Wedding Invitations + More • Photos of Stationery Paper Suites

Wedding invitations and paper suites by Raleigh wedding photographer, Mikkel Paige. Paper suites, stamps, calligraphy and more. Pink, blue and purple same sex wedding invitations.

Wedding invitations set the tone for your special day. From the moment your stationery hits the mail, it’s letting your guests know something about you as a couple. These lay flat stationery photo elements may indicate your attention to detail (like the stamps and how your return address is labeled) to your wedding’s color scheme.

I love photographing details, because I believe they totally make your wedding unique to you. This of course, includes your invitation or paper suite. Flat lay photography just so happens to be a specialty of mine.

I spend hours after your wedding photographing your stationery, including your invitation assorted paper goods. It includes things like table numbers and escort cards. And I love doing it!

No matter the breadth of what you have created, it’s important to me I capture it. Thus, I wanted to provide some examples for my couples of what this may include and point out something things that make a difference.

This flat lay stationery photo elements post includes:

Photos of stationery and examples of how I’ve captured paper suites
Stamps and how to choose them
Envelope addressing, including calligraphy, digital or DIY (Part 2 here)

I enlisted the assistance of stationer Sincerely Jackie for some additional words of wisdom for this post.

Jackie’s favorite tip is to have your invitations photographed on your wedding day. That’s why she always include a full invitation suite that is pre-packed for her couples to give their photographers on their wedding day. (As a photographer, I LOVE this!)

I created an extended feature post with her thoughts and the most INCREDIBLE envelope/invitation advice I’ve ever heard, in Part 2 here.

Wedding Stationery Suite Examples

Here are some examples of what’s included in some former suites. When you order your paper products ensure you save one of each for me to capture like the below. Notice the contents vary depending on what the couple had for their guests but the elements, no matter how great or minimal, were there. They include their Save the Date, invitation with corresponding envelope, reply card with envelope, table numbers, a wedding program, and thank you cards.

Stamps for your Invitation Suite

I think one of the greatest details you can pay attention to for your day is the stamp on your invitations and reply cards. This has always been important to me and something my mother instilled in me when I was a child. For real. I still remember her calling post offices around the United States to find the Elvis stamp back in 1996, which matched my teal and pink bat-mitzvah invitation perfectly.

Luckily, there are much more accommodating websites today. I suggest USPS.com because they have a complete list of all stamps that are currently available and upcoming.

If you see some you like, go to your local post office to see if you can buy them in person and save on shipping from the website.

I loved the Janis Joplin stamps below, which I wanted for our Love Locks shoot because it matched our pink, blue and orange palette perfectly. And I love how cool these circus stamps are – I haven’t used them yet I know they’ll match something perfectly one day soon. I can definitely see them on an invitation suite.

It’s also really popular to get a custom photo of a stamp. I offer them in my client galleries with competitive pricing so couples can do one-stop-shopping. Wouldn’t a photo from your engagement session be awesome on your wedding invitation?

Addressing Envelopes

The envelope addresses are the first thing your guest will read when they receive mail: usually the address first to make sure it’s for them (and it’s usually large and centered on the envelope so their eye goes straight to it) then the return address to see who the mail is from (especially if it’s so pretty!). That’s why it’s important to take care when writing your guests’ names on them.

Jackie mentions three options for envelope addressing:

calligraphy
digital printing
DIY, like hand writing or labels

Calligraphy is the bee’s knees. I really do. And I often SAVE the envelopes I receive with calligraphy because it’s such a gorgeous art form. Jackie has partnered with Charmaine, of Everly Calligraphy, to now seamlessly offer this option to her couples. So smart!