Luxury Wedding Stationery without the Price Tag

As a wedding blogger, I'm always on the look-out for new wedding products and services. So imagine my excitement, when at a recent dinner party, the gentleman on my left told me he'd just launched a new stationery website. Papier.com has a fantastic array of invitations and cards, all of which can be personalised online, with a simple click of the mouse. I've already ordered some monogrammed cards, and I've fallen for this watermelon invitation for New Year's Eve bash. Their wedding stationery line is fab as well - just take a look at these fun folksy invitation. You can even choose colourful inserts for your envelopes. L-O-V-E!

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Seven Favourite Wedding Guest Book Ideas

Wedding days are all about making memories, and you're going to want to get as much down on film and paper as possible! Top of my 'what I'd rescue if the house was on fire list' is our wedding guest book. Nearly everyone who came to our wedding took a silly polaroid picture of themselves, and stuck it in the book with a lovely message. When I'm having one of 'those' days, there's nothing more uplifting than a quick flick through it. Now, there's all sorts of creative ideas for recording your guests, from jigsaws to collages, but my favourite is still a beautifully bound book. Take a look at my top picks this month.

{I want this!} Wedding Guest Book or Photo Album, £35 by ONR.

{I want this!} Handmade Wedding Guest Book, £48 by Dani Fox Books

{I want this!} Personalised Vintage Wedding Guest Book, from £40 by Clouds and Currents

{I want this!} Wooden Initials Wedding Guest Book, £100 by The Cross Eyed Fox

{I want this!} Large White Leather Wedding Guest Book, £119 by Susan Green Books

{I want this!} Tree Wedding Guest Book Puzzle, £60 by One to One

{I want this!} Jigsaw Wooden Wedding Guest Book, from £60 by The Cross Eyed Fox

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Brilliant Bride & Bridesmaid Presents

Every year, I allow myself the luxury of a smart Smythson diary. As a stationery lover, the gilt-edged, pale blue, featherweight paper, teamed with soft lambskin makes my heart melt. But this year, my husband's grumbling at the cost {£180!} encouraged me to look further afield. Surely there must be something suitably decadent available, but without the hefty price tag? Well I'm thrilled to say I found the answer! Sloane Stationery offers beautiful handcrafted notebooks in a variety of sizes and colours, and I am over the moon with my 2015 diary in aqua blue. All their products can be personalised, and they're the perfect birthday present or hostess gift. Take a look a this stunning I Do Notebook for Brides, which you can personalise with your name, or why not order a few for your bridesmaids' presents. They also make matching photo albums for your wedding pictures. Sloane Stationery - elegant yet fun, and crazily reasonable. Check them out, you won't disappointed… I’ve certainly been converted!

Written by guest contributor Lou Marmabachi

{I want this!}  I Do Personalised Notebook for Brides from Sloane Stationery, £49

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Rustic Watercolour Wedding Stationery

What is it that's so romantic about watercolours? There's something about the sweep of subtle colour, that gets me thinking about sunsets and sorbets and Monet's water lily paintings. It's the perfect theme for a summer wedding, and this gorgeous, rustic, watercolour invitation suite from La Pomme et La Pipe would be the perfect introduction of your big day to your guests. I'm a huge fan of this little boutique - do take a look at their whole collection!

{I want this!} Watercolour wedding invitation suite, approx. £5 per invitation set {one invitation, one rsvp postcard, one accommodation card, one envelope} from La Pomme et La Pipe.

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The Perfect Unnecessary Wedding Detail

Aren't these gorgeous?! Sometimes it's the simplest of wedding details that really gets me going. And anything to do with stationery really rocks my world. These rustic stickers by Ohhh So Darling make me want to start writing letters, just so I can use them to seal the envelopes. They'd be the perfect way to brand your wedding. Stick them to your napkins and invitations, wrap them around paper straws, or use them on your confetti sachets as pictured. So many fabulous DIY ideas, and at only £7 for 100, you can afford to go sticker-crazy!

{I want this!} Rustic Personlised Stickers, £7 for 100 by Ohhh So Darling
Buy glassine bags like these from eBay seller Tilly Mint

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Original Vintage-style Wedding Stationery

Yippee! Boutique British graphic designers are finally getting in on the wedding stationery scene. I'm all about using independent wedding suppliers, and Vintage Designs are a humdinger! The lovely Andrew works from his home in Oxfordshire with trusty partner in crime, Alfie the Labrador. I think Alfie probably does most of the work, but Andrew insists that he studied design and photography at university, and that's one of the reasons why his work is so beautiful. I'm obsessed with the old-skool style typography and illustrations in his invitations, with my favourite design of all the one with the peas. Which is yours?

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Before the Big Day Wedding Trends of 2013 - Origami

The first of the HUGE trends for 2013 is wedding origami. It's DIY, cheap and cheerful, and completely personalised, making it the perfect recession-beating wedding detail. And it's easy! With the help of YouTube videos and cheap squares of origami paper, I managed to create a very cute origami heart and origami duck yesterday. Check out my pictures on Pinterest. I'd recommend adding origami details to your wedding invitations and wedding favours, and you could even create an origami swan backdrop for your wedding vows. Plus, did you know that in Japan, a thousand paper cranes are traditionally given as a wedding gift by the father of the bride, to wish the happy couple a thousand years of happiness and prosperity? So romantic! Here are just a few wedding origami ideas - for tonnes more take a look at my Pinterest board.

More posts like this one: 
✽ Origami Crane Wedding
✽ DIY Origami Love Notes

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Divine Twine for Wedding Stationery & Favours

Stationery has always been something of an obsession for me, but it wasn't until I start my wedding blog, that I realised I could get genuinely excited about string. Or twine to be exact. Divine Twine. Much beloved by all the US wedding blogs, it's now available in the UK via Not On the High Street. It comes in every colour, and it's perfect for adding a touch of whimsy to your wedding stationery and favours.

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Vintage-Style Wedding Stationery Seals

When it comes to wedding details nothing is too small. Take the back of your wedding stationery envelopes for example. Aren't they just crying out for a vintage-style wax seal? Fab Etsy shop, Back to Zero has tonnes of different motifs to choose from, including Fleur de Lys, monograms, anchors, crowns, and even a squirrel for the nature-loving. Then all you have to do is pick a wax that matches your wedding colour palette, and a second seal for your Thank You letters. It's the easiest wedding DIY idea in the world!

**Update! Back to Zero are offering readers of Before the Big Day 15% off with the code BIGDAY!**

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Message in a Bottle Wedding Favours

Build the sense of intrigue surrounding your big day with a secret message in a bottle. Roll up personalised messages to your guests and leave them as favours at each place setting, or use them to send your save the dates. Perfect if you're planning a nautical or vintage wedding. These sets are from Minature Rhino and include stoppered vials, a charm of your choice, paper and a little cloth bag. If you want to do your own DIY project, then check out Coloured Bottles for a lovely selection.

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Latest Wedding Stationery Favourites

Choosing your wedding stationery is one of the most important steps in your wedding planning. It'll set the tone of your big day, and you should pick a design that suits your wedding style. There's thousands of fabulous designs out there, but if you can't find something you like, then I'd recommend commissioning a bespoke collection. Two brand new stationery designers on the block have recently caught my eye - one from Australia and one from here in the UK. Check out these gorgeous designs from Zed & Bee and Miss Emma Ruth.

{Pictures above: Zed & Bee} I'm particularly loving the femininity of their letterpress collection, and the mysterious dark seal in the picture above. {Pictures below: Miss Emma Ruth} Button badges are a huge wedding trend this season, and I love the romantic whimsy of the star design.

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Rubber Stamp Your Wedding Stationery

It must be the geek in me that loves the idea with these incredible stamps from Paperwink.  They'll give your invitations a personal touch, and hint to your wedding style long before the actual big day.  Just over £10 each, you'll be able to use it again and again, long after your honeymoon you'll find yourself stamping every letter that crosses your path, including your Amex bill!

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DIY Stitch Your Wedding Stationery

Sewing and stationery go hand-in-hand with these gorgeous DIY greetings cards. Create your own mini-heirloom by stitching a personal message and sending it to a friend. The brainchild of graphic designer Laura Trimmell, she promises they're super-easy to sew - just like connect the dots. Each 'Curious Doodles' pack includes five cards and matching envelopes, so you can share the love far and wide.

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How To Make Your Wedding Stationery Stand Out

What will you add to your wedding stationery to make it stand out from the crowd? In the past brides added bows and bands to their wedding invitations, now designers and DIY-ers are getting more creative. Just take a look at these fun ideas, from artistic calligraphy, chic address labels, wax seals, bunting Save the Dates, rubber stamps, pretty envelope liners, tea-bags{!}, hand-drawn maps, and beautiful Thank You cards. More fabulous wedding stationery ideas on my Pinterest page.

{Credit} Antiquaria via Oh So Beautiful Paper

{Credit} Rachael Ward via Oh So Beautiful Paper

{Credit} Ruby & Willow via Oh So Beautiful Paper

{Credit} The Hungry Workshop via Oh So Beautiful Paper

{Credit} Yeri Yun Designs via Yvonne Wong

{Credit} Atheneum Creative via Oh So Beautiful Paper

{Credit} Kymera Studio, pictured by Jackie Wonders via 100 Layer Cake

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The Wedding Stationery Letterpress Trend

Letterpress wedding stationery is so hot right now in the US, that I'm going out on a limb to predict it as a mega-trend for 2012 British winter weddings. If you've never heard of it, letterpress is an amazing style of printing, which involves pressing the font into luxury paper for a lush impression, and then filling it with ink. The end result looks a-m-a-z-i-n-g, and if you're a bit of a stationery fan {welcome to my world}, you're going to want to in your life. Check out these fabulous British wedding stationery boutiques!

Product Credits - {from top} 1. Blush Publishing 2. Whites Letterpress

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Custom Vintage Wedding Postage Stamp

Brides looking to personalise literally every details of their wedding day, will love these bespoke wedding stamps. Follow Studio {possibly my favourite wedding stationer in the world} have created these gorgeous stamps, inspired by vintage postal marks. Each one includes your name, the date of your wedding and the location. They're the perfect addition to your wedding invitation envelope, or you could even use them to add a DIY touch to a simple white wedding invite or Save the Date.

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How To Say Thank You For Your Wedding

In all the madness of all your frantic wedding preparations, it's hard to think of the days afterwards, when you'll be relaxing on your honeymoon. But the one thing you can be sure of, is that there'll be tonnes of people you'll want to thank. Your suppliers, your parents and all your friends and family who gave you wedding presents. A great way to truly personalise your wedding thank you cards, is to ask your wedding photographer to take a picture of you on your wedding day with a Thank You Banner. Try these pretties from Etsy Wedding on for size...my favourite is the burlap bunting, how about you?

{Product Credit} Be Lovely Shop

{Product Credit} Victorian Station

{Product Credit} Our Hobby To Your Home

{Product Credit} Ready Go

{Product Credit} Rustic Ash

{Product Credit} Tuck and Bonte

{Product Credit} Victorian Station

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Unique Etsy Weddings: Jolly Edition Wedding Stationery

Every day this week I'm introducing my secret UK Etsy wedding discoveries. We've had a fantastic response so far - please do leave comments with your own favourite Etsy sellers. Today we're all about hand-painted wedding stationery by Jolly Edition, run by married couple, Laura and Tom in Cambridge. Together, they design beautiful, custom wedding stationery and bespoke wedding portraits, with a fun, vintage feel. I love the personality they bring to their work - their wedding stationery is truly a work of art. Don't miss the Jolly Edition website, including fabulous dog-walking cards and cat portraits!

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The Best Wedding Invitation Ever!

Isn't this the best wedding invitation you've ever seen!  Definitely one to inspire long-distance couples.

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Cool New Wedding Stationery Design

If I look back at my own wedding planning, choosing the wedding stationery was where it all started. It's surprising how quickly you need to get the Save the Dates out to your guests, and then before you know it, you're three months before your wedding day, and spending a hundred pounds on stamps! For me, our wedding stationery was very representative of the atmosphere I wanted to create on our big day. So it's a good idea to create a few mood boards, and get a real sense of your wedding style, before plumping for a particular stationery or invitation design. I think I agonised more over our wedding stationery than anything else! Anyway, if I was to have my time again, I'd definitely take a look at Brownpaper Designs. They're a brand new, bespoke wedding stationery designer, and I'm loving their work. Just check out the cute vintage picnic set below.

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