As you start to plan your wedding, you'll get to see behind the curtain of the wedding industry. You likely know the basics, but even wedding stationery can have an unexpected breadth and depth of learning, and vary significantly in price. From save the dates to wedding invitation "suites," to day-of wedding stationery services, there's a lot to navigate and know once you're engaged.
The variability in wedding stationery is often first discovered when you're searching for your perfect save the date cards. There a few different ways you can go, but at a high-level, one of the first choices you'll need to make is whether or not you want to go the semi-custom/templated route, or create a custom save the date and/or wedding invitation set with a wedding stationery designer.
There are definitely other approaches, like do-it-yourself creations or e-invites, but this blog will focus on semi-custom, or "templated," wedding stationery designs.
What is a Semi-Custom Wedding Invitation Suite?
"Semi-custom" is a term that designers like to use to refer to products that are already designed. Typically, wedding stationers will create a design — be it for a save the date, invitation package, or day-of stationery — and then sell that specific design with personalization.
As the customer, you'll be able to purchase this design and add your specific information. There's usually little to no customization involved on the design itself — what you see is what you get — but you do get to personalize it with your wedding details.
How do you Personalize a Semi-custom Wedding Invitation Design?
The personalization process depends on the designer. Some wedding invitation designers use software for customers to personalize the stationery themselves online, others collect customers' information, apply it to the design, and print it for the customer.
Our preference on our semi-custom wedding stationery templates is to collect your information and apply it to our design in-house. Then we send you a PDF for approval. Once approved, we will have it professionally printed using top-of-the line materials. We opt to handle the printing process vs. sending you a PDF to print on your own because this helps us ensure that what you receive is up to our quality standards. We only want the best-of-the-best for Kalahgraphy brides!
Last but not least, we ship all your wedding stationery directly to you!
>> Shop semi-custom wedding stationery here.
Benefits of Using a Semi-Custom Template for Your Wedding Invitations and Wedding Stationery
1. Cost Effective
One of the biggest perks in using a template, or semi-custom design, for your wedding stationery is that it's less expensive than working with a stationer to design something from scratch that's completely custom to you.
There are countless stunning semi-custom wedding stationery designs available to brides and grooms to-be. Just pick your design and start personalizing!
2. Foresight on Design
When you order something that's already designed, there will be no surprises as to what it will look like. Most designers will let you order a sample of the the design for no-to-low cost. This means you can hold an example of the stationery in your hand and see and feel the materials and design before you commit.
Even if you don't order a sample, typically other customers will post photos, videos, and reviews, in addition to the photos and videos of the product that the designer provides. This user generated content is an excellent way to gauge what you'll be getting, regardless of ordering a sample first.
3. Faster Delivery
With semi-custom templates, the design is already complete. There will be little-to-no back-and-forth on the design elements between the customer and the designer.
There might be some back-and-forth on the information itself, but your details should be solidified at this point, so this should be very minimal as well.
Because of the easy "plug-and-play" process, the turn around time is typically fairly quick to get customers stationery once the mockups are approved.
Some designers even use software where clients do the editing and/or printing entirely themselves. Again, that all depends on the designer your work with.
Where to Buy Semi-Custom Wedding Stationery
1. Kalahgraphy - Good news, you're already in the right place! We'll be adding more semi-custom wedding designs to our website soon, including more designs for save the dates, wedding invitations, and day-of wedding stationery. Check out our existing collections here. And as always, please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions: info@kalahgraphy.com.
2. Etsy: If Kalahgraphy isn't your flavor, we have a few other recs! Outside of our own designs, Etsy is my number one recommendation when searching for semi-custom wedding invitation templates. The platform works as a search engine, so you can type in attributes you like into the search bar including colors or materials. For example, if you want "greenery" or "dusty rose" or "vellum" included in your wedding stationery, add these words as you're doing your search.
While you're searching Etsy, also keep an eye on the store's star ratings and reviews! Favorite semi-custom wedding designers on Etsy:
- Kalahgraphy - Yes, we're on Etsy too!
- Design by Laney - Laney is a legend in the stationery design world. She's known for her custom creations and now business coaching, however her semi-custom options are lovely!
- Lola Louie Paperie - One of the best stores for "simple & elegant" style. Lola and Louie Paperie is especially talented with incorporating monograms and crests into their designs.
3. Minted: Minted Weddings is a wedding stationery behemoth that sells everything from save the dates to day-of reception signs. They offer free samples and have a nice customer service element. That said, I tend to recommend Etsy first before Minted, because I personally feel Minted is a bit more commercial than Etsy. It tends to be lower cost, but part of the reason they can do so is because in some instances they include their own "minted" branding on the products.
Ultimately there's no wrong answer, but if quality is your priority in a semi-custom design, I'd recommend Etsy. If cost is more of a factor, I'd look to Minted.
3. Social Media: Social media is a fantastic place to discover semi-custom wedding stationery designers! Be it Instagram, TikTok, or Pinterest, wedding stationery designers are on these platforms trying to be found by you!
Just search as you normally would on these platforms, and see what comes up. I recommend trying to incorporate some specifics into your search if applicable. For example, if you want to give a nod to your wedding venue in your design, perhaps you search "[Venue] Save the Date" or "[City/State] Wedding Invitation" to get inspiration and perhaps find a local designer or a designer who's familiar with your venue.
As always, the most important thing with wedding stationery — and every aspect of wedding decision making — is that you pick something you love.