New Wedding Stationery Trends for 2010

From 3-D save-the-dates (um, amazing!) to crossword puzzle programs, here are 7 hot new wedding stationery ideas.

3-D Save-The-Dates!
2-D is so 2009. As the 3-D craze sweeps Hollywood, it could also bring an ultra-funky effect to your wedding stationery. There won't be an ounce of doubt that yours will be a crazy-fun wedding when your guests open their wedding invite and find one of these cards -- complete with their own 3-D glasses!

Custom Illustrations
One of the hottest new wedding paper trends: Custom-illustrated stationery featuring architectural sketches of your wedding venue and handwritten wedding details of the weekend. Have each piece hand-illustrated or get an artist to design them and then digitally print them yourselves.Breaking the Pattern Instead of sticking to one wedding motif on your stationery, mix it up by incorporating different (but similar) patterns on each place card or invitation. (Come on, you know you fell in love with more than one when you were picking your stationery anyway!) The slight variance of each piece will add visual interest to your escort card table and keep things from looking too uniform.

Crossword Puzzle Programs
Get guests talking with custom-made crossword puzzle programs. Build your puzzle online (try Puzzle-Maker.com) and make each clue and answer about the bridal party or wedding ("Where did Brian and Amanda go on their first date?" "You may now ____ the bride."). You could even offer a prize for the first person to turn in their completed puzzle!

Cocktail Hour Coasters
Instead of blowing your entire stationery budget on over-the-top invites, go simpler on the invites and get extras for the cocktail hour like personalized coasters and stirrer sticks with your monogram or invitation motif.

Wedding Weekend Timeline Cards
Similar to the relationship timeline save-the-date idea, add "weekend of events" cards to your welcome baskets. Design them using kitschy graphics and keep the copy fun and relaxed.

Wedding Tree Guest Books
Lose the traditional guest book (trust us, you'll never look at those signatures anyway) and create a wedding guest tree instead. Paint a basic tree shape on a poster (or have a local artists do it for you) and provide paper leaves for guests to sign and attach. You can even label the branches ("Bride's side," "Groom's side," "College friends," etc.) so guests know where to stick their leaf. Want an even more personal touch? Instead of signatures, set out green ink pads and let guests create the leaves with their thumbprint.