We're here to say that you don't need a team of influencers, a huge array of wedding planners, or a colossal budget to create some magic moments and heartfelt touches. We're lucky enough to work with some incredibly skilled wedding planners, and we've seen them go in solo to a project and pull off extraordinary results - and you can too!
There's limitless options for how to craft your day, with every little detail being up for discussion. It might be convenient to pick out a 'package' or copy someone else's wedding blueprint, but this day is all about you
. Your love. Your celebration. Make it personal, make it unique.
So firstly, think about everything that's important to you both as a couple, you both individually, and what embodies your journey/world.
We're not suggesting everyone goes gung-ho with quirky theme weddings, even the smallest of touches can make the big memorable differences. We'll daydream about a few things that might crop up, hopefully it'll inspire some personal moments of genius for you too.
Long before the Wedding begins, your first impressions can begin.
It's like a calling card. You're requesting the company of your nearest and dearest, and you can also take this opportunity to start painting your picture, setting your scene, building the excitement for your special day.
As boutique printers we've helped with lots of clever little invites with shining foils and stylish designs, and this classy look whispers 'elegance' without blowing any budgets. If you're looking for something traditional and don't know where to start, just get in touch and we'll be happy to help actualise your project.
Now let's get creative! We're going to make up some totally random oddball scenarios and suggest an idea to make it personal and unique.
1. You met on tinder.
Let's face it, mobile dating has absolutely boomed. The old cliché bio of 'Let's lie about meeting on Tinder' is less applicable these days. Online, and mobile, dating is so commonplace that no one need feel shame or embarrassment about it. We'd suggest having fun with it and designing your invite to look like a tinder profile, with you both in the middle and asking your guests to 'Swipe right!' to your wedding (by RSVPing with their attendance).
2. You have a shared movie/tv fandom.
Great movies and TV can bond people, sometimes igniting the spark or bringing people closer. Using your shared passion for a famous franchise could produce a humorous invite idea, allows us to demonstrate:
- You love Harry Potter.
How about having your own 'Goblet of Fire', and sending invites challenging your guests to attend the Wedding (as if the Tri-Wizard tournament) by entering their names into your own Goblet. You could take all those that have RSVP'd their attendance, and place the cards in a big goblet prop and showcase it at the wedding - maybe even picking out some names as a little fun raffle for a talking point and engagement.
- Game of Thrones daft.
Now don't be recreating the red wedding! Why not embrace the joining of your houses, by designing your own house sigil for your shared name to be. Secondly, you could mock the famous 'Winter is coming...' line with something topically similar. 'Marriage is coming...' *insert picture of you both sat upon the Iron Throne.
3. Shared occupation / met through work or studying.
We spend so much of our lives, on average, working. It's no surprise so many couples end up meeting while in their career bubble. Perhaps you see this as a strong connecting factor, as your shared passion brought you together. So let's celebrate it! You're both architects? How about a CAD styled wedding venue blueprint design. Couple of bartenders? Go on, send your guests a beer with a custom label inviting them to your wedding!
There are so many traditional features of a wedding to customise, before you even begin looking at new things you could add in. Your flower choices, colour schemes, table dressing, DJ setup, dress-code, menu choices, and beyond are all up for customisation to suit you.
However, to keep this article from becoming a short novel, we're going to focus on a few print-related features.
This is a fun one!
We're seeing 'photo booths' appearing at a staggeringly high percent of weddings, it almost is becoming a must-have for the modern couple. One such fun feature to include in either the photo booth or as a general prop for guests to use in their own photos, is a photo frame. Create a custom shaped frame in any style, have the middle cut out, and have folk stand behind it - easy! Very often 'foamex' board is a good solution for carryable frames that guests can move round the venue and enjoy against different backdrops.
Weddings encourage folk to look their best. Capture all your guests looking sharp with a photo point at your wedding venue. It's good fun to mock the 'red carpet' backdrops of major famous events, and the photo album will give the memory of your special day that 'fabulous factor'.
Big and small, chances are there will be some form of signage at every wedding. Whether it's cute little favour cards or names laid out to aid the seating plan's long thought-out algorithm, there's always something to print. It's not uncommon for the reception to be in a certain area of a large venue, so directional signage will save confusion and Grandad getting lost. One big, bold, and affordable solution is to use roller banners - these are lightweight, carryable units that have a banner inside extending over 6 foot tall!
The final thing we'll look at, is the menu. This is mainly the last point because discussing a menu will certainly call for lunch.
Once you've decided what your menu will consist of, you may wish to print off copies of it for the guests to browse on arrival. Many venues will do this for you but it's of course another opportunity to customise and stylise your event.
Much like the wedding invite, the options are huge.
Do you want a dainty, thin menu with minimal wording and choice? Stylish fonts with a sleek colour scheme.
Perhaps you want a custom shaped menu to match the cuisine. If you're lucky enough to be somewhere tropical, or the menu is a nice summer market selection then you could have fun with the menu shape and place everything inside the shape of a pineapple.
Do you want to add some extra fun to the meal? Use large A3 placemats, with the menu on one side and perhaps photos from your journey as a couple on the back! Maybe the photos will match up to one of the speeches! We even have a waterproof, washable, durable material for menus so that you can invite guests to take them home if you've printed off any cute, personal content on them. (Check out SuperTuffMenus®for more on this!)
Obviously the amount of factors to plan can be daunting, but you've lots of help waiting. If you've opted for a wedding planner, very often they know a variety of printers, venues, stylists and beyond to help with the project. If you're doing it yourself, your friendly printer should be happy to have a consultation with you to discuss many ideas for the big day - with lots of previous samples to show you for inspiration.
Here at Love & Humphries, we excel at the tricky little print jobs, and love getting the special jobs right. Contact us if you want to discuss any of your printing needs!
Created by Olive + Ash.
Managed by Olive Street Design. 
