Essential Wedding Invitation Tips

Essential Wedding Invitation Tips


Weddings are among life's major and most memorable events. Because weddings are often such momentous occasions, most people want things to go perfectly when planning their own. The wedding invitations, including the save-the-date cards, are a crucial part of the planning process. Sending wedding invitations isn't as simple as sending invitations to a birthday party. There is a multitude of do's, don'ts, and traditions that one should understand. Fortunately, plenty of tips and guidance can help make this important step easier.

Send Save-the-Date Cards Up to 12 Months Before Your Wedding

One way to ensure a good turnout is to give friends and family enough advance notice. Save-the-date cards announce a couple's intention to wed on a specific date, say in which city, and state the wedding will be held. By sending them 12 months in advance, you'll give people plenty of time to make advance plans to attend.

Send Your Invitations Up to Three Months Prior

Invitations aren't the same as save-the-date cards and shouldn't go out too early or too late. People need time to decide if they'll attend, but given too much time, they may put it off or forget to respond. When sending out invitations, include RSVP cards with a deadline no later than four weeks before the wedding date. This is important to meet the final head count deadline for the caterer or venue.

Find Your Style

When planning the wedding, the couple needs to pin down a style that bests suits who they are as a couple, and this will extend to the invitations. A couple's style determines various factors, such as the font they choose and the paper, colors, and overall design of the invitations. Common invitation styles include rustic, modern, country chic, formal, or garden. To learn about style options, couples can search online for wedding invitation trends and create style boards featuring various wedding invitation ideas.

Set the Tone

While finding your wedding style, consider the tone you want to set. Some couples have playful and quirky invitations, while others prefer a more formal and traditional tone. Examples of invitation wording of either type can be found online.

Be Specific About Who's Invited

Vague or poorly written invitations can cause confusion and frustration for guests and couples getting married. This mistake can cause a higher or lower guest count than expected. Wording an invitation incorrectly can also make it look like someone isn't being invited, or it may unintentionally include someone who isn't. When addressing your invitations, list each invited person by name. If you think there might be any confusion, you can also indicate the number of people invited to the RSVP card.

Cover All the Details

Invitations should include all of the information that guests need. Not only should they confirm the date, location, and time of the ceremony and reception, but they should also include information about the dress code, accommodations, and how to get to the venue. If you find that this is too much information to fit onto your invitations, you can include the address of your wedding website and put some of the information there instead. Invitations may also include questions about guest dietary restrictions.

Add a Fun Question

Use invitations to involve guests in fun ways. Consider including a space for guests to write their favorite cocktail, song, or even their best wedding advice on each wedding invitation.

Request or Make a Sample

Before placing the final order for wedding invitations, get a sample from your printer so you can see exactly what you'll be getting before the full order is printed.

Review, Review, Review

Everyone makes mistakes, and often people have difficulty seeing the written errors they've made. Ask a family member or a member of the bridal party to look over the invitations to check for spelling or other errors that could prove costly or embarrassing.

Check the Postage

Don't make assumptions about the cost of sending out your invitations. Wedding invitations often use thicker paper and have many pieces, which can add to their weight. Unusually shaped invitations can also cost more to mail. For accuracy, go to the post office and have their weigh one completely assembled invitation, then buy enough postage to ensure that each one will arrive at its destination.

Purchase More Than You Need

Even the most carefully cultivated guest list may unintentionally leave out someone who should receive an invitation. It's also possible that you'll mess up one or two while addressing them. Ordering more invitations than you think you need will ensure you have enough.

Save Time on Addressing

One of the most time-consuming parts of sending invitations is addressing them. Although it can be a bonding moment with friends and family, it often feels like an extra chore for many. People with more casual wedding invitations may consider using a return address stamp to cut down the time needed for this tedious task. People with more formal or elegant invitations might consider hiring a calligrapher for the best presentation.

Create a Numbered Guest List

Receiving an RSVP without a name is a mystery that can be a headache. A simple way to avoid this is to create a master guest list that assigns a number to each guest. When sending out invitations, write the corresponding number on the back of each RSVP card. If you get one back without a name, you'll be able to look up the number and figure out whose it is.

Don't Worry if Someone Doesn't Fill Out Their RSVP Card Correctly

Some guests may ignore the RSVP card in favor of calling, texting, or emailing a response. Others may choose to respond in person. When this happens, it shouldn't be a point of concern. A response is a response regardless of how it's received. Just be sure to collect the necessary information, like how many people attend and which menu options they choose.

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