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Wedding Planning

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Wedding planning checklist to find the perfect wedding invitation on your special day.

Wedding Planning

From creating your wedding planning
checklist to finding the perfect invitation,
here are some things to consider while
planning your special day.

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Wedding planning is the most exciting part of being engaged, but it can also be the most overwhelming. That’s where a wedding planning checklist and a wedding planning timeline comes in handy. You don’t want your need for organization to take over all of the fun aspects of your engagement, but keeping a wedding planning book is an ideal way to stay on top of that growing to-do list. Use this wedding planning timeline as a basis for the things you need to get done. Pro tip: go with wedding invitation suites to save time and create sophisticated, matching wedding stationery for every step of communication with your guests, from your save the dates to your thank you cards.

Wedding Planning Checklist

  • Choose a venue for your ceremony and reception
  • Settle on a wedding date
  • Take engagment photos (to use on your save the dates)
  • Send your guests all-important save the dates
  • Hire a caterer, band (or DJ), photographer, videographer, wedding dance instructor, and an officiant
  • Create a wedding website and gift registry
  • Shop for your wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses
  • Write your wedding vows
  • Send your guests your wedding invitations with RSVP
  • Send rehearsal dinner invitations
  • Create a seating chart for your reception
  • Send wedding announcement cards
  • Send wedding thank you cards

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Explore Your Save The Date Options

A save the date is much like a first impression. It can give your guests a first look into your celebration’s aesthetic, theme, color palette and more. But only if you want it to! You can choose a beautiful save the date that matches your theme perfectly. You can also take this opportunity to be more casual and add a little humor with a unique save the date instead. Save the dates are generally sent out 6 months before the wedding (8 to 12 months in advance is customary for a destination wedding!) Regardless of your timeline restrictions, make sure you take the time to make selections you love.

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Create Your Unique Wedding Invitations

By the time you select your wedding invitations, much of the stressful planning is already done. You’ve booked your venue, you’ve found the perfect dress and now you’re simply counting down the days until you say “I do.” While you search for the right wedding invitation, think about the details you need to share with your guests. Are you looking for traditional wedding invitations with more room for information or simple wedding invitations with minimal text?

Wedding invitations are also the perfect way to really set the tone for your celebration. From rustic wedding invitations to refined, elegant wedding invitations, it’s all about finding one that you absolutely adore. If you’re really hoping to send a unique wedding invitation, consider how you can switch up your invitation’s wording, colors, paper, texture and more.

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Wedding Invitation Suites

Wedding invitations often include more than just the invitation, especially when more details are needed. Consider choosing an invitation suite that features matching save the dates, invitations, RSVP cards, address labels, and more.

Also, if you need to postpone your wedding, then change the date wedding cards are important to explore. Luckily, there is a large selection of change the date cards to consider with editable sentiments and creative greetings.

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personalized wedding stationery and invitations with wedding programs
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Navigate Your Wedding Gifts & Registry

One of the best parts about getting married is the wedding gifts you receive from gracious guests. Whether you’re setting up a registry or not, it’s a good idea to have some sense of what wedding gifts you’d like to receive for this new chapter. Include traditional wedding gifts (kitchen items, home decor, sheets and more) as well as truly unique wedding gifts that match you as a couple.

Don’t be afraid to add a couple of really cool wedding gifts on there as well — board games, travel experiences, creative classes and more are all great options. And, of course, the best wedding gifts come from the heart, so consider giving your guests the option to gift something really thoughtful and personalized to you as a couple.

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Add Your Special Touches (Like Wedding Quotes)

Whether it’s a sentimental addition to your invitations or a subtle detail to your wedding day decor, adding heartfelt wedding quotes about your love for each other is a great way to add to your special day. Incorporate a quote into your signage, your ceremony pamphlet or even consider asking your maid of honor or best man to include one of your favorites in their speech. For a bit of humor, consider featuring a lighthearted, funny wedding quote — it’s totally up to you!

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Choose Your Wedding Announcements

If you’re choosing to host a smaller celebration, minimony or elopement, wedding announcements are a lovely way to share the good news with family and friends. Send beautiful wedding announcements that show just how special your big day was. Include a few photos or maybe even a recap of the day’s events. Don’t be afraid to add a touch of humor, too! Post-wedding announcements are just another beautiful way to share your unique love story and relationship with those you hold dear.

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Make The Perfect Wedding Album

Wedding invitations often include more than just the invitation, especially when more details are needed. Consider choosing an invitation suite that features a matching RSVP wedding cards and even matching thank you wedding cards.

After the celebration is done and your gorgeous wedding photography arrives, it’s time to make the perfect wedding album. The best wedding albums are ones that are truly personalized to the couple, so take your time finding one you love. Consider what you’d like your wedding album title to be and what wedding album template would work best. Besides your favorite photos, consider also leaving room for copies of your vows, any special letters you wrote to each other, dried flowers and more.

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Create Custom Wedding Thank You Cards

One of the very last items on your list will be to send thank you notes to everyone who made your day so special. To give your thank yous a personalized touch, consider purchasing a custom wedding stationery set. Your invitation suite may include a matching thank you card, but if it doesn’t, it’s easy to find an alternative wedding stationery set that matches your aesthetic.

For a minimalistic look consider a monogramed wedding stationery set. If that’s not your style, consider choosing a wedding stationery set template that allows you to include a photo. What better way to thank your guests than to share your favorite moment from your special day.

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Start Your Wedding Planning With Shutterfly

Your wedding will likely be one of the biggest days of your life — and figuring out how to plan a wedding can feel pretty overwhelming at first. With so many details to arrange and tasks to take care of, wedding planning can seem daunting instead of like the magical experience it should be. But, if you give yourself enough time to plan and create a wedding planning checklist, the job becomes more fun and less stressful. With Shutterfly, we can help streamline your wedding planning experience with our selection of wedding stationery, personalized gifts, and wedding photo albums. When the big day comes, you'll feel confident that everything is perfectly planned to have the wedding day of your dreams.

Begin the Planning Process With Custom Wedding Stationery

The wedding planning process would be incomplete without designing your own wedding stationery. After you've chosen a venue, determined a date, and decided on a wedding style or theme, you'll want to share the big news with your guest list. Start by customizing save the date cards to let everyone you'd like to attend know your wedding date so they can plan ahead. When the wedding day is approaching, you'll want to send the formal wedding invitations with all of the important details your guests will need. To create your perfect custom wedding invitations, take advantage of our free sample kit that will send you five cards so you can experience the high-quality look and feel of our stationery firsthand. Wedding invitations are usually sent six to eight weeks before the big day — and the RSVP deadline is typically about two or three weeks in advance. Sending your invites on time is one of the most essential steps to planning a wedding. Shutterfly also offers RSVP cards so friends and family members will be able to easily let you know whether or not they can make it. Create rehearsal dinner invitations, bridal shower invitations, and bachelorette party invitations to share with your bridal party. Our wedding stationery templates are easy to personalize and make your own. Create wedding cards and invitations that are one-of-a-kind by adding photos and choosing your favorite fonts, colors, trims, and cardstock paper.

What to Do After the Wedding Day

After the big day, there is still more left to check off on your wedding planning checklist. To share your gratitude to your guests and those who gave you wedding gifts, don't forget to send a thank you card thanking them for their attendance and thoughtfulness. You'll want to be able to look back on all of the photos the wedding photographer took of the big day forever. From pictures of the wedding venue, with your wedding parties, walking down the aisle, the kiss, the reception and more — they all deserve to be saved and showcased. Gather your favorite images from the wedding and design a custom wedding album that will live on as a beautiful keepsake you hold on to for the rest of your lives together. You can even hang some of the wedding photos as personalized wall art to display your beautiful love story as home decor.