How do I select a reputable Wedding stationery business?

This question is so important because the expertise and integrity of your stationer will play a huge role in determining the final outcome of your design project.

To assist you in this process, we at Yorkshire Wedding Invites and Engraving Ltd have put together a checklist to help you assess potential stationery providers. This checklist is based on our experience of not only working with over 5,000 wedding customers throughout Yorkshire and the UK, but also from helping hundreds of couples who found us through the internet when looking for best wedding invites UK or best wedding invites Yorkshire.

So, regardless of where you live or whether you are looking for simple bulk flat printed invitations or multi layered handmade wedding invites, this checklist will help you identify various criteria to look for when selecting your wedding stationery designer.

Okay, let’s jump right in!

1 Business Information and Experience

• What is the business name?   ………………………………………………………………………….
• Is the business correctly insured, an absolute minimum of public liability and if they have a premises do they have premises insurance?    ………………………………………………………………………….
• Are they registered as an official business with www.gov.uk? You can check this at https://www.gov.uk/, for all limited business like ourselves it is a legal requirement to be registered with Companies House.   ………………………………………………………………………….
• How many years has the business been trading for? ………………………………………………………………………….

2 Customer References

Ask the following questions of the business:

• How many couples have you worked with since in business? ………………………………………………………………………
• How many couples did you provide stationery for last year? ………………………………………………………………………
• Of those couples, how many references can you provide? ………………………………………………………………………

Note: if the wedding stationery designer provides less than 10 of their customers as references, we consider this to be a red flag. If a business is unable to provide 10 references this would indicate they have poor service, quality and ratings. Similarly those companies that hide the ability to leave a review should also be treat with caution.

3 Reviews and Ratings

• Collectively what ratio of possitive to negative reviews does the business have? For example 9 posssitive to 1 negative? ………………………………………………………………………….
• What is the average star rating for the business? ………………………………………………………………………….
• Does the company responded reasonably to negative reviews when possible?  ………………………………………………………………………….

Anything below 4 out of 5 start would suggest further investigation may be needed. It is however important to remember unfortunately not every person is completely truthful and some people take pleasure from destroying a companies reputation even if they have never being a customer of the business. Take your time to look at reviews carefully.

4 Workmanship and Guarantees

• Does the business offer help with wording or layouts prior to making your product?………………………………………………………………………….

• Does the business offer any guarantees?  ………………………………………………………………………….

• What contingencies does the business have in the event of staff sickness or government lockdowns?   ………………………………………………………………………….

5 Design, Time Scales and What Comes Next?

• Does the company send you design proofs for you to check?  ………………………………………………………………………….
• Do you have a single online place where all of your booking/design information is available to view at any time? Similar to Yorkshire Wedding Invites Client Portal.  ………………………………………………………………………….
• Do you receive a time line of events from when you book to completion of your order so you know what is coming next and what you can expect?  ………………………………………………………………………….
• Does the company assist you with any other parts of your wedding planning?  ………………………………………………………………………….

6 Contracts and Pricing

• Does the business have a formal contract complete with terms and conditions?   ………………………………………………………………………….
• Does the company honour its prices once you have booked or does the price increase with hidden extras?  ………………………………………………………………………….
• Does the business give an approximate time of completion for your order?  ………………………………………………………………………….

Note: try to avoid booking with a business that isn’t transparent and honest with their terms and conditions as well as prices. Ensure there are no hidden extras, for example are envelopes included for your invitations or are these extra?

7 Things That Are NOT That Important

• The size of the company: great Stationery Designers come in all sizes 🙂
• In-house printing vs out sourced printing work: at the end of the day, exceptional wedding stationery can be produced using either method, although do check the business is able print on the quality of card you are looking for.
• Website and Marketing: Shiny brochures and updated Facebook posts are nice, but not necessarily an indication of integrity or expertise, although regular social media posts do provide evidence of an active business.