Complete Story
06/22/2018
Why We’re Wedded to Paper
Source: Mary Anne Hansan, Paper + Packaging Board, June 2018
Last month’s royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reminded me of how important a role tradition plays in marriage ceremonies as well as how important it is to evolve and change.
For example, no wedding is complete without an invitation, right? It’s been the way to go since the beginning of time. This is a tradition that still seems to make incredible sense to me. Engraved script on heavy card stock literally adds weight to the message. The paper itself expresses the profound importance of the information it contains. It’s the announcement of a marriage of two people that will cascade through time as generations beget more generations. That’s what they really mean when they say, “happily ever after.”
Invitations are particularly special since they are usually the first thing wedding guests will see weeks or months before and they set the tone for the whole occasion. You can pretty much surmise what the dress code will be simply by the formality of the invitation and the weight of the card stock. They are also tangible proof for years to come of your special day.
Wedding invitations are just one of the milestones we mark with paper. We’re welcomed into the world with a paper certificate and we’ll leave this world with another and in between there are birth announcements, birthday cards, diplomas, passports, love letters and anniversary cards.
The stuff of life is all on paper.
