Your invitations are the first peek your guests will have at the style of wedding you are planning. Because of this, many brides and grooms choose to include elements of their wedding, such as color scheme, images and font in the invitations to help give their guests an idea of what to expect. Spend some time considering all different options; including shape and size as these things can all affect what message you send to your guests. Standard invitations are 4.5 x 6.25 inches, but there are lots of options. Be warned, however, odd sized invitations and over-sized invitations may cost more in postage! You’ll want to get the measurements and speak to your post office before making a decision.
Choosing your wording is an important part of creating your invitations. In its most basic form, the invitation should cover:
request
relationship of bride to host
bride’s name
to groom’s name
day of the week, day and month of wedding
at time of wedding
location of wedding
city and state
reception indicator
Here are some basic wording samples to keep in mind when working on your wording for your invitation!
One set of parents hosting:
Mr. and Mrs. John H. Smith
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Susan Bridget
and
Henry Richard Butler
Both sets of parents jointly hosting:
Mr. and Mrs. John H. Smith
and
Mr. and Mrs. Richard M. Butler
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their children
Couple is hosting:
Ms. Susan Bridget Smith
and Mr. Henry Richard Butler
request the honor of your presence
at their marriage
Everyone is hosting:
Ms. Susan Bridget Smith
and Mr. Henry Richard Butler
together with their parents
Mr. and Mrs. John H. Smith
and
Mr. and Mrs. Richard M. Butler
request the honor of your presence
at their marriage
Depending on whether your invitation is casual or more formal you can play around with the wording a little bit, saying things like “request the pleasure of your company” or “invite you to share in the joy of the marriage of their children”. Don’t crowd your invitations with too much information and make sure that your invitations are easy to read. Use enclosure cards and your wedding website to provide extra information. Your invitation should cover the hosts, the couple’s names, the ceremony time and location, the dress code and the RSVP information. A quick reminder - don’t add an enclosure with your registry information. It’s just tacky.
Ordering all your stationery from one vendor will help to save you money, but save the dates need to be ready as close to the six month mark as possible, while invitations don’t need to be ready until 8 weeks before your wedding; destination weddings should have their invitations sent 10 to 12 weeks before the event! Make sure that when you order your invitations you have your RSVP date set to no more than 4 weeks after your invitations have been delivered. Any longer and guests may forget to send the cards back!
If you’re planning to have a calligrapher do your envelopes, you’ll want to pick those up as soon as possible so that they can get started. Avoid using address labels or printing your envelopes in your printer. Having them addressed by hand gives a better first impression. You can definitely do your envelopes yourself; especially if you have lovely handwriting, but make sure you do it in a few sessions rather than all at once.
Go through your guest list a few times and figure out how many households need invitations. You can save some money by cutting back there. Children who do not live at home and those over 18, however, should always get their own invitation. Be sure you order enough for your guest list plus 25 extras in case some get lost in the mail. You’ll also want to keep one or two for mementoes.
Weigh your invitation and all the enclosures before you stamp them so that you know you’re providing the right amount of postage. While you’re there, talk with your postal employees about hand-canceling your mail. This helps your invitations arrive in the best possible shape but sometimes can come with an extra fee that you'll want to be aware of!
Save the Dates
Save the dates should be sent as close to the six month mark as possible and are the first things you should have your stationer finish. It is perfectly acceptable to have these match the style of both your wedding and your invitation, but remember, the more elaborate the save the date the longer it will take for them to be ready!