Happy Monday! We are plowing through the month of January huh? Can't believe how quickly time is going by. Thinking about time inspired this latest blog, which tackles the amount of time you should allot for the development and production of your custom wedding stationery. Its rather easy to get "stuck" in the design and layout portion of your creative, particularly when there are multiple stakeholders weighing in with opinions/direction. I can't stress how important it is to:
- Allot a certain amount of time to conception/development.
- Stick to a schedule and if you find that you get off by a few days, revisit.
- Be strict about this. Designers, don't be hesitant to submit a revised timeline and clients should ask how additional changes are impacting originally agreed upon dates.
These times will obviously differ based on the invitation company. These are our guidelines and what we have found to work well:Custom Invitation Suite (approx. 45 days)
- Initial layouts - 3-5 days
- Initial feedback - 2-3 days
- Edits (2-3 rounds) - 2 weeks or 10 business days
- Finalization (preparing files for press, gathering fonts, last minute edits) - 2-3 days
- Physical Proof - 3-4 days
- Approval of physical proof - 2 days
- Invitation Suite in Production - 4 weeks
- Invites Mail - 8-10 weeks in advance of your wedding date
"Day of" Stationery Items (Content typically finalized much closer to your event date)
- Ceremony Programs – Should be started no later than 4 weeks in advance of your date (or earlier)
- Table Number Cards/Tents – Should be started no later than 4 weeks in advance of your date (or earlier)
- Escort Cards (it takes time to get the RSVPs back and do the table assignments) - Should be started no later than 3 weeks in advance of your date (or earlier)
- Menus (sometimes it takes a while to get the menu locked down) Should be started no later than 3 weeks in advance of your date (or earlier)
That about covers it... If you are sending out Save the Dates, they should go out 8-10 months in advance of your big day.
Take care and make it a great week. I'll be back on Wednesday!
--ct
