WEDDING STYLISTAS: Stationery Station

Each drawer is packed with stationery submissions from vendors.

The Wedding Style Department stores over 2,000 invitations in Ziploc bags.

Stationery. We make a big deal of it at BRIDES, but when you think about it, it’s just glorified paper.  Maybe it’s adorned with crystals, ribbons, fabric.  Maybe it’s even on specialty card stock.  Or maybe it’s not on paper at all.  Acrylic menus?  Laser engraved wood?  Calligraphied seashells?  Who am I kidding?!  The stationery of today is anything but simple.   

In our office we have over 2,000 invites on file and receive over a dozen new packages weekly.  Sometimes each invitation set comes with 7 pieces, including the invite itself, the envelopes, maps/directions, itineraries, and RSVPs.  How do we keep track of it all…paper elves?  Nope, even simpler than that.  Ziploc bags.  These everyday household baggies have become our most useful tool when it comes to keeping all this paper together.  We write the name of the company and the date on the back of every piece of stationery that comes our way and log it into an Excel document.  We keep them all separate in gallon Ziploc bags with names and dates of arrival.  These go in big plastic bins, on shelves, and in empty filing cabinets.  In an effort to be eco-conscious, we go through the old samples quarterly and send them back to the vendor.  A lot of companies will recycle and reuse them to create new designs, so at least we’re saving a tree or two!  —Machell, Wedding Sylistas