If you are like most of our readers, you love all of the beautiful details about weddings and elopements. One of those details is the invitation suite and stationery that you can design to set the tone for your celebration. We’ve invited Stacey of Oh Hey Face to write about the decision many couples face when looking at stationery: Do we prioritize the keepsake element or the function of the invites? 

So you’ve decided you and your partner are getting married. First of all. CONGRATS! It is a deeply heartfelt, value-fueled step into a new adventure. You’ve heard a lot about this on the Tapestry blog — but you’ve never heard it from me! That’s right, a new sheriff (author) is in town today!

I’m Stacey, Owner and Creative Boss behind Oh Hey Face — a specialty design shop focused on branding and keepsakes made by hand and from the heart. When it comes to weddings and elopements, I’m what you would call a stationer. 

When you marvelous couples come to me to develop your stationary there are two big things on my mind: function, and keepsake.

I like to think of functional pieces and keepsakes like rectangles and squares — every square is a rectangle, just as every piece serves some function, but not every piece becomes a keepsake, and achieves that coveted ‘square’ designation ;).

THE FUNCTION OF WEDDING STATIONERY.

When I talk about function, I mean the nuts and bolts, the logistics, the bones. You need your guests to know (1) that they are indeed invited, and (2) the details of what that invitation entails, like location, time, travel, attire, and so on. No matter how you get it there, this information needs to make its way to your guests. Function. 

On the day of your celebration there can be function everywhere — seating charts, place cards, menus, guestbook instructions — it’s a function-palooza!

But the way you get that functional information to your guests and woven into your celebration can take any number of forms. That’s when we start thinking about keepsakes.

In order to think about keepsakes as something separate yet still entangled with function, you have to be in touch with your celebration values. It’s at the root of so many decisions you will make when crafting your celebration, and stationary is no exception!

KEEPSAKES FOR YOUR MARRIAGE CELEBRATION.

I am a lover of keepsakes, those additions and pieces that could almost stand alone as artwork — the elements that make stationary so uniquely you that it sets the stage for your entire celebration. Those pieces that you’re excited to pull out and admire on your anniversary. 

One of my favorite things is seeing a seating chart or signage from a wedding hanging on a client’s wall. For me, keepsakes are about creating something that allows the specialness of your celebration to make its way into your day-to-day life.

Keepsakes help us capture a bit of nostalgia — a feeling or a moment that was extraordinary — that you take in with your ordinary morning coffee. That wink of an extraordinary moment is the real magic of a keepsake.

WHEN FUNCTION COMES FIRST.

There is no lack of examples of what a keepsake stationery suite can look like, but what does it look like when function comes first?

Like keepsakes, functional stationery will span a range of design styles and budgets. Typically the function-first considerations are financial + time investment, environmental sustainability, and speed. 

• Financial + Time Investment: How much of the overall budget do you want to allocate to stationery? How much time are you able to dedicate to either interfacing with a designer, or completing the production and assembly yourself? 

• Sustainability: How eco-conscious should your stationery be — zero-waste digital, all recyclable or compostable, carbon offset?

• Speed: how quickly do you need them completed and in the mail? Keep in mind it’s typical to give six months’ notice for a destination wedding or a celebration where many guests will book air travel and accommodation, and at least three months’ notice for primarily local guests.

The answers to these questions are the key to your functional priorities. But, we know that when it comes to marriage celebrations, rarely can any item be all function or all keepsake, we want everything to have the right balance of both.

FINDING THE BALANCE.

Deciding on the balance of function vs. keepsake is deeply tied to your celebration values, your budget, and then even one step deeper into those values — your priorities.

One of the most common things I’ve seen couples struggle to overcome is either a desire for a keepsake first, but an underlying sensation that function or budget should be more important — or the opposite! A desire for something simple, classic, and functional, but outside influences (ahem… instagram / pinterest vortex) suggest that a custom stationery suite with all the bells and whistles would be better.

That struggle with ‘should’ complicates things if you don’t have a clear handle on your values and your priorities.

There are a lot of ways that you can create specific values-based rules for your celebration, but here are the main ways that stationery can exist in the balance of function and keepsake:

• When function is they key priority, some compromises in keepsake specialness will be needed, and budget can be smaller

• When keepsake is the key priority, function may take a slight back seat, and compromises in expanding budget may be needed

• When you want to strike a more equal balance of both, I recommend determining your budget first, and then working with your designer to create inside your budget

THE BIG PICTURE + THE DETAILS.

The last piece of the function vs. keepsake journey is to decide how much space you want the details to occupy.

What I mean by that is, the celebration of your marriage is made up of tiny moments, individual decisions, and special details. These details are largely what crafts the energy of your day and they’re what makes the day unique to you — but those details are not your day. They aren’t the joy of celebrating a commitment to your partner, or the warmth of sharing that celebration with your family and friends.

The most heartfelt and mindful balance is when you can feel — or maybe even prevent — that moment when the details have become bigger than the big picture.

Every depth of detail is valid so long as it feels authentic to you, you choose it with your partner, and it aligns with the heart of your celebration values — you can beautifully curate every corner of your day and every touch point leading to it, or you can show up and wing it!

— Stacey, Owner + Creative Boss of Oh Hey Face