Checklist
Wedding Stationery Checklist for a US Indian Wedding
Fourteen items, and most couples remember about six of them until the fortnight before.
Most wedding stationery checklists you will find are written for weddings in India, priced in rupees, and assume a supplier down the road. If you are planning a multi-day Indian wedding in the US, the list is similar but the timings and the costs are not.
Before the wedding
Save the dates
Six to nine months out for a domestic guest list, twelve if people are flying from India. A card or digital, but if the wedding is multi-day, guests need to know it early.
The invitation suite
Main invitation plus an insert per ceremony. Most couples send one cohesive suite with separate cards for mehndi, sangeet, haldi and reception rather than separate mailings.
Quantity
One per household, not per guest. This is where couples over order by forty percent.
Itinerary cards
Essential for a three or four day wedding, and increasingly carrying a QR code to a wedding website with dress codes and venue addresses.
At the ceremonies
Shagun and money envelopes
For the family to give out, not for guests to bring. Helpers, priests, musicians, drivers, children, elders. See shagun envelopes.
Favor tags
One per favor, per event where favors go out. Usually mehndi and reception. Foil tags with the couple's names.
Welcome bag tags
For hotel guests. A tag or label on the bag with the couple's monogram is the cheapest way to make a bag of bottled water feel considered.
Table numbers and place cards
Venue dependent. Ask the caterer before ordering, because many US venues supply their own.
After
Thank you cards
Order these with everything else. Nobody wants to design stationery after a wedding. See greeting cards.
The realistic US cost picture
Stationery is usually one to two percent of a US wedding budget, which for most couples means the difference between good and cheap stationery is a few hundred dollars across the whole event. It is one of the few line items where trading up is genuinely affordable.
Where the money goes
Foil and die cutting cost more than print. Quantity brings the unit price down sharply. So a foiled tag at 300 pieces often costs less per unit than a plain one at 50.
Timeline that works
Nine months out
Save the dates.
Four months out
Invitation suite designed and proofed.
Eight weeks out
Everything else in one order: envelopes, tags, stickers, welcome bag labels, thank you cards.
Three weeks out
Everything in hand, sorted by ceremony, in labeled boxes.
For a combined quote across the whole list, use the bulk order page rather than ordering item by item.
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Related reading
FAQ
1. What stationery does an Indian wedding actually need?
Save the dates, an invitation suite with a card per ceremony, itinerary cards, shagun envelopes for the family to give out, favor tags, welcome bag tags, and thank you cards.
2. How many invitations should I order?
One per household rather than per guest, plus about ten percent spare. Ordering per guest is the most common over ordering mistake.
3. When should wedding stationery be ordered?
Save the dates nine months out, invitations four months out, and everything else in one combined order about eight weeks before the first ceremony.
4. Is it cheaper to order stationery separately for each ceremony?
No. A combined order usually clears volume pricing and guarantees the paper and foil match across every piece.
5. What percentage of a wedding budget is stationery?
Typically one to two percent, which is why upgrading from basic to foiled stationery is one of the more affordable improvements available.
6. Do I need place cards and table numbers?
Ask your venue first. Many US venues and caterers supply their own, and couples often order these unnecessarily.