Invitation Etiquette

Congratulations! You are now engaged and you have begun to plan for your wedding day.

It is important to send out save the date cards so your wedding date will remain a visual reminder to your loved ones each day. While your family and friends are rejoicing with you on your engagement and anticipating the occasion, you will have to contemplate the wedding invitation. Where to begin? It is an enormous task, but it is a blissful experience and will set the tone of your event.

A wedding invitation serves as a way to express the bride and groom's distinctive taste, communicate important details of event; when, where, time, basically the formalities.

If you are not planning a wedding that is expecting guests to attend, then you will want to send a wedding announcement. A wedding announcement is sent after the event has taken place.

Wedding Style
What is your distinct style? A wedding invitation should reflect your own style and should set the tone of the wedding itself. An invitation should be able to reflect whether the wedding will be formal, traditional, contemporary, casual or somewhere in between. There are a variety of paper styles, writing fonts, graphics and printing options to assist with defining your style.

Key factors:

• Determine your style
• Determine you budget
• Determine your timeline

Decide on what additional types of stationery you will need:

• Reception Cards
• Accommodation Cards
• Table assignment Cards
• Menu Cards
• Directions
• Place Cards
• Programs
• Schedule of Events

Order Invitations

Usually, 3-6 months before the event. You want to give yourself ample time to avoid mistakes, rushing and shipping fees.

How many invitations to order

Rule of thumb: Always order more than you need – order 25 additional envelopes for errors that are made when addressing invites and 15 extra invitations for last minute invites and keepsakes.

When to Send Invitations

6 - 8 weeks before the wedding

• Will you have guests coming from out of town and needing accommodations?
• Is your wedding on a holiday?
• Is it a destination wedding?

Who receives an invitation?

One invitation per:
Parents
Family with children under 18
Couple (married or living together)
Each child 18 or older (still living at home)
Single guest
Significant other of aforementioned single guest
Each attendant

Wording the invitation:

Composing the wording of an invitation can be challenging, especially if you come from a blended family (divorced parents), or the location of the event (church, home, or garden).

Simple Guidelines When Wording Invitations

• If you are using Mr. and Mrs. for one set of parents, use it for everyone.
• If you are spelling out the date, spell out all numbers.  The year is not essential to include. Times are written in lowercase.
• Do not use abbreviations:  spell out street, boulevard, avenue……
• Punctuation is used to separate city, state or day, date or Mr. Mrs.
• If you are using the British spelling of honour, use favour for the reply card.  American spelling of honor, use favor for the reply card.
• Dr.,(honorariums) military titles need to be spelled out: i.e. Doctor Robert  Garrison (If both Mr. and Mrs. are medical doctors: The Doctors’ Garrison)
• Religious differences –for a wedding that takes place outside a place of worship commonly use “request the pleasure of your company.”  A wedding that occurs in a religious setting can read “request the honor of your presence.” 

Choosing the correct invitation wording should depict the formality or essence of your wedding day.

Faux Pas

It is considered improper to state on an invitation that no children are invited to an event. A more diplomatic option would be to just let word of mouth make your wishes known. Remember, clearly specifying who should attend your event will be clearly stated on the invitation.

It is considered inappropriate to mention gifts or where you are registered for gifts on the invitations.  An insert of where you are registered is considered more acceptable.

Helpful Tips

• Make sure you have the correct date for your event before printing your invitations.

• Take a completely assembled invitation to the post office so you are conscious of the postage cost.  Do not forget the additional postage required for reply cards.  Most importantly, purchase complimentary looking stamps that will look nice with your invitations.