As seen on BrideClubMe

With so many engagements taking place over the last month or so it’s natural that many brides-to-be have been considering their wedding stationery once they’ve chosen a date. After all, whether you are getting married in the UAE or have opted for a destination wedding, letting your friends and family know in good time is incredibly important! With the new year comes new trends in the wedding industry and these are reflected in fresh 2018 wedding stationery trends. BrideClubMe got in touch with Reesha Almeida Coutinho, Founder and Creative Director of Prêt à Papier Invitations & Stationery, to find out her thoughts on the wedding stationery trends to look out for in 2018.

When the New Year rolls around, things often get shaken up in the wedding design world. With new trends being predicted for interior design, fashion, décor, flowers and colours, it seems natural that wedding stationery trends follow suit. Your wedding invitation is your guests’ first look at your wedding day and you don’t want to disappoint. With the 2018 International Wedding Trend Report just out, I would like to show you a few ways that you can incorporate this year’s biggest trends into your wedding stationery suite.

Bring your décor into your wedding invitations

Birds, botanicals, geometrics and sculptural forms, luxury materials like marble, dark woods, velvet, leather and fringe are all huge trends predicted for 2018 weddings. Use them as a starting point and you have your inspiration for your wedding stationery right in front of you.

Photo Credit PurpleTree Photography

Photo Credit PurpleTree Photography

Having birds in cages hanging from trees above your guests’ tables? Create a laser-cut wrap with pretty birds to go around your invites.

Photo Credit Violet Studio Dubai

If leather or wood features in your wedding décor, why not engrave your invitation in leather or have a wood textured belly band or paper for your invitation? If you are using glass and mirrors, consider an acrylic invitation. Garden wedding? Present your invitation with a floral patterned liner or place it in a box over moss or fresh flowers.

2018 wedding stationery colour trends

The classic white and cream seems to be a thing of the past, while moody colours like oxblood, smokey greys, and deep burgundies are huge this year. Be bold and experiment with coloured papers instead of white or ivory.

Photo Credit Shay Photography

Photo Credit Luma Photography

Combine this year’s hottest colour, grey, with rich jewel tones like emerald, ruby, amethyst and sapphire for a surprisingly rich effect. Metallics are making a big comeback. Rose gold is here to stay but we are moving towards an edgier copper. A big trend is to mix warm metals and cool metals for a striking combo.

Personalise everything

Photo Credit Photo Republik.co

Creating a cohesive wedding brand is the way to make your wedding day stay in the minds of your guests way after your big day is over. Why not create a custom monogram that you can use way past your wedding day on home cushions, napkins or personal stationery. You will remember it from the dance floor you grooved on or the wax seal that sealed your invitation or favours, but you get to keep a part of that day forever in your home.

Break the mould with destination weddings

Photo Credit Anna Lui Photography

With the world getting smaller and couples getting more adventurous, the destination wedding trend is on the rise. With guests flying in from different time zones, let a welcome pack filled with your very own custom designed wedding stationery, such as a wedding map and information cards, monogrammed snacks and gifts, greet your guests in their hotel rooms. This is a fabulous way in which you can extend your wedding stationery suite to make guests from abroad feel less overwhelmed or lost in a new town.

Photo Credit Purple Tree Photography

Food stations and custom bars

With an emphasis on food and guest experiences, couples want their wedding to be ‘Snapable’ and ‘On the Gram’. This gives you a great opportunity to create personalised stickers for coffee cups, late-night personalised snack boxes, bar stirrers, food flags and custom menus with items like, ‘Groom’s favourite fries’ or ‘Bride’s favourite Milkshake’.

Unexpected details

Wedding invitations these days rarely arrive with just a single card in an envelope. Couples are introducing more than one insert. Make the invitation experience interactive, with pockets, belly bands and tags. Introduce textural elements like silk or velvet ribbons and laser cut wraps or translucent envelopes.

Photo Credit Paula Scalo

Envelope liners

Another great way to inject a pop of colour or a hint of playfulness, while keeping the rest of the stationery suite classic is the envelope liner. From watercolours and handwritten love letters to a custom pattern designed especially for you, it’s a great way to reveal your overall wedding stationery look.

Photo credit PurpleTree Photography

Focus on nature

Greenery is here to stay. Palms, creepers, botanicals and foliage are still big this year and are therefore remain a wedding stationery trend for 2018. More organic and contemporary styles focused on the environment and natural elements like driftwood, stone, marble, concrete and sand are being used heavily in wedding décor themes this year.

Photo Credit Lizelle Goussard

Photo Credit Purple Tree Photography

Monochromatic or single colour

Delicate line work, elegant typography or realistic outlined drawings of florals is a fantastic way to play with a monochromatic scheme. Single colour printing is also a more economical choice for printing, so in view of the new VAT charges, it’s a genius way to be trend and budget savvy.

Photo Credit En Route Photograph