5 Things You Should Know About...Stationery

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Tell a Story
“You are creating a full story with your paper suite, beginning with your save the date. You do not need a full-blown theme, like nautical, but rather an element that runs through your entire suite, such as custom calligraphy, a certain color or motif, or your monogram. To begin, create an inspiration board using tear sheets and pictures of your wedding dress, attendants’ dresses, cake, linens, flowers, your location, patterns and colors you love—anything that will convey your wedding style and personalities to the stationery designer.”

Put Your Stamp On It
“The envelope is the first thing guests see when your invitation comes in the mail, so don’t drop the ball when choosing postage by picking a boring stamp that doesn’t match. Color-coordinated or thematic postage will complete your invitation design. For custom postage, visit Zazzle.com, and for authentic vintage postage from the 1800’s to present, visit ChampionStamp.com. It’s not fun to lick all of the stamps from before we had self-adhesives, but they certainly make an impression!”

—as told to Elizabeth Jenkins

Karen Bartolomei’s is the author of Paperie for Inspired Living, a bride's guide to creating memorable stationery and decorations. The former ad exec—who launched her business 10 years ago, after designing a friend’s wedding invitation as a favor—has since created couture wedding stationery for Numb3rs star David Krumholtz, E! News anchor Giuliani Rancic and actor Sam Huntington (Paperie for Inspired Living, $25; borders.com).