5 Wedding Stationery Details You’ll Want Your Photographer to Capture

Your wedding invitations do much more than tell guests when and where you’re getting married. They offer the first glimpse into the colors, setting, style, and personality of your wedding day—and those little wedding stationery details can become an important part of your wedding photography, too.

As a watercolor wedding stationery designer and the owner of Do Tell A Belle, I love creating invitation suites that tell a couple’s story through custom artwork, venue illustrations, meaningful details, and beautiful finishing touches. But after the invitations have been mailed, there’s one more thing I always recommend: save a complete suite for your photographer.

I asked Savannah of Savannah Michelle Photography to share her perspective on photographing wedding stationery and what couples can do to make those photographs even more beautiful.

Here are five things to keep in mind when planning your wedding invitation suite and your wedding-day detail photography.

1. Save More Than One Complete Wedding Invitation Suite

You may already be planning to save one invitation as a keepsake, but if having beautiful flat-lay photographs is important to you, consider setting aside two complete invitation suites for your photographer.

Savannah explains that having two suites gives her much more freedom when styling:

“I love to have at least two full suites to be able to photograph because sometimes I have to reuse a piece or two or double up because it aesthetically looks better and gives me more flexibility with how I lay out the suite.”

And don’t forget the envelopes!

Your invitation, RSVP card, details card, envelopes, envelope liners and other coordinating pieces work together to create the complete look. Leaving one element behind can limit what your photographer is able to create.

There’s another reason photographing the entire suite is so meaningful. Your stationery is often where the visual story of your wedding begins.

As Savannah explains, the complete suite can help connect the smaller getting-ready details—such as the rings and earrings—with the colors, venue and décor guests will see later during the ceremony and reception.

That makes the invitation flat lay more than a photograph of your stationery. It becomes part of the story of the entire wedding day.

2. Don’t Overlook the Details That Make Your Invitations Yours

Some of the most beautiful elements of an invitation suite are also the smallest: a watercolor venue illustration, custom crest, a watercolor envelope liner, wax seal, ribbon or hand-painted detail.

These are exactly the pieces worth making sure your photographer sees.

When I asked Savannah which stationery details she especially loves photographing, she immediately mentioned custom artwork and venue illustrations.

“I think they always stand out and are so personal to each wedding. They also help to make the flat lay look different than any other wedding flat lay.”

That’s one of the reasons I love incorporating original watercolor artwork into wedding stationery.

A painting of the place where you’re getting married, a flower with personal significance, a custom wedding crest or artwork inspired by your destination can make your stationery feel distinctly yours. When those same elements are photographed on your wedding day, they also become part of the visual record of your celebration.

3. Give Your Photographer a Few Personal Styling Pieces

Your invitation suite doesn’t necessarily need to be photographed by itself.

Gather a few meaningful items that your photographer can use when styling your flat lay. Your rings, earrings, perfume, ribbon, jewelry or a family heirloom can help tell a much more personal story. Savannah loves having these elements available:

“I love anything that feels special and personal like family heirlooms. But I also love all the secondary elements like the jewelry and flowers because they fill in all of the little gaps of the invitation suite flat lay and help to make it look visually appealing.”

One particularly easy detail to arrange ahead of time is loose flowers from your florist.

Ask your florist to set aside a few loose stems or blooms that coordinate with your bouquet and wedding flowers. Savannah points out that flowers add color and texture to a flat lay, while also visually connecting the stationery photographs with the floral design you’ll see throughout the rest of the wedding.

The result feels intentional rather than simply styled for the sake of styling.

4. Tell Your Photographer That Wedding Stationery Details Are Important to You

If you’ve spent months creating the perfect wedding invitation suite, don’t wait until the morning of your wedding to mention that you’d really like it photographed.

Tell your photographer ahead of time.

This allows your photographer to build enough time into the wedding-day timeline to style and photograph everything properly instead of trying to squeeze detail photographs into an already busy morning.

Savannah says:

“I always like to know this ahead of time so that I allow enough time in the beginning of the day to photograph them in a beautiful way and not feel rushed.”

It also gives your photographer an opportunity to tell you what to have ready.

Savannah recommends gathering the additional elements you’d like included in your detail photographs and asking your florist for those loose stems in advance.

One simple idea is to place your invitation suites, rings, jewelry, perfume, heirlooms and other small details together in one box before the wedding. When your photographer arrives, everything is ready to go.

5. Think About How Your Invitation Suite Will Photograph

You should absolutely choose wedding stationery because you love it—not simply because it will look good in photographs. But if detail photography is important to you, there are a few practical things worth considering during the design process.

Savannah particularly loves invitation suites that incorporate different colors and textures because they give her more opportunities to create visual interest within a flat lay.

That could mean pairing a traditional invitation with a contrasting details card, incorporating a die-cut piece, adding a vellum element, choosing a colorful envelope or introducing artwork through an envelope liner.

There is also a practical consideration with dimensional or folding stationery.

Savannah notes that while foldable invitations can create a wonderful experience for guests as they open them, they can sometimes be more challenging to photograph if they don’t naturally stay flat.

That doesn’t mean you have to give up the gate fold, vellum wrap or other special presentation you’ve fallen in love with. Instead, talk with your stationery designer about providing an additional suite or even an extra unassembled piece for your photographer. That can give them more flexibility when creating the flat lay while allowing you to keep the presentation you want for your guests.

Your Wedding Stationery Details Are Part of Your Story

Long after the envelopes have been opened and the wedding day has passed, your photographs become one of the ways you’ll revisit all of the details you chose so carefully.

Your invitation suite deserves to be part of that story.

Save a couple of complete suites, gather the personal details you’d love photographed alongside them, and talk to your photographer before the wedding day. A little planning gives your photographer the time and creative freedom to turn those pieces into photographs that feel connected to the rest of your celebration.

And if you’re still designing your wedding stationery, think about the details that tell your story. A venue illustration, meaningful flower, custom watercolor crest or unexpected pop of color can transform an invitation from something beautiful into something personal.

About the Contributor

Victoria Grigaliunas is the watercolor artist and wedding stationery designer behind Do Tell A Belle, creating custom and semi-custom wedding invitation suites featuring original watercolor artwork, venue illustrations and personalized details for couples who want their stationery to feel uniquely their own.

Looking for more inspiration and tips for wedding detail photos? Click here for two details that completely elevate your wedding detail photos.