Thank goodness for checklists! With so many things to plan for your wedding, it can be a challenge to keep track of everything. To help you out, we’ve pulled together a list of your most important stationery needs and outlined exactly when you should order each piece!

About 12 months before your big day, you should start thinking about who you’d like to invite. Once you know how many people you want to join you on your wedding day, it’s time to order your save the date cards!

We recommend sending out your save the dates as early as 10 months before the wedding. This should give your invitees plenty of time to plan for your event. Here at Shine, we offer guest and return addressing services to make it easy for you to send out your save the dates. All you’ll have to do is stuff your pre-printed envelopes and add stamps! We even offer custom designed stamps, so your entire suite will match and everything will tie together perfectly.

Once your save the dates have been sent out, you get to take a little break from stationery and focus on the rest of your wedding details! Your next big stationery step comes along 6 months before your wedding day--then it’s time to order your matching invitations and thank you cards! People will start sending gifts as soon as they have access to the registry, so it’s important to be prepared.

Three months before the wedding, it’s FINALLY time to send out your invitations! We recommend that you set your RSVP date 5 weeks out from the wedding. This way you'll have time to reach out to anyone who hasn't replied and be sure to have an accurate headcount for day-of stationery.

Then it’s crunch time! At this point, you’ve counted your RSVPs and checked your lists twice. The last thing you need to worry about is ordering your day-of stationery about 4 weeks before your big day. Matching menus, place cards, table numbers, ceremony programs, and seating charts will perfectly tie everything together from start to finish!

Get started with your stationery order today.