A retail store that is making the most of wedding cards will be a go-to source for brides and their wedding guests. It also means the store will benefit from higher profits. The key is to provide the most options possible for your space.

Wedding cards and invitations are often kept as keepsakes, so giving customers a plethora of choices insures they will find the perfect items. To obtain the most variety, you will have to select supplies from various vendors. Consider the wedding stationery options you can provide and see some of the advantages of wedding card business ideas:

1. For the bride -- save-the-date announcements, wedding invitation cards, wedding information cards which provide information not found on the invitation, wedding RSVP cards and wedding announcements.

2. For the wedding day and after -- wedding program, wedding place cards and wedding thank you cards.

3. For guests -- wedding greeting cards and coordinating stationery.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Offer complete wedding invitation card packages

A bride will be pleased to find all the stationery she needs for her wedding at one place at one time. Matching sets of wedding invitations, reply cards, information cards, thank you cards and envelopes will make her planning easier. Often pricing on packages is more economical for you and passing the savings on to the customers will make the product appealing to brides.

I recommend: Simple Wedding Invites provides quality invitations for affordable prices. Their product list includes complete stationery packages for brides. Koyal Wholesale Wedding Supplies has a large selection of complete wedding invitation sets. They even have add-ons for matching stationery not included in the package or for ordering extras.

Display catalogs and provide samples of wedding invitation cards or wedding greeting cards

Sometimes space does not allow for a lot of samples or stocked items. Setting up an area for brides to look through catalogs of invitations for their perfect one is a good idea. Some catalogs include samples in them, so brides can see the quality and feel the card in their hand. If the catalog does not include samples, consider requesting some from the supplier to keep with the catalog.

I recommend: Elum will send you a catalog of their unique letterpress invitations. You can provide a catalog of wedding greeting card options also. SNAFU Cards will send you a free catalog of their designs.

Offer wedding card designs that are completely unique

Most people are used to seeing traditional card designs. The scrolling formal printed cards and clean-lined contemporary cards are what is expected. A design that is a sure seller is one that is unique and eye-catching.

I recommend: James G. Coleman shares the positives of using photographs on cards and invitations. A scroll or paneled fan are non-traditional and innovative ideas for wedding invitations are created by Sweetknottings.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  As an additional revenue stream, consider having a calligrapher on staff to pen wedding card information immediately or as an option for brides for their wedding invitations.

From wedding greeting cards to wedding invitation cards, there are a variety of different niches you can explore, all at different price points. Before you enter the wedding card game, consider the following:

1. Determine which area you want to explore: wedding greeting cards, wedding information cards, wedding place cards . . . all of the above?
2. Examine the types of cards that currently sell at your store. Do high-end designer cards fly off the shelves, or are your customers more inclined to purchase lower priced, standard designs?
3. Consider offering printing services for customers who purchase wedding invitations and other wedding stationary.
   

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Check out local designers of wedding cards

While you can certainly explore wedding card designs with one of the major greeting card manufacturers you already do business with, don't rule out local suppliers. You may find more unique wedding card designs with such high-end touches as embossing or engraving that many customers are willing to pay a little more for.

I recommend: Erikson Design offers custom wedding card designs in Chicago, for example. A Papier is based in Los Angeles. For wedding invitations on the East Coast, look at NY-based NYCityWeddings.

Offer printing services for wedding cards

Once you find a supplier that you like for wedding invitation cards, take it one step further by offering printing services for couples who purchase blank wedding invitations from your store. If you don't want to get that involved, see if a local printer will work with you to create customized invitations for patrons, with you getting a cut of the profits.

I recommend: PrintingPress Wedding software is available from several distributors, including Mountaincow. The software comes in three versions based on the level of detail you want to achieve on your custom wedding invitations.

Make your own designs

Once you get the hang of printing wedding card information on invitations, you may want to take a stab at creating your own wedding card designs. Most wedding invitation software can assist with this, or you can really get creative and start using textiles, dried flowers and more to create truly unique designs for your customers.

I recommend: Any local craft store will have plenty of materials for custom wedding card designs. Online, check out Of the Earth for various custom wedding invitation supplies, such as vellum, organdy ribbon and invitation wraps.

Go to popular wedding card website to see what they offer

Suppliers of wedding cards have a good web presence and most sellers of wedding cards will offer free samples, especially when you are considering a large order.

I recommend: Wedding Paper Divas sells every type of wedding card imaginable. Other sellers to look at include PartyPOP.com, which offers a nationwide directory of suppliers of wedding greeting cards, wedding information cards, wedding RSVP cards and more.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Keep in mind that if you make and print your own wedding card designs, you'll need a significant amount of memory in the printer to create high-quality graphics.
• •  High-volume color laser printers will cost around $1,000 to $2,000, however, a decent laser printer can be had for under $500. The $500 models are more practical if custom wedding invitations are not going to become a huge part of your business. Wedding invitation software starts as low as $30.
• •  After receiving the wedding card information from a couple, be sure to have them review and sign off on the proof. There's nothing worse than a typo!

Designing wedding cards can be a good way to use your creativity to make money. Whether you are starting a wedding card business or simply trying out your creative ideas for friends' weddings, you may be surprised by the unexpected difficulties that can come up during the process. For this reason, wedding cards design education and training is always a good idea.

Make your wedding card designs stand out with minimal difficulty after some basic training. Select the wedding cards design education and training route that makes the most sense in your situation:

1. Obtain a degree in design.
2. Take a design course online.
3. Use online tips and instructions to improve your wedding card designs.
   

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Get a degree that will assist you in designing wedding greeting cards

The fastest way to be taken seriously when it comes to designing wedding information cards is to obtain a formal design or desktop publishing degree. Whether you attend a 4-year university, a vocational school with a focus on design or an online school does not matter, as long as it is accredited.

I recommend: The Art Institute of Pittsburgh offers an online degree in Graphic Arts, as does High-Tech Institute.

Save time with an online course before making wedding invitation cards

Whether you already have a design degree or not, online card designing courses provide helpful training. Work on your process for designing the perfect wedding greeting card by receiving an up-to-date education online. Such courses allow flexibility while your career creating wedding RSVP cards and invitations takes off.

I recommend: Learn the basics of writing and designing greeting cards with an online course from UniversalClass. If you are familiar with the Photoshop program, you can learn more with an online course from Eclectic Academy. Learn skills like how to arrange wedding card information and create cards with flair with such a course.

Use tips from wedding greeting cards pros on the Internet

Many wedding card professionals share tips and tricks to help educate and train those new to the business. Many have even created step-by-step guides, so check them out to get new ideas and shape your own designs. Follow the entire guide or just select certain tips depending on your training needs.

I recommend: The Artful Crafter offers tips and instructions for making creative wedding place cards. Learn from tips presented by Wedding-Invitation-Ideas.com before designing your cards.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you plan to make and sell wedding cards, you will need to read up on both trendy and unique designs rather than just selecting the designs you like. Most bridal magazines and websites feature ideas and examples that you can peruse to check out the latest wedding card designs.