Personalised wedding napkins in the UAE: the number couples work out in a hurry
Personalised wedding napkins printed with the couple's names are a small detail every guest notices, from the first cup of Arabic coffee to the last slice of cake. Yet the most expensive mistake has nothing to do with the design or the price. It is one number, worked out in a hurry, that shows up halfway through the party.
Personalised wedding napkins in the UAE: the short answer
Personalised wedding napkins printed with the couple's names or initials start at 100 napkins per design, and the design is free: you see it and ask for changes before you pay. They reach the UAE in 10 working days with FedEx Priority, or about 14 to 16 with Economy, counted from design approval and payment, UAE customs included. Order at least a month before the wedding.
That is the quick answer. It does not tell you whether the napkins will last until the end of the night, and that depends on one figure: how many your wedding actually needs. First, a small clarification that saves a lot of searching.
Table napkins, not keepsake handkerchiefs
Search for wedding napkins and you will find embroidered handkerchiefs for the bride and bridesmaids, or ready-made printed sets of 50 sold to couples abroad. Both have their place. This article is about something else.
It is about the paper napkin each guest finds next to their plate, under the coffee cup and beside the dessert. Printed with the couple's names, their initials or the wedding date, it becomes part of how the hall is dressed. It is also the item that gets counted wrong more often than anything else on the table.
How many napkins does a wedding need? Count the stages, not the guests
The usual mistake is to multiply the guest list by one napkin. A wedding night in the UAE runs in stages: the welcome with Arabic coffee and dates, then dinner, then sweets, cake and more coffee. Each stage has its own napkin and its own size.
One rule changes the whole calculation: the smaller the napkin, the more of them each guest goes through.
| Size | Where it goes on the night | Estimate per guest |
|---|---|---|
| 20×20 cm | Arabic coffee and dates at the welcome, drinks, and as a coaster | around 4.5 |
| 24×24 cm | Canapés, finger food and sweets | 3 to 4 |
| 33×33 cm | A full dinner | 1 to 2 |
| 40×40 cm | A carefully set dinner table, or the slim 1/8 fold on the plate | usually 1 |
A worked example, only to show the arithmetic: a wedding with 300 guests and one 40×40 napkin on every dinner plate needs about 300 napkins for dinner. Serve the coffee and sweets with a 20×20 napkin and the estimate is around 4.5 per guest over the night, so roughly 1,350 more. The second figure is four times the first, and it is the one that disappears when you count guests instead of stages.
If the celebration takes place in two separate halls, one for men and one for women, count each hall on its own and add them up. Then add a margin for extra tables and unexpected guests, because a napkin that runs out halfway through the party cannot be replaced that night. The per-guest estimates for every size are on our sizes, qualities and inks page.
Quantity is the first decision. The second is what your guests will read on the napkin.
What to print on a wedding napkin
The most common requests are the couple's names, or their initials in a small interlocking monogram, with the wedding date. Some couples add a short line in Arabic calligraphy or repeat a motif from the invitation card. Whatever you choose, it has to read at a glance. A napkin is a small canvas, and a crowded design loses the names.
Deluxe® or full colour CMYK?
- Deluxe® is the flat-ink printing we developed ourselves. It prints 37 inks, every one matched to a Pantone colour, and metallic gold and silver. It is the natural choice for two names and a date in one or two colours.
- Full colour CMYK is for artwork a flat ink cannot hold: photographs, gradients and motifs with many colours.
Deluxe® carries a printing plate of AED 180.15 per ink, paid once per design: one colour means one plate, two colours mean two. Full colour CMYK needs no plate. If you are not sure which one your design needs, send it to us and we will tell you.
The napkin itself comes in up to 20 colours and in three paper qualities: 2-ply or 3-ply tissue, double point embossed tissue, which is noticeably softer in the hand, and airlaid, a single layer with a look and feel close to a cloth napkin. Tell us the napkin colour you have in mind and we will confirm which sizes and qualities carry it.
Want to see how this looks on real napkins? Browse examples of our printed napkins, then send us the two names and the date. We come back with a free design and no commitment.
When to order: count back from the wedding night
The date that matters is when you approve the design and pay, not when you send us the names. The clock starts there:
- Design and changes. We send you the design and you ask for changes free of charge, up to two rounds. Leave a few days for this, because family names and dates usually get checked more than once.
- Approval and payment. This is where the delivery time starts.
- Delivery. 10 working days with FedEx Priority, or about 14 to 16 with Economy, UAE customs included.
We cannot promise a fixed date that depends on customs, which is why we recommend starting at least a month before the wedding. If the ink colour is critical, for example a gold that has to match the gold on the invitation, ask for a physical sample before we print the run. The sample is free; you pay only its shipping, as one small box (AED 506.40 Economy or AED 675.20 Priority). The sample needs its own time, so fit it inside that month.
That leaves the question everyone ordering from abroad asks: what will I pay when the parcel lands?
Shipping and customs: what you pay us and what you pay on arrival
We ship from our factory in Valencia, Spain, by FedEx on DAP terms. What you pay us includes shipping and export clearance in Spain. UAE import clearance, customs duty and import VAT are paid by the receiver on arrival. We do not charge VAT.
Shipping is priced per box, and we always use the smallest box your order fits in:
- Small box: AED 506.40 with Economy, or AED 675.20 with Priority.
- Large box: AED 590.80 with Economy, or AED 822.90 with Priority.
How many napkins fit in a box depends on the size and the paper quality. A box holds many more small 20×20 napkins than 40×40 napkins in 3-ply, so there is no single figure to quote. The calculator works it out for your exact order.
One practical tip follows from this: order all the wedding napkins at once. Two small orders mean two shipments, and the second one can arrive after the party. There is no free shipping and no express service, so time is the only safety margin you have.
Want the exact figure? Work out your order in dirhams with the price calculator: choose size, quality, printing and quantity, and it shows the product price, the printing plate if you pick Deluxe®, and the shipping.
For wedding planners: one order per couple
If you plan several weddings a season, each couple is a separate design, and each design starts at 100 napkins. That low minimum is what lets you offer napkins printed with the couple's names even at a small wedding, without anyone paying for stock that will never be used. Send us the date of each wedding with the order so we can schedule the design and delivery around it.
From Valencia to the wedding table
We have printed napkins in our factory in Spain since 1986, and we have printed napkins for more than 800 weddings. The design is on us and free, and you see the finished design before you pay anything.
Send us the couple's names, the wedding date and the number of guests, and we will come back with a design and a price, with no commitment. Get a free quote for your wedding napkins, or write to info@tuservilleta.com or WhatsApp +34 650 504 339.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum order for personalised wedding napkins?
100 napkins per design, whatever the size, the paper quality or the printing method. That is why printed napkins work even for a small wedding.
Is ordering two weeks before the wedding enough?
It can be, but it is tight. Delivery takes 10 working days with FedEx Priority or about 14 to 16 with Economy, counted from design approval and payment, UAE customs included. We cannot promise a fixed date that depends on customs, so we recommend at least a month.
Who pays customs duty and VAT?
We ship on DAP terms: what you pay us includes shipping and export clearance in Spain, and UAE customs duty and import VAT are paid by the receiver on arrival. We do not charge VAT.
Can you print the names in Arabic and in gold?
Yes. We print the design you send, in Arabic or any other language, and Deluxe® includes metallic gold and silver inks. If the colour is critical, we send a physical sample before printing the run.
How much do personalised wedding napkins cost?
The price depends on the size, the paper quality, the printing method and the quantity. Work it out in dirhams with the price calculator; FedEx shipping per box, the printing plate for Deluxe® and UAE import charges come on top. The final price comes confirmed with your free design.
Do I pay for the design?
No. The design is free, with up to two rounds of changes, and you see the finished design before you pay.