there's also stationary that
(10:04):
needs to get sorted out and again, some of it's.
Optional, for example ceremony programmes like I didn't do a
ceremony. Programme, no.
So it's it's probably more of a formal type.
Of or for a. Religious, a religious, you
know, any sort of church, weddings and things like that
that might have readings in there.
Yeah. Or any hymns or any songs that
(10:25):
might be getting sung. Just have the lyrics in there.
I have seen people do signs withthe ceremony programme on it OK
instead so that people kind of have an idea of what's gonna
happen walking. Through they they have a look at
that. Yeah, as opposed to having it in
front of them. Not a bad idea.
Yeah, OK. And then menus.
Yeah. OK.
(10:46):
Again, it's a tough one. It's it's probably not needed.
I think it's nice, though. I like to know what food is
coming. But you don't necessarily have
to do them for every guest. Like, for example, we put it on
the table. That's right.
Yeah. Like one on the table.
Yeah, in a stand or just a couple on the table.
I've seen them often, like 2 pertable and just sitting.
(11:06):
Yep. Straight on the table on either
side. Yep, Yep.
Yep, table numbers and names. Yes, definitely essential.
Yeah, I think, yeah, you, you really like this.
This is important. For you.
Yeah, for me. So they all kind of go together,
right? Seating chart, table numbers and
names and place cards. Yeah.
(11:27):
So I do have couples come in whoaren't sure if they're going to
do a seating chart. Yeah.
Now, if you don't do a seating chart, it means that people
possibly might get, like, wanderand confused, you know, around
Trump. Yeah, we might go into this a
little bit more further down. Yeah.
But yeah, they kind of all go together there.
So maybe we'll discuss that at the end.
(11:48):
Yeah. Good idea.
Welcome, science. I don't think these are
essential except if you're at a venue that has multiple
different weddings that might behappening at the same time.
Yes, good idea. Yes, yes.
So you actually want to direct people so it could be welcome
come this way with a nice arrow that's right towards and the
(12:11):
venue might do that for you. But for example, we have a
Parklands in Brisbane, Roam St Parklands that might have 3 or 4
weddings on at the same time. Yeah.
And it's a large venue, but you,you know, you could be forgiven
for poor Auntie Jane, who parks down the other end of the
Parklands and then wounds up thinking, oh, there's this.
(12:32):
Wedding. Yeah.
I had some people come one time when we were setting up and
these people came and they were all dressed up and I don't know
how much they had walked. Yeah, but we were at the one at
the top of the hill. Yeah, like the spot at the top
of the hill. And they came and they looked at
the welcome sign and they're like, that's not them.
And they look so puffed, these poor people.
(12:54):
But at least they told them theywere at the wrong one.
You don't, you don't know a lot of people.
Like you're an outsider and you're going to the wedding and
you don't know the other guests and you're not able to go.
Oh, there's so and so. Yeah.
You know. Yeah.
You don't want to know. Who's sweating?
It is. That's right.
Yeah. Yeah.
Somewhere like the Parklands, like you said, that has a lot of
a lot of places to get married and a lot of them are tucked
away and things like that. They are, they're not overly
(13:16):
noticeable. So yeah, it wouldn't be a hurt.
In a in a situation like that tomaybe include a map with the
right location. Yeah, yeah.
They are firm gully, yes, you know you need to actually have a
map because people don't know what that means.
They don't know. Yeah, Yep, Yep.
Favour tags, favour tags. It's up to you.
(13:37):
I think it depends on what your favours are, do you think?
Yeah, yeah, so. And sometimes people do use that
as their place card. So they might have a little bag
with some chocolates and they might actually put A tag on it
with the guests name. Yeah.
And then they don't need a placecard.
That's right. Fill two birds with one stone.
Yep. Custom signage as well, I think
(13:57):
I, I think it's necessary. I do too.
Depending obviously on the on the venue.
Because if it's in in the room. Yeah, so that's the signage.
For those that don't know, it's usually things like, you know,
arrows pointing towards restrooms or the bar or a photo
booth or something that might beoutside a food truck or
something like that. So I mean, at my wedding we
(14:18):
needed. Them for the toilets because
they had to go downstairs and throw a pool room that's you
remember Yeah that's right yeah.And if we hadn't told them, they
would have been like, and it doesn't hurt wandering around
the property. That's right.
Find it. Yeah.
If you're not going to do them, make sure your MC tells people
or your celebrant tells people, like depending on where you are.
And it's straight away full times, probably throughout the
(14:39):
night. Yeah.
Because I think yes. Wedding guest book.
I mean, I like it. There are lots of different
things you can do for this thesedays.
You don't. You have to have stationary for
it. Yeah, I mean, people have, you
know, those drop the wooden hearts into a frame and that you
can put it on the wall. So you don't have to necessarily
(15:00):
have stationary for this. No.
So you don't necessarily need the traditional wedding guest
book. Yeah.
So what, you mean you you had something unique?
Yes, yours. I did.
I had an engravable signature frame.
Yeah. They're not as popular, I think
because they're not as wild, widely available.
So it was an alloy metal around the outside and people could
(15:22):
sign it and and it would engraveinto that metal.
Yeah. It's something different.
It's not really stationary. Yeah, for me, that was great.
And you also had the the phone booth which the.
True. The audio guest book, like, like
from our previous episode with Amy from It's Your Call.
Yeah, the audio guest book. So there are other options other
(15:42):
than paying for a guest book if you don't want to pay for one.
Yeah. And a lot of people.
I mean, what did you have, Ruth?We had an actual Oh no, we
didn't. We had a, we had a photo album
and yeah, yeah, I mean, back then we had their disposable
cameras on each table. Nice.
That was the thing. Yep.
Quality photos. We we got each couple or each
(16:05):
sort of family or if you're justflying solo to, to write it on a
page each. And then I tried to put the
photos of that person on that page.
See. That's nice.
Yeah. So it was, it became like a
little photo album with guestbook.
I feel like you're more likely to look at that than you are
getting a guestbook that just has a whole heap of messages
written in it. Yeah.
(16:25):
You know, although I guess thosesmaller guestbooks, they are
smaller, so it's easy to store for.
That's true. Yeah, That's true.
Yeah. What about after the wedding?
Thank you cards, I still haven'teven done mine.
Oh, that's terrible. It is really bad.
I mean, I only just posted our wedding video last night.
I can't believe that. I thought I'd do it in honour of
(16:47):
our first anniversary. That's terrible.
It is bad. So don't talk to Steph about
thank you cards. Everybody else it is.
It is nice to do thank you cards.
I think even if you can just write a personalised message,
especially for people who have travelled, who have made an, a
bigger effort to, to come and also to, you know, any family
(17:10):
that may have lent a hand on theday or anybody who's contributed
in some way financially to the wedding or with their time or
maybe some of their skills. It's nice to write a little
thank you message. It is because on the day, you
know, you, you don't always get a chance to say thank you to
everyone. You don't and it's terrible.
And you might walk away from that day going oh, I can't
(17:31):
believe I didn't thank Auntie Jane for doing the cake.
You know how? Long is too late to send them.
I think now is probably cutting it for yourself.
I mean, if I hurry I could probably get in within the year.
But a hurry. Yes, Yeah.
OK, OK. Let's have a look at the seating
(17:52):
plan. Yeah, what we were talking about
before the seating plan, place cards versus free reign.
Yeah, as you said, I think it does stop the confusion.
It helps the social interaction between the guests so they can
actually stand around and and see that.
Yeah. And I think like, yeah, it.
It does help. I think it also manages dietary
(18:12):
requirements as well, so it's easier if they're sitting in
their proper spot. Yeah, for the caterers, for the
caterers, especially if anybody's, you know, vegetarian
or gluten free or anything like that.
It. Helps that I think so too,
because otherwise they were kindof wandering around aimlessly,
not knowing where those people are.
That's right. Yeah.
Or they have to find out. You know you'll.
You'll always get some guests that will move themselves
(18:33):
around. Can't really be helped, but at
least you've tried your best. That's true.
That's true. It also helps, I guess, with
tricky family dynamics, if there's anybody who does.
I do have this happen, and this happens fairly often, I think.
So, you know, if maybe parents are divorced and they don't want
to sit at the same table together, you might have, might
have that. Yeah.
You can control that. Yeah.
(18:55):
And it also helps with space. I think so, like because you're
not spreading, maybe having people as spread out as you
would if if you've got set seating.
That's right tables. Yeah, yeah.
I think it's possibly important to if you have like quite a few
single people going and you havethis situation where there's a
table of eight and then like they spread themselves out, then
(19:18):
a couple might not be able to sit together.
It also helps if you've got couples even, because a couple
might get to a table and they'resitting opposite each other and
they want to sit next to each other.
Yep, you know, they're sitting opposite each other because of
the way people have sat at the table.
That's right, you know. I mean, you can ask people to
shuffle, but, you know, I think it's just a little bit more.
(19:39):
It's more formal. Yeah.
And it erases that awkwardness of having to ask somebody to
shuffle over there, especially if somebody you don't know or
you know, it might be somebody that's right in the wedding if
you don't feel like you can ask them.
Yeah. So you've got like that social
anxiety aspect of it. For people who aren't
comfortable, it's very much easier for them if you just say
this is where you're sitting, goand sit down.
(20:01):
Yeah, You know, and they don't have to go single table.
Singles tables, Yeah, I think it's great.
Minds about it. You think it's great?
I think it's great. What about having been single
for a long time in my like 20s and 30s?
Like you know, I was often thereand they that was a fun table.
Yeah, OK, they're often the fun.Table.
(20:21):
Yeah, there were shots and all sorts of stuff that wasn't
happening at the other. Yeah.
The other option could be to maybe split them up, say if it's
a a table of eight, you could have two couples and then four
singles. Yeah, See, that'd be fine.
I think probably just depends I guess on who they know at the
wedding. That's right know.
(20:42):
Anybody and you've got eight people that don't know anybody
else. Great, put them all together.
But yeah, I guess I feel like though, like you were saying
before, having like, say 3 couples and four singles, yeah.
I think that it is important to look at the people, which is
it's tough. I did it, but I was like, those
people have this in common, so let's put them together, you
(21:06):
know, because then they've got something to talk about.
Yeah, that's right. You know, if you put just eight
people who don't know each otherand they don't have common
interests, they just don't. They're all just don't know each
other. Yeah, then they might not enjoy
themselves. Yeah, I agree.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, OK.
So that covers that. I definitely am a fan of the
seating plan. Yeah, you do.
(21:26):
You do like them. I do.
It makes sense. It makes sense.
What about do it yourself versusprofessional for your
stationary? OK.
The pros there is, yes. So the pros I would say for DIY
versus professional. So on the side of DIY is that
they save a lot of money. You get to use your creativity
(21:50):
to do it. Which could be a good or a bad
thing, depend on how creative you are.
It could be. And it's easy for you to make
another one if you need it. That's true.
You know, because like some, youknow, if they're personalised
with people's names on them, it's easy to print off another
one if you did them yourself. To order order one online or
from a professional. It's probably going to cost you
(22:10):
an extra postage or extra fees because you.
Didn't do it straight away. Have in case you've forgotten
somebody and then all of a sudden you just quickly have to
print. Someone out?
Yeah. I mean, I had one couple that
didn't get the invite. OK, I don't know what happened.
They just didn't get this. Yeah.
And I thought it was weird that she didn't mention it to me when
I saw her. And I was talking about it and
(22:31):
she and she had assumed that they weren't invited.
And yeah. And then I was like, oh, you
haven't, you haven't got back tome.
And she's like, about what? I'm like the invite.
I didn't get the invite. So, you know.
And so I was able to find out, though, and that that enabled me
to go check with random people. I went and checked all over the
place because I wanted to check.Everyone else got theirs because
(22:53):
they were all sent at the same time.
But yeah, yeah. And so I was able to double
check that. Yeah.
And everyone else got them. Just not them.
Just not that couple. Yeah.
And it also allows you to get that personal touch.
Yeah. Like, I mean, you can say I made
those myself. Yeah.
You know, that's right. I mean, for me to get those
little blue starfish onto my invites, I imagine if I had got
(23:17):
someone else to do it or would it cost an absolute fortune?
Yes, And we're. Someone who has done that.
Yeah, yes. And we were able to then also
put those same blue starfish onto the place cards as well.
Yes, yeah. Okay, yeah, and then you've got
cons. Yes, yes.
I mean it is time consuming. It is time consuming and you
(23:37):
allow time for that and recruit the bridesmaids.
Yeah. I mean, if you're somebody that
can sit down and at your table and and maybe put a movie on and
just sit down and get it done, great.
But if you're somebody that doesnot have the time for that sort
of thing or don't enjoy that sort of thing, that's right.
Particularly if they're intricate.
Yeah, that's right, you know. Yeah.
But yeah, maybe it's that professional sort of polished
(24:02):
look, I guess. Agreed.
Yeah. I mean, I don't think my
starfish were particularly well stuck on.
What did you use to stick them on?
Probably hot glue. Oh, yeah, yes, yeah, Hot glue
burns. Yes.
I definitely think this is a conof making them yourself.
This is a con of a professional making them.
(24:23):
As someone who was not very goodat some aspects, I often got
given the job of when we used tomake them of the hot glueing.
So he's like you can hot glue this to this.
I also have done this for a few friends when they've gotten
married and the burns are real. Yeah, they are real and also
your furniture or. Whatever it is that you've.
(24:44):
Got the glue on it. Doesn't matter.
Spider web, Something down or the spider?
Web. That's crazy, isn't it?
Yeah, and I guess it may end up costing more in equipment.
Like obviously I had to find a hot glue gun and whatnot so.
Yeah, that's right. And nowadays lots of people have
crickets and, you know, and that's sort of stuff.
Or you might need a better quality printer in order to do
(25:06):
it. Yeah.
I mean, there isn't, you know, special cutting implements.
I mean, you never know, you might want those.
Yeah. And, you know, and you may
already have them. And if you're sort of the person
that has them, I imagine you're the sort of person that wants to
do them yourself. Yeah, totally.
Yeah. But even for me, I have a
cricket and there was no way I was going to laser cut all of
those invitations myself. No, that's fair.
(25:28):
There is not, not my idea of fun.
Yeah. Yes, we've, we've come up with a
couple of just little cute ideas, I guess of extra things
that you could do or or little little bits that might go into
you might be able to add stationary.
On your RSVP's, you could go with questions so they can say
(25:48):
yes or no if they're coming, butthen they can also answer a
question like, you know what song is guaranteed to get you up
onto the dance floor. That's a good one that can help
you sort of develop your playlist as well.
It really can, because that's a tough thing to know, unless, I
mean, I put it completely in thehands of the DJ.
Yeah, yeah, because. You know they.
Do need some weddings, Yeah, butit's fun.
(26:09):
But you never know what sort of group.
I mean, I don't know how DJ's always.
No, I guess we'll delve into that when we when we do our DJ
segment. But you know, how do you really
know with the group? Is is into.
Yeah. Because, you know, most of the
time the boys are all wearing suits, but you don't know, are
they into heavy metal or are they into musical theatre songs?
(26:30):
Yeah. You know, in a suit, you can't
tell. Yeah.
And like, I guess that's also a way similar to that.
But being able to like, you know, on those RSVP cards also
get things that you want maybe from the couple.
Like we did a wedding where the place cards were all baby
pictures of the guests. Oh, that's cute.
Yeah. And so I'm.
(26:50):
Not sure how they got them all. They must.
They must have asked for them. Yeah.
And maybe in the RSVP. Please send back.
Please send. Pack a baby picture of yourself.
Yeah. Yep.
OK. Makes sense.
Some people have actually put little cute facts about the
couple on onto their place cards.
Or, you know, if you want to go to the next step, you could
embroidery it into the napkins. Yeah, that's nice.
(27:12):
I've heard about people, like writing a personalised letter to
every guest. Wow.
OK. Which is like thanking them for
coming and explaining why they were there.
Yep. Like we, we had the love quotes
inside our place cards. Oh, that's cute too.
So just like, you know, little lines from poems and things like
that. Oh, that's nice.
Yeah. My mum did all calligraphy on
(27:35):
that. I was about to say.
Yeah, because she's so she's so good talented.
Yeah. Etsy has some pretty amazing
artists that you can use. They can draw images maybe of
the couple and it can go into your theme as well.
So say if you've got sort of a pastel wedding, you might get
them to to draw you up somethingin a nice watercolour.
(27:57):
Oh, that's nice. And I've also seen some done,
you know, that Victorian silhouette type image.
Oh, that you can get. And that's, you know, that's
quite elegant for a black and white theme.
Yeah, to have silhouettes of thecouple done in that Victoria
cute head headpiece. Slightly odd, but sure.
I've seen it happen and I've actually seen it happen.
(28:19):
It was a a cousin of ours that her name is Victoria and the
theme was all black and white and it was beautiful and
elegant, lovely. And they had these Victorian
silhouettes. Oh wow, you don't know what they
are. Just Google them, I'll have to.
Yep, I feel like I need to know.Yeah.
If I find anything good, I'll post it on our Facebook page.
(28:39):
Feel free to follow our Facebookpage.
They, you know, they can also dosort of a Kate Middleton and
draw the church or the ceremony location to give people a bit of
a glimpse into what the ceremonycould be like.
Yeah, right. And you can use that for on the
invitations or, you know, on theorder of service book or
(29:01):
something like that. I think that's nice.
Yeah, I think that's nice. And a lot of people these days
are including AQR code onto their invite that leads you to
your website, your wedding website, which.
Is what I did. Yeah, maybe it's a great idea.
You can have a bit more in depthinformation, maybe a little
photo slideshow or and it can keep people up to date to if
(29:23):
anything changes or anything like that.
You can have directions linked to Google Maps.
It's not a bad idea. On that same note.
Yeah, like on that same note, ifyou are going to have a QR code
for your photos, maybe that's actually a better spot to
introduce people to that QR code.
Yeah. Because, I mean, we had it
(29:43):
available at the wedding, but I feel like maybe we've already
got more if we'd sent it with the invites first, perhaps,
maybe I, I mean, I don't know, just guess people sent though
before. No, but at least then they've
had a chance to go to that website and they might be able
to save that website that they're going to upload to.
That's true. You know that's true Prior,
Yeah. 5 fast questions. Yay.
(30:07):
OK, Sound as excited as you usually are about the five fast
questions. I'm always excited for the five
fast questions. Alright.
No, you might be tired. Maybe it has been a big week.
Has been a big week. It has.
Yeah. Yes.
I think we've got 4 weddings this week.
Wow Yeah, which is a lot for winter.
Yep, Yep. But you know, and I'm just
coming off the back. I'm not gonna lie.
I've been on like holiday Yeah. And it's not easy to come in
(30:30):
have yes, I'm a bit jealous of your big camp out in the yard.
Oh yes, it's. Fun, yeah, but alright, 5 fast
questions. What have we got?
Jade wrote in and asked. Does my wedding invitation and
place cards have to match? I guess we just kind of spoke
about this. I feel like they do.
I also feel like they do. But it really depends on you.
(30:52):
I mean, I guess if you've sent out your invitations and then,
you know, all of a sudden your theme has changed, obviously you
want to make your place cards match the new theme.
That's true. You have to match your
invitations. Just.
Yeah. But I think most people
generally get a theme in mind before their invitations go out.
That's right. If you are going to put a colour
(31:14):
on your place cards as well, tryand tie it in with the styling
of the reception. Don't.
If you decide to go with a different style to what your
wedding invitations were, I would suggest that you possibly
make them. Yeah.
Make the place cards match the wedding styling instead of the
invitations because it looks weird.
As someone who's seen it so manytimes, when you've got a
(31:35):
different style, the only way you should really get away with
not matching them is if your theme does dramatically.
Yeah. I mean, if you went with, oh,
we're going to have an elegant wedding and then we decided to
change it to a beach theme, you're better off going with
that beach theme and not the elegant one or something simple.
Yeah. Or maybe try match the font, tie
them together somehow. Yeah.
Yeah, if you can, Claire wrote in.
(31:57):
Do I have to send a photo to each couple if they are in the
same household? Oh, sorry, I'm guessing this
doesn't mean photo. I'm guessing that she means an
invitation. Like an invitation.
Yeah, I that depends on the people, I guess.
If they're in the same whole household, I feel like you could
put them all on the same invite.Yeah.
And I guess it's like if it's a family with adults and kids,
(32:20):
obviously, same invite. Yes.
What if the family had an older child who has who lives at home,
who's also coming? So if you were sending me an
invite, I was also sending one for my daughter Alyssa and her
partner. Maybe do them separate.
I mean, that depends on your budget, I think.
Yeah, I think so. You probably could get away with
(32:43):
either way. Yeah.
Like if you don't want to spend the money, yeah.
Alyssa actually did ask me this question.
Websites like Canva, are they OKfor wedding invites?
So popular, yeah. And I don't think there's
anything wrong with it. If you are really budget consent
like Conscious, there's Vistaprint, there's Canva, there
(33:03):
are all sorts of options out there for you.
It might not be as personalised,but I mean on Canva you can
design it yourself, can't. You can and.
They've got some absolutely beautiful.
Can you order it for print through Canva?
Or you can take the design off. Canva, I think you can do it
either way. Yeah.
So, yeah, I, I, I think I've heard of people taking the
design off Canva, downloading itand then getting them printed.
(33:26):
But I would suggest if you're going to do that, make sure you
get a high quality printing because that is what you're
going to get with a professionaldoing it.
And you may, unless you are really good at it, a
professional, we'll offer you a better product.
Yeah. But that's with everything we
talk about. You're gonna get a different
product if you use a professional for it.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, Taylor asked whose
(33:49):
name comes first. So boy or girl, whatever you
want. Whatever you want, I guess.
Yeah. Because I put, we put my name
first because everyone calls us Steph and Steve.
Yeah, Well, I guess that's the thing.
So Alyssa and I actually looked at this question earlier and we
went over this and we're like, Ithink it depends on how the
couple is often referred to. So I think when people talk
(34:11):
about Matt and I, they say Matt and Ruth.
They don't say Ruth and Matt. That feels weird.
Exactly. If that's the case, I would put
Matthew first. Yes.
Yeah. So it just depends.
I do what you want. People are referred to, but I
think do what you want, Andy said.
How do I politely say no kids onthe wedding invite?
Right, no kids on the wedding invite.
(34:36):
There are also for there's lots of little poems and things that
you. There are, I mean, lots of
people will appreciate. There are people who may get
offended, but I feel like it's your wedding.
Yeah. Do not let those people's
opinions matter. No, no.
And I mean, some weddings just aren't suitable for kids.
I've, I've seen weddings that have been done sort of up near
(34:57):
the the cliffs at Kangaroo Point.
And the last thing you know the mum wants as being a wedding
guest is to be running around after their four year old making
sure nobody goes completely so. I mean, for me, I didn't want to
hold the kids around. We had a big pool, Yep, in the
ceremony area. And like, I just wanted people
to be able to relax. No, that's right.
(35:18):
And. Small kids particularly, like I
think we, we did have have a fewkids.
They're obviously very close family.
Yeah. Because I have in conjunction,
sorry not to stretch out fast questions, but I, I think a few
times people are like, are people going to be offended that
I didn't invite their kids when we've got kids here like my
brother's children? Yeah.
(35:38):
You know, but I think if they're.
If they're nieces and nephews, it's different.
Different. And people will respect that.
Yeah. And people will also watch those
kids for you. Yeah.
Like, I think if they're the right people at your wedding, if
you've got the right people at your wedding, they know you.
They know you're not trying to offend them.
Yeah, yeah. They know that you just, they
want you want to have a good time.
(35:59):
That's right, you. Want your couple to, you know,
you want your guests. Sorry to have a good time.
That's right. And I mean, sometimes it may
come at a cost. It may mean that they need to
leave by 10:00 because the babysitter needs to go home.
Yeah. And so you as a bride and groom
need to be OK with that, too. That's right.
So that's sometimes be the tradeoff completely.
Yeah. So that kind of concludes this.
(36:20):
However, Ruth and I would like to say we did have someone
coming in to talk stationary today who unfortunately couldn't
make it through illness, but we wanted to get this episode to
you. If you have any questions,
please feel free to contact us because we can still reach out
and get those questions answeredfor you.
Yeah. And we would be happy to do
(36:41):
that. We will reach out to our
professional. Yeah, yeah.
Wonderful. Well, I had a lot of fun.
Actually. I like stationary.
Yeah, I like stationary too, but.
Also, can I just also just sure,I think it's important to say
that personalise it to you. Definitely don't, you know, I
mean, a lot of people will just go with a trend.
But if, if flowers are not your thing, don't do it.
(37:02):
Don't need to have flowers on a wedding invitation.
A lot of people don't these days.
I think these days, what would you say is the most popular
type? I I still think floral probably
is the most popular or or maybe not even floral so much but some
kind of greenery. You know, Olive or like in the
patent. No, Printed.
Yeah. Yeah, I'm finding printed
(37:23):
invites more and more are becoming popular over the
handmade look. Yeah.
And it's possibly because they're cheaper.
Possibly. And a lot of people are able to
do them on things like Camper. They are.
And they're able to pull up images.
And there is nothing wrong with that if you want to save money.
But there are some amazing wedding.
I mean, it's not as popular now with invites.
I mean, you know, if you do go to a wedding stationary shop
(37:44):
though, they're going to, you'regoing to get premium papers and
beautiful ribbons and things like that that you might not be
able to get standardly. That's right.
But the yeah, printed is also great if you can do it.
Yeah, Yeah, I agree. And I think if you are going to
do something like Canva, pay forthe premium subscription
subscription of Canva because itdoes open up a lot more options
(38:06):
for you. Yeah.
So it might be worth it even if it's for just the time that
you're doing this. I mean, I think.
You can just do it for a month, so oh.
So that's perfect. That doesn't hurt.
And just keep it until your wedding and then you can make
everything match. That's right.
Yeah. No.
Perfect. Yeah.
OK. Wonderful.
Alright. Thank you very much, Steph.
No worries. Thanks for.
Bye. Bye.
On the next episode we will be talking to the amazing Maddie
(38:29):
Ross from Mr Entertainment. We will delve into the world of
live music, DJing and MC duties,discuss the pros and cons of
having a professional versus a friend and iPhone.
Hope you can join us. That's all for today.
Thank you for joining us for thebridal brief.
If you want to hear more, don't forget to click follow on our
podcast, please. Send us any questions you need
(38:50):
answered or contact us directly at the
bridalbriefpodcast@gmail.com. Or through our social media
pages.
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