Planning a wedding comes with a surprisingly long list of decisions, and somewhere along the way you’ll probably find yourself wondering: how much wedding stationery do we actually need?
Do you need Save the Dates? Is an RSVP card still necessary if guests can reply online? What exactly goes on a details card? And then there’s menus, place cards, seating charts and all the stationery you suddenly need on the wedding day itself.
The good news is, you definitely don’t need everything.
Your wedding stationery should suit your day, your guests and the way you’re planning your wedding. Here’s a simple breakdown of what you might need — and what you can happily skip.
Save the Dates
Do you need them? Not always, but they can be really helpful.
Save the Dates are the first little glimpse your guests get of your wedding. They usually include your names, wedding date and a general location, with the formal invitation following later.
They’re particularly useful if you’re having a destination wedding, getting married during a busy time of year, or have quite a few guests who will need to travel.
For a smaller local wedding where most guests already know the date, you may decide to skip them altogether.
Wedding Invitations
Yes — this is the one piece we consider essential.
Your invitation is the heart of your wedding stationery suite. At a minimum, it should tell your guests who is getting married, when the wedding is happening and where they need to be.
You can keep it beautifully simple and move all the extra information onto a details card or wedding website.
There’s no need to squeeze every last piece of information onto the invitation itself. Giving the important details a little room to breathe usually makes for a much more beautiful design.
Details Cards
Optional, but incredibly useful.
If you have more information than comfortably fits on your invitation, a details card is usually the easiest solution.
This is where you can include things like accommodation, transport, dress code, wishing well information, parking, directions, whether children are invited and your wedding website.
You don't necessarily need to include all of these. Think about the questions your guests are most likely to ask and include the information that will make their lives — and yours — easier.
RSVP Cards
Optional, especially if you're collecting RSVPs online.
Traditional RSVP cards are still a beautiful addition to a printed invitation suite, particularly if you love the experience of receiving replies in the mail.
But they certainly aren't essential anymore.
Many couples now include an RSVP date and website or QR code on their details card instead. This can make tracking responses, dietary requirements and song requests much easier.
If you love the look of a three-card suite, though, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with keeping the traditional RSVP card.
Menus
It depends on your reception.
Individual menus at each place setting can be a gorgeous finishing touch, but you don't necessarily need one for every guest.
Some couples choose one or two menus per table, while others incorporate the menu into a place card or personalised stationery piece.
If your venue already displays the menu or you're having a cocktail-style reception, you may not need printed menus at all.
Place Cards
Useful for assigned seating, unnecessary for open seating.
If every guest has been allocated a specific seat, you'll need some way of showing them where to sit.
That might be a traditional folded place card, a personalised menu, a small printed card or something a little more creative.
If guests are only allocated to a table and can choose their own seat once they get there, individual place cards aren't necessary.
Seating Chart or Welcome Sign
These tend to fall more into the signage side of wedding stationery, but they're often designed alongside the rest of your suite so everything feels cohesive.
A seating chart is helpful for larger weddings or whenever guests have assigned tables.
A welcome sign is completely optional. It doesn't serve quite the same practical purpose, but it can be a lovely way to carry your stationery design through to the wedding day and welcome guests as they arrive.
So, what do you really need?
If you're trying to keep things simple, you really can start with just a beautiful wedding invitation.
From there, add the pieces that actually serve a purpose for your wedding.
For many couples, that might mean an invitation and details card with online RSVPs. For others, it might be the full experience — Save the Dates, a three-card invitation suite, menus, place cards and matching day-of stationery.
There isn't a correct number of pieces you need to order.
The best wedding stationery isn't the suite with the most cards. It's the one that gives your guests everything they need while still feeling like the two of you.