Wedding signage - where to start?!

Well of course you’d like to have some beautiful signage at your wedding that can be kept as a timeless reminder of your big day, who wouldn’t?! But it can be difficult to know where to begin. This guide will talk you through the points you’ll need to consider to ensure you end up with a piece of artwork that serves its purpose at your wedding and provides great joy for years to come.

What is the sign for?

Usually signage is functional: directional or informational. But we don’t need to stop there, do we?

In a wedding or home, signs add to the vibe and the aesthetic. They help tell your guests more about your lives together, your values as a couple, and how you want your celebration to feel.

A great sign can give visual texture to the event. And even if you’re not a slave to the ‘gram (oh you lucky devil, promise me you’ll value your freedom) a beautiful sign can provide a photo opportunity that’ll serve as an aide memoire and a talking point.

These are some of the types of signs I’ve made for weddings over the years:

Welcome signs - you might want to go for traditional wording or more of a fun vibe
Cake table signs
Guest book signs
Statement signs - ceremonial backdrop or party prop - or both
Table plan
Order of ceremony

Where will the sign go?

On the day:

Would it be helpful to have a welcome sign to let people know they’re at the right place? Is there a spot in your venue that lends itself to a great big statement sign? Will you need a stand to display it? Can you move the sign around as the day progresses? Can the sign double as a welcome sign and a party sign (Invite you to party)? Or as a ceremonial backdrop and a dance floor prop?

After the wedding:

Your wedding sign should be such a visual feast that you couldn’t bear to part with it after the event. There’s so much waste in the wedding industry, wouldn’t it be nice to keep your wedding sign as wall art for your home? Signage, but make it art. So think also about the interior style of your home. Where in your home will it go? This might influence the size, colour, type of wood/substrate e.g. does it need to be light enough to hang on a stud wall?

What will the sign say?

Ah, the words. The most important bit, and also the hardest bit to get right. Think about the general vibe of the wedding and your tone as a couple. Ideally your sign should be representative and mean something to you. That’s not to say the sign needs to be really deep and romantic, it could be silly, it could be sweary, it could contemplative, it could be fun. Whatever it says, it needs to be you.

Here are some prompts to get you thinking:

Your wedding vows and the promises you’ve made to each other
Your first date, your meet-cute, your engagement
Music you like, lyrics to your first dance
Films, poems, books that you’ve enjoyed together
The readings at your wedding
Your families - a nod to loved ones who are there in spirit if not in person, a celebration of your children, family in jokes.

If you’re stuck for alternative wording for the practical signs (e.g. order of service, table plans etc), give me a shout. Happy to share ideas.

What should it look like?

An obvious place to start is colour. You don’t need to incorporate all the colours from your wedding into your sign if you don’t want to. In fact, if you plan to dress the sign with lots of vibrant flowers and foliage you might want it to be relatively minimalist. Alongside colour, consider texture - matte, satin, gloss, glitter, gold and metallics.

Think about the lettering style you like. Seek out references - your wedding invitations, signage you’ve seen in other contexts, previous work by artists.

Do you want to incorporate any other visual elements into your design, e.g. patterns (leopard print, anyone?), illustrations or borders.

Find a sign maker who’s style you admire. Every sign artist will have style that they feel most comfortable in, be that bold and minimalist, highly decorative, cool, casual, traditional. Some sign makers will specialise in certain techniques, e.g. gold leaf (ahem - I’m your woman!) or it might be that the aesthetic you really love is best achieved through printing or some other kind of manufacturing process. Obviously I would love to work with you, but if I think another artist or maker is better suited to your ideas, I won’t hesitate to recommend them.

And finally…

Remember that you don’t need any signs at your wedding, not really. So don’t have one just for the sake of it. Have one because you’ve got something you want to say, and make sure it’s a sign that you LOVE.

Thanks for reading!

Esther x

A guide to wedding signs