menu

DESIGN

HOUSE

Be inspired by the timeless designs Laura has been creating since 2002 and begin your own paper experience with our calligraphy and color visual. Find out today how we can be of service— no matter where you are in the wedding planning process. 

DESIGN

HOUSE

Learn how Laura and Alyssa continue to foster the cornerstone of their company with calligraphy tools and teaching for beginners, hobbyists and beyond— as well as in-person services to enhance events and take the stress out of stationery.   

Discover how Laura’s beloved landscape contributes to her creativity and be inspired to make every day artful with curated calligraphy solutions, fine art influenced by Foxhill, and sought-after garden goods.

DESIGN

HOUSE

Discover how Laura’s beloved landscape contributes to her creativity and be inspired to make every day artful with curated calligraphy solutions, fine art influenced by Foxhill, and sought-after garden goods.

DESIGN

HOUSE

Ask Laura: Wedding Invitation Suite – What is included in the stationery aside from envelope calligraphy?

Before we dive into the components of a wedding stationery set, first we want to mention that if you are a Fall or early 2021 bride or groom, you should definitely start working on your wedding planning & stationery design as soon as possible. At Laura Hooper Calligraphy your retainer with us is secure and transferable to any rescheduled date if needed. It’s always best to get started early, and if you need to make any date/detail changes before going to print, you want to have the groundwork laid out and ready to go. Currently weddings taking place in July 2020 or later are not being rescheduled and should proceed as normal. We are happy to discuss additional suite pieces to let your guests know you are monitoring the situation and will provide updates as they are available. 
Your wedding invitation is often the first physical representation of your wedding celebration that your potential guests receive, so you want to make a beautiful initial impression. You’ve seen examples that you love online and maybe have a general idea of the overall feel you want your stationery suite to exude. But when should you get started and what pieces go into a wedding invitation?

It’s a good idea to start on your wedding stationery design sooner rather than later, but a concrete goal would be to begin the design process about 4-6 months out from your wedding date. If you know you’d like to work with us but you’re still a year out, we recommend booking your retainer as soon as possible to secure the time in our design calendar and then we can reach out closer to this time frame to get started. If you are mailing a Save the Date, these usually go in the mail 9-12 months out so you’d start on those as soon as you have the date and location confirmed. The invitations should be mailed around 8-10 weeks out from your wedding date and custom design & production can take anywhere from 4-8 weeks, putting you about 12-18 weeks out to begin the process. If you are “running behind,” don’t fret! We can almost always accommodate tighter turnarounds when needed.
Now what is actually included in the stationery suite? A standard wedding invitation is four pieces: main invitation card, reply card, reply envelope and outer envelope. Your return mailing address should be printed on both the reply envelope and outer envelope. This address is the same on every invitation so it is not a variable component and should be printed. We sometimes hear from people working with other stationers or ordering from a non-custom website who didn’t print their return addresses in order to save money, but handwriting these addresses is always going to cost more than having your stationer print them.

The main card will include the wedding “hosts”, the couple’s names, wedding date, time and location. If you have a dress code such as Black Tie, this is usually included on the main card as well.  If the reception is at a different location than the ceremony that usually goes onto a separate card that can include the wedding website as well, if there is one.
The reply card includes the requested RSVP date, which is based on when your final count is due to your caterer/venue/rental company. Whichever company has the earliest count date required, you want your RSVP date to be set for at least one week prior allowing you enough time to reach out to anyone who hasn’t responded. This card also includes any  meal selections if applicable, notes regarding adults only, etc. Keep in mind this card is coming back to you, so you don’t want to put any details that your guest will need later such as wedding website, reception location, etc.
The reply envelope will have your return address printed on the front for that reply card to come back to you (or your wedding planner) and a stamp.
The outer envelope will include your return address on the back flap and then your guest mailing address block on the front. We of course believe that a hand-addressed envelope makes the very best first impression and always recommend handwritten scripts over computer fonts!

Additional pieces to your invitation suite might include:

  • Reception card (if the reception is at a different location than the ceremony)
  • Accommodations/details card
  • Custom map
  • Weekend itinerary (often included in a welcome bag if doing one)
  • Custom wax seals
  • Ribbon & vellum accents
  • Envelope liners

The possibilities are endless with custom design! For additional information regarding our stationery design & production {or calligraphy services a la carte} you can find details on our website here and submit a request for an estimate here.

Join our email list to get updates delivered straight to your inbox.

Take 15% off your first shop purchase & stay up to date on new releases, shop sales & other news.

disclaimer & Terms

Thank you for your interest in Laura Hooper Design House. All images are copyright 2022 by Laura Hooper Design House unless we have otherwise credited them. We invite you to link to the LHC blog or use the photos in your own blog as long as it is accompanied by a credit & link back to the initial blog post. Please do not take any of my work for commercial OR personal use without getting permission from us first.

If we have missed a credit somewhere, please let us know at hello@laurahooperdesignhouse.com ! We want to recognize all contributors for their work.
The LHC Blog may contain paid advertising banners and/or affiliate links in our blog posts. An affiliate link means that we may receive a commission on sales of the products that we link to in our posts, however, we only post about items that we have recommend regardless of commissions received.
While we welcome comments and adore our readers, please note that comments of a purely promotional nature, containing links to other websites will be rejected automatically. We reserve the right to delete any comment that we deem to be inappropriate.