Quiz: Stationery, Signage, and Guest Communication

Target: 70% or higher.

Section 1: Multiple Choice (1 point each)

1. The chapter's threshold concept is:

  • A) Good paper signals a good wedding
  • B) Stationery is the guest's entire experience of the wedding until they arrive
  • C) Print quality determines guest expectations
  • D) The suite should match the design concept
Answer **B).** **And every question it fails to answer becomes a phone call to somebody's mother.** For most guests, for most of fourteen months, the invitation and the website *are* the wedding. *Reference:* Chapter overview, §19.7

2. The highest-value item in the stationery suite is:

  • A) The invitation
  • B) The save-the-date
  • C) The wedding website
  • D) The seating display
Answer **C) The website.** Free, unlimited, editable, and it answers every question. **Most of the twenty questions in §19.3 are website answers** — and it is treated as an afterthought at most weddings, built in an evening in month six and never touched again. *Reference:* §19.1, §19.5a

3. The stationery timeline is determined by:

  • A) The couple's preference
  • B) The caterer's guarantee deadline, working backward
  • C) The print supplier
  • D) When the design is finished
Answer **B).** Guarantee at −14 days → final count → chase complete at −2.5 weeks → **RSVP deadline no later than −4 weeks** → **invitations at −8 weeks minimum.** **Every one of those dates is set by a caterer's contract signed in month six.** *Reference:* §19.2

4. You should choose the print method:

  • A) After the design is agreed
  • B) Before the design, because it determines the calendar
  • C) Based on the budget only
  • D) Whenever the stationer suggests
Answer **B).** **Print lead time is 2–4 weeks digital and 4–8 weeks for letterpress or foil.** A couple who choose letterpress in month nine, order in month eleven, and receive at −6 weeks cannot send at −8 — which produces an RSVP deadline of −2 weeks, an impossible chase, **and a guarantee submitted on a guess.** *Reference:* §19.2

5. The most-asked and least-printed piece of information at a wedding is:

  • A) The dress code
  • B) The parking arrangements
  • C) The end time
  • D) The gift registry
Answer **C) The end time.** Couples withhold it because they think it makes the wedding sound short. **It does not extend the party** — it produces guests who leave at an arbitrary moment because they do not know how much is left, and a hundred people making the same enquiry through four channels. **And at a rural venue with a shuttle and a curfew it is a safety item.** *Reference:* §19.3

6. Who is invited is determined by:

  • A) The guest list
  • B) The RSVP card
  • C) The envelope
  • D) A conversation
Answer **C) The envelope.** *"The Marsh Family"* means everybody in that household. *"Ms. Nadine Hollis"* means one person. *"Mr. and Mrs. Okonkwo"* may be read as including their children. **The rule: name every person who is invited. Never "the family."** And address the envelopes **from the guest list**, not from an address book — they are different documents and only one knows who was invited. *Reference:* §19.4

7. The first RSVP chase should come from:

  • A) The planner
  • B) The couple
  • C) An automated reminder
  • D) Whoever is available
Answer **B) The couple.** **A message from the people getting married gets answered; the same message from a stranger who says they are the planner joins the pile.** **The planner's job in the chase is the list, the deadline, and the escalation — not the asking.** And split the list by side: a parent chasing their own family does it in an hour and enjoys it. *Reference:* §19.4

8. The test for whether a sign should exist is:

  • A) Whether it fits the design
  • B) Whether it answers a question a guest would otherwise ask a human
  • C) Whether the budget allows it
  • D) Whether other weddings have one
Answer **B).** If yes, print it. If no, it is decoration — **and Chapter 16's surface hierarchy ranks decoration-seen-once-at-a-distance near the bottom.** **A welcome sign with the couple's names fails this test.** Guests know whose wedding they are at. *Reference:* §19.5

9. At a raw site, signage should be placed:

  • A) At the entrance only
  • B) At every point on the guest's route where a person would stop and look around
  • C) Wherever it looks best
  • D) Only where the venue requires it
Answer **B).** **Walk the guest's route from the road.** At Wildrye that is six points: the turning off the lane, the gate, the parking field, the walk to the meadow, the walk from the meadow to the tent, and the restroom trailer. **They can be six A4 sheets on stakes and they will work** — eye level, readable at fifteen feet, **and there at 3:30 when the first guest arrives**, which is a load-in item with a name against it. *Reference:* §19.5

10. A place card is needed:

  • A) At every wedding
  • B) Only if you have assigned seats, not just tables
  • C) Only for plated dinners
  • D) Only above 100 guests
Answer **B).** **Assigning tables and assigning seats are different decisions**, and only one needs printing per guest. Assign seats when there is a head table, a specific adjacency that must happen, one that must not, or a plated meal with pre-ordered choices. **At Reyes–Whitfield, tables are assigned and seats are not** — which saves a hundred cards, four hours of setting out, and the entire failure mode where somebody moves one. *Reference:* §19.5

11. The safest invitation host wording at almost any wedding is:

  • A) "Mr. and Mrs. [Father's full name] request the honour of your presence"
  • B) "Together with their families"
  • C) Naming all four parents
  • D) Naming whoever paid
Answer **B) "Together with their families."** **It removes an ordering decision** — any wording naming four parents requires deciding whose name comes first, and at a wedding with a divorce in it that is read as a statement. **It also removes a payment audit**, and it includes grandparents, stepparents, and siblings at no cost and with no list. *Reference:* §19.3a

12. The convention for divorced parents both hosting is:

  • A) Father's name first
  • B) Two lines, mother first, with no "and" between them
  • C) One line joined by "and"
  • D) Alphabetical
Answer **B).** **The absence of "and" is the entire content.** *"Mr. Dennis Whitfield and Mrs. Marie Whitfield"* reads as a couple; the same two names on separate lines without a conjunction reads as two people hosting jointly. **It is a piece of typography doing the work of a sentence nobody wants to write** — a small, old, kind convention, worth knowing precisely because the situations it exists for are the ones where getting it wrong costs most. *Reference:* §19.3a

Section 2: True/False with Justification (1 point each)

13. A ceremony programme is a standard part of the suite.

Answer **False. At most weddings it is picked up, glanced at, and left on the chair**, at a cost of $60–$250. **It earns its place in exactly three situations:** a religious or cultural ceremony guests may not know (a Mass, a Jewish or Hindu ceremony — where it tells people when to stand and what a word means, and is sometimes essential) · a long ceremony with readings · or where the couple want to name people, including someone who has died. **Otherwise: one sign, or nothing.** And if printed, someone must hand them out, which is a named job.

14. Better paper produces a better invitation.

Answer **Not in the way that matters. Every failure in this chapter is a copy failure.** *"Reception to follow"* generates phone calls whether it is letterpress on cotton or laser-printed at home. **"Dinner and dancing, 6 to 10:30, same address"** prevents them at either price. A guest who could not find the venue was not failed by the paper stock. A guest in stilettos on a lawn was not told about grass. **The expensive part of stationery is print. The valuable part is the words** — which is why the chapter works identically at $150 and at $2,000.

15. Password-protecting a wedding website is good practice.

Answer **Usually false.** It halves the traffic, breaks link previews, and **stops exactly nobody from finding it.** Use it only where there is a real reason — a public figure, a genuine safety concern, or a specific person who must not find the details. **Otherwise it is friction applied to the highest-value item in the suite.**

16. An RSVP form should ask "any special requirements?"

Answer **False. It produces almost nothing**, because a guest reading "special requirements" either does not think it applies to them or does not want to be the person with requirements. **Ask a real question:** *"is there anything about the day that would be difficult for you? It's outdoors on grass with some uneven ground, and we'd much rather know now."* **Specific, warm, and it names the actual obstacles** — which is what lets somebody say "actually, my mother can't manage grass." (Chapter 29.)

17. Invitation etiquette conventions should always be followed.

Answer **False. Convention is a default, not an obligation.** "Mr. and Mrs. Manuel Reyes" erases the mother's first name; some people mind and some do not. **"The honour of your presence"** signals a religious venue and **"the pleasure of your company"** a secular one — and nobody under sixty knows this. **Every convention here exists to make somebody feel respected. Where it fails to do that, it has failed at its own job.** **And for anything you are unsure of — titles, same-sex couples' parents, non-binary guests — ask.** There is no convention covering everyone, and asking is never the rude option.

Section 3: Short Answer (2 points each)

18. Rewrite this details card so it answers the questions: "Reception to follow. Adults only. For more information visit our website."

Sample Answer > **Dinner and dancing** to follow at the same address, **6:00 p.m. until 10:30 p.m.** > > **The ceremony is outdoors on grass.** September evenings get cool — bring a layer, and heels are a challenge. > > **We are so sorry to say we cannot host children**, with the exception of those in the wedding party. > > **Everything else — parking, taxis, where to stay, and what to wear — is at [website]**, and Elena Reyes is our point of contact on the day: 555-0147. **Four things it does:** **Gives an end time**, so guests can plan taxis, babysitters, and trains. **Says the ground is grass**, which changes what forty people wear. **Phrases the children policy as regret and states the exception**, converting an offence into an explanation. **Gives a name and a number that is not the couple's** — worth more on the day than everything else in the suite. *Rubric:* Must add an end time; must state the ground surface or equivalent physical condition; must give the exception to the children policy; must name a contact who is not the couple. Full credit keeps it to roughly the same length.

19. Build the backward chain from a −14 day guarantee, and say what each link depends on.

Sample Answer | | | Depends on | |---|---|---| | **−14 days** | **Guarantee submitted** (Ch.14) | A final count | | −17 days | Seating chart final | The count | | −2.5 weeks | Chase complete; count closed | The chase | | −3 weeks | **Contact 2 — a phone call** | Contact 1 | | −3.5 weeks | **Contact 1 — from the couple** | The non-responder list | | **−4 weeks** | **RSVP DEADLINE** | The invitation send date | | **−8 weeks** | **INVITATIONS SENT** | Addressing | | −9 weeks | Addressed and assembled | **4–6 hours for 100** | | **−10 weeks** | **Printed** | **Print lead: 2–4 weeks digital, 4–8 letterpress or foil** | | −4 months | Designed and proofed | The through-line | **Two things fall out.** The RSVP deadline is **not a preference** — it is set by the guarantee. And **the print method determines whether −8 weeks is achievable**, which is why it is chosen before the design. **And downstream:** place cards and menus go to print at −12 days, **after** the seating chart, so a chart that slips takes the printing with it. *Rubric:* Must run the full chain; must identify the RSVP deadline as guarantee-driven rather than preference-driven; must name print lead time as the binding constraint on the send date.

20. Write the logistics email for a rural wedding with a shuttle and a 10:30 curfew.

Sample Answer > **Subject: Saturday — everything you need** > > Hello everyone, > > **Ten days.** Here is everything in one place so nobody has to hunt. > > **Saturday 12 September, Wildrye Farm, 4180 Wildrye Lane.** About ninety minutes from the city, and **the last three minutes are a farm track** — follow the signs from the lane, and do not trust your phone for the final turn. > > **Arrive by 4:00 for a 4:30 ceremony.** Please do not be late; it is outdoors and there is nowhere discreet to slip in. > > **Park in the field to the left of the gate.** There will be someone there. > > **The ceremony is outdoors on grass**, and the reception is in a tent and a barn. **Bring a layer** — it gets properly cold once the sun goes — **and think about your shoes.** > > **Dinner is at 6:30 and it is family style**, which means big platters on the table and you help yourself. There is plenty. > > **The bar is open from 5:10 and closes at 10:30**, and the music stops at 10:30 too — that is a condition of the venue, not a choice. > > **There is a minibus into Cairnfield at 10:15 and 11:00.** If you are driving, please be sensible; rideshare coverage out there is patchy and we cannot promise a taxi. > > **If you need anything on the day, ask Elena Reyes — 555-0147.** Please do not call Alicia or Sam. **Each line prevents a specific failure:** the satnav (late arrivals) · "nowhere to slip in" (an outdoor ceremony has no back row) · grass and layers (forty people dress differently) · "help yourself" (guests who have never seen family style wait for a server) · the curfew explained as a venue condition (removes the "one more song" argument) · **and a contact who is not the couple.** *Rubric:* Must include arrival vs. ceremony time, the physical conditions, the food format, the end time, transport home, and a non-couple contact. Full credit explains the curfew as a condition rather than a choice.

Section 4: Applied Scenario (5 points)

21. You are engaged at −16 weeks. 190 guests. Nothing has been printed and there is no website. The caterer's guarantee is due at −10 days. The couple want letterpress invitations (6-week lead, $1,400**) and have a stationery budget of **$1,600 including postage. There is an A/B list: 155 A, 35 B.

Complicating factors: the ceremony is in a 17th-century chapel with a 40-minute Anglican service; the reception is 20 minutes away by shuttle; one partner's father died last year; and the couple's parents are hosting jointly with one set divorced.

Produce: (a) the timeline; (b) the print decision; (c) the budget; (d) the host line and the way you raise it; (e) the three things you do this week.

Sample Answer **(a) The timeline, backward.** | | | | |---|---|---| | **−10 days** | **Guarantee** | | | −13 days | Chart final; place cards and menus to print | | | **−3 weeks** | **Count closed** | | | −3.5 weeks | Chase, contact 2 | | | −4 weeks | Chase, contact 1 | | | **−5 weeks** | **RSVP DEADLINE** — *(tighter than the standard −4 because of the B-list)* | | | −6 weeks | **B-list invitations out** as A-list declines arrive | | | **−9 weeks** | **A-LIST INVITATIONS SENT** | | | −10 weeks | Addressed — **190 envelopes is 8–11 hours.** Two sittings, two people | | | **−11 weeks** | **PRINTED** | **This is the hinge** | | −13 weeks | Proofed, three readers | | | **−15 weeks** | **Designed, and print ordered** | | | **THIS WEEK (−16)** | **Website live; save-the-date email; print method decided** | | **(b) The print decision.** **Letterpress at a 6-week lead is achievable and it is tight.** Ordering at −15 weeks gives delivery at −9 — **which is the day they need to go out**, with zero slack for a proof error, a paper delay, or a supplier's other job. **Recommendation: digital print on a heavy uncoated stock, with one letterpress element if they want the texture** — or letterpress *only if* the studio will commit to −11 weeks in writing with a penalty. **The honest sentence:** > *"Letterpress works if nothing goes wrong. Nothing going wrong is not a plan at 190 guests with a B-list. I'd rather have three weeks of slack than a raised surface."* **And the real argument, which is about money:** $1,400 of a $1,600 budget on letterpress leaves **$200 for postage on 190 invitations** — which is roughly $150 at standard rates and **more if they are thick or square, which letterpress invitations are.** The budget does not survive the choice. **(c) The budget.** | | | |---|---:| | Website | $18 | | **Invitations, 190 + 35 B-list, digital on heavy uncoated** | **$420** | | **Postage, 225 pieces** — weighed and measured first | **$190** | | RSVP cards for ~20 guests without email, + stamps | $45 | | **Ceremony programmes, 190** — see below | **$210** | | Menus, 24 tables | $30 | | Seating display | $40 | | Signage — chapel, shuttle, reception, parking | $60 | | Place cards | **$0 — tables assigned, seats not** | | **Subtotal** | **$1,013** | | **Held** — proof errors, extra postage, a re-print | **$587** | | **TOTAL** | **$1,600** | **Two notes.** **Programmes are one of the three cases where they earn their place** — a 40-minute Anglican service with responses, standing, and hymns is exactly the situation §19.1 describes, and guests who do not know the liturgy need it. **And $587 held is not caution, it is the answer to (b).** The reason not to spend $1,400 on paper at −16 weeks is that at this timeline you will need to reprint something. **(d) The host line.** Both sets hosting, one set divorced, **and one partner's father died last year.** > **Together with their families,** > **Rachel Amoah** > **and** > **Thomas Deane** > **invite you to celebrate their marriage** **And on the programme, not the invitation:** *"Thomas is the son of Margaret Deane and of the late Peter Deane."* **Why: the host line is the wrong place for a memorial.** *"The late Peter Deane"* on a host line asks a dead man to host, which is both awkward and — more importantly — **puts a grief in a place guests will scan past in four seconds.** The programme gives it a moment. **How you raise it, this week, with the couple only:** > "Two things about the invitation wording, and I'd rather do them now. > > **The first is easy.** With four parents and a divorce in there, naming hosts means ordering names, and somebody will read the order. **'Together with their families' includes everyone and orders nothing**, and I'd recommend it. > > **The second is your dad, Tom.** There is a way of naming him on an invitation and I don't think it's the right place — it's a line people read in four seconds on their way to the date. **The programme is a better place, and I think a better one still is whether anybody says something.** But that is entirely yours, and if you want him on the card then he goes on the card and I'll make it beautiful. > > **Tell me which, and I'll handle telling everyone else.**" **(e) The three things this week.** **1. Website live today, minimum version.** Names, date, chapel and reception addresses, "invitations to follow," and a holding line about travel. **Ninety minutes.** **2. Save-the-date by email, tonight, to all 155 A-list.** They will not get a printed one at −16 weeks, and **a plain email that says "the 14th, in Hexham, invitation coming" does the entire job** — travel and accommodation start now. **3. Print ordered by −15 weeks**, which means **design agreed within seven days**, which means the through-line conversation and the host-line conversation both happen this week. **Everything else on the timeline hangs off this one date.** *Rubric:* | Criterion | 0 | 1 | 2 | |---|---|---|---| | Timeline (a) | Lists dates | Works backward correctly | Backward from the guarantee, **with the B-list window built in and the RSVP deadline tightened to −5 weeks because of it** | | Print (b) | Says letterpress is risky | Recommends digital with reasoning | Recommends with **both the schedule argument and the budget argument**, and gives the sentence to say | | Budget (c) | Itemised to $1,600 | Includes postage separately | Both, **plus programmes justified as one of the three earning cases, place cards at $0, and a held reserve justified by the timeline** | | Host line (d) | Proposes wording | Handles the divorce | Handles both, **and moves the deceased parent off the host line to the programme with a stated reason**, then offers to make the calls | | This week (e) | Names three tasks | Names three correct tasks | Three, **with the print order identified as the hinge everything else hangs off**, and the email save-the-date as the free substitute for a printed one | *Scoring: (a)=1, (b)=1, (c)=1, (d)=1, (e)=1.*

Scoring and Next Steps

Score Assessment What to do
Under 50% Needs review Re-read §19.2, §19.3, §19.4. Redo Part A and B.1.
50–70% Partial Do B.2 (rewrite three details cards) and B.7 (write the logistics email). Both are writing.
70–85% Solid Proceed to Part V. Do C.2 first — audit five real wedding websites and time the searches.
Over 85% Strong Proceed. Deep Dive: case-study-02.md, then C.1 and E.3.

Regardless of score: do C.1. Collect five real invitations and score them against the twenty questions. It takes an hour and it will change how you write for the rest of your career.