12 Most Inerasable Mistakes Found on Wedding Stationery

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For many engaged couples, selecting the wedding stationery is a concrete sign that their wedding day is quickly approaching. Couples will find that they have many options when it comes to wedding stationery. Some engaged couples go with stationery that features elegant, raised script or print. Other couples prefer to create their own wedding stationery that reflects a little of their personalities. The type of paper, designs, and even the look of an RSVP card are decisions that an engaged couple may encounter.

Regardless of a couple’s selection, it’s important that all of the information printed is correct. A box of printed stationery can look wonderful, but if the information on them is wrong they aren’t very useful.

The following is a list of the twelve most common mistakes found on wedding stationery.

1. Misspelled names

Whether it’s the name of the bride’s mother, the groom’s father or the person officiating the ceremony, a misspelled name on wedding stationery is a careless error. It can be avoided by having two or three people proofread the stationery before final copies are made. Furthermore, some guests and relatives put aside a couple’s wedding stationery as a keepsake making it all the more important to expect accuracy. A misspelling can detract from the sentimental value.

2. A missing name

This can be an obvious error or one that isn’t noticed. For example, if the groom’s middle name is missing from the wedding stationery guests may not take note of it. Alternatively, if the last name of the parents of the bride is missing, the error will likely be noticed. The omission of the maiden name of the bride is also a mistake that will be noticed. Most of the time, leaving out a name of a person in the wedding is a significant mistake that a diligent stationery designer would never make.

3. The wrong wedding date

Oftentimes, this mistake takes the form of pairing the wrong day of the week with the correct date of the wedding. A mistake like this can easily occur if a couple changes the date of their wedding several times before the stationery goes to print. Sometimes the number of the previous year will be printed on the stationery by mistake. A fresh pair of eyes looking at the information on the stationery can help a stationery designer to catch these mistakes.

4. The order of names

Generally, the bride’s name appears before the groom’s on wedding stationery. This is traditional and may not be noticed by younger guests. However, if a bride and groom-to-be are interested in upholding traditions, then a mistake like this is a critical one.

5. The wrong shade of color

Any engaged couple who has ever perused a selection of wedding stationery knows that there can be many shades of a single color. For instance, a couple may receive a box of wedding stationery printed on paper that is antique white when they chose snowflake white. This can affect the look of the lettering on the stationery as well as any designs. An engaged couple should certainly alert the stationery designer about the mistake. Alternatively, if the couple is happy with the shade of color they receive, then it likely wouldn’t be worth the cost and effort of a reprint.

6. The wrong type of lettering

Part of choosing wedding stationery usually involves the selection of a particular font and font size. For a couple who takes some time to decide on these little details, seeing wedding stationery printed in the wrong type of font can be disheartening. Any reputable stationery store will do what it can to make sure the bride and groom-to-be are happy with the stationery.

7. Not enough stationery is printed

Most of the time, a couple decides on the guest list before making any decisions on the wedding stationery. They decide on the number of guests they will invite to the wedding and give that number to the printers. Once the stationery is printed, they are sent out to guests. However, from time to time, a couple realizes they’ve left a few people off the guest list who they’d like to invite. This means that the couple will have to go back to the stationery store and order more. In many cases, the stationery store has kept all of the information on file for extra printing requests that come up.

8. The wrong address attributed to the church

This mistake could be corrected if the couple has time for a reprint. But if there isn’t time, the couple will have to contact guests who aren’t familiar with the location of the church. Depending on how many guests a couple has invited, this could be a time-consuming process and may require the help of the bridal party to make telephone calls or send emails. Once again, this mistake can be avoided with a thorough proofreading session done by three people.

9. An incorrect address for the reception venue

A couple can remedy this mistake by making an announcement at their wedding ceremony. The mistake may happen because of a last minute change in the location of the reception. Of course, the couple may receive some texts from people who decide to attend only the reception.

10. The time of the wedding ceremony is incorrect

This can be a big problem if the time printed on the wedding stationery doesn’t bear any resemblance to the actual time of wedding ceremony. If there is no opportunity for a reprint, the bride and groom should call each of the guests to confirm the correct time of the wedding ceremony with them. This will be an easier task if there are a limited number of guests attending the wedding. Of course, some stationery mistakes might give wedding guests a little laugh. For example, if the wedding ceremony is listed as beginning at three a.m. instead of at three p.m.

11. The maid of honor or best man’s name is misspelled

Once again, if anyone (including the wedding party) wants to put aside the wedding stationery as a keepsake this can be a distracting mistake. The accurate spelling of the names of the people in the wedding party is an important element on wedding stationery.

12. The wrong sort of paper is used for the stationery

One of the decisions regarding stationery is the type of paper that will be used. Couples have the opportunity to choose between a light or heavier quality of paper. This decision is made for both the stationery and the envelopes. If a couple’s wedding invitations are printed on heavier paper than they requested, they could be spending much more than expected on postage. A mistake like this could raise the cost of a stationery purchase.

Finally, most of these mistakes are unlikely to happen if the designer of the stationery and the engaged couple participate in the proofreading process. An appealing, as well as an accurate, collection of stationery gives guests a sneak preview of what the couple’s wedding day will be like.

Featured image courtesy of A. Blight licensed via Creative Commons.

Photo illustration work: Paul Biedermann, re:DESIGN

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