How to Design your Wedding Invitations with Cass from The Hello Bureau
We sat down with Designer and Stylist, Cassandra Chew, from The Hello Bureau. Our conversation with Cass is a guide to help you with all of your invitation content, making and styling needs.
ZF: Please introduce our readers to your business.
Cass: The Hello Bureau is a Melbourne-based, eco-friendly wedding and event stationery design studio that focuses on utilising paper and materials that can be recycled or reused. I love to use recycled post-consumer waste paper, handmade paper and compostable paper in my range of printed invitations and stationery. My favourite finishings and trimmings include simple but beautiful materials such as jute twine, wax seals and patterned paper. I also cater for those who wish to keep it digital with a selection of DIY editable stationery templates, which can be edited and distributed online.
ZF: What are the key details to put on your invitations and why?
Cass: As far as wedding invitations go, the most important information for your guests include:
- Your wedding date, time and location
Reason: You want to ensure all your guests turn up at the right place at the right time! It is ideal to add a thirty-minute buffer to your start time, so your guests won’t be late for the ceremony. For example, if your ceremony starts at 3 pm, you can put 2.30 pm on invitations. - The dress code
Reason: Having a dress code on invitations gives your guests an idea of what kind of attire to wear and sets the tone for how formal (or informal) the wedding will be. - RSVP date and dietary requirements
Reason: Many wedding venues require a final headcount and special dietary requirements a few weeks before the wedding day. In terms of choosing an RSVP date, bear in mind that some of your invited guests may not be able to attend, therefore you may have to invite a second lot of people who will also need time to RSVP. - The names of the guests that are invited
Reason: Having the names of the invited guests stated clearly on the envelope or invitation helps to clear up any confusion for households with multiple people and clarifies if ‘plus ones’ are invited or not. - If you are having an adults-only wedding, it’s best to state your children policy (for example, ‘no children at the reception’)
Reason: This can be a sensitive one! Some couples choose to not have children attend their wedding for multiple reasons but the main one being that the event space can only hold a certain number of guests. It is best to clearly state this on your invitation, so that your guests can decide on how to organise their evening.
If you are having a destination wedding or simply have a lot of information for your guests, it is best to use a wedding website such as Wedsites.
ZF: Having so much experience with weddings and invitation planning, do you have any tips or pearls of wisdom for brides or grooms to be?
Cass: My best advice in regards to invitations is to keep it simple and to work within your budget. While Pinterest is a great inspiration tool for wedding stationery, a lot of the things you see on there are made specifically for editorial (meaning they are one-off designs and costly. I’m a big fan of being crafty and adding DIY elements to stationery), even the most simple element such as a wax seal can be the perfect finishing touch. Zetta Florence is great because it is a wonderful emporium of gorgeous DIY resources that offers endless possibilities!
Cass has kindly put together eight wonderful invitation ideas to inspire you!
Idea One:
Use a greeting card as the invitation cover by gluing/sticking an A6 invitation inside. Finish it off with a ribbon.
Products
1. Card – Boat Tailed Grackle (plus envelope)
2. Green Fabric Ribbon (available by the metre in-store)
Idea Two:
Use a handmade folded card as the invitation cover by gluing/sticking an A5 (and extra A6 card) invitation inside. Finish it off with twine and tag.
Idea Three:
Cut wrapping paper into belly band strips and tie around the invitation with twine.
Idea Four:
Collage ideas: cut out pictures from posters and use them as a decorative accent (each invitation will have a unique image).
Products
1. Decorative Wrap – Flower Ensemble
2. Organza Ribbon (available by the metre in-store)
Idea Five:
Use wrapping paper to make invitation pockets. You will need to trace a template and then cut them out. You can order cardboard pockets from various invitation suppliers online and use that to trace around.
Idea Six:
Use textured or patterned paper to create an interesting backing for invitations.
Products
1. Textured Decorative Paper (available by the sheet or ten sheets for $5.00 in-store)
2. Wax Stamp Arrow & Sealing Wax Blush Pink
Idea Seven:
Tie invitations together with ribbons and add botanical accents (some states like WA don’t allow plants to be sent, so you will have to do some research if you want to add real plants).
Products
1. Invitation printed on Handmade Card Natural (use inkjet printer if printing at home)
2. Blush Silk Ribbon
3. The plant used is ‘Bunny Tail Grass’
Idea Eight:
An alternative to white ink printing on envelopes, which can be costly, is to use a white ink pen to write addresses on dark coloured envelopes.
