A Wedding Invitation Primer

You have heard about it your whole life, watched movies, took part in the ceremony of others, but you have not had the opportunity to prepare for your own wedding until now. It can be overwhelming at first; so many things to do and many questions to be answered. An ostensibly easy task may turn into a production without proper guidance. The following article addresses elements regarding wedding invitations. After reading, take your stronger confidence along with to the next step in wedding preparation.

Wedding Invitation Tip #1 - Parts of the invitation

There are individual parts to the wedding invitation. A couple can decide if all parts are needed, or if some are unnecessary. The separate components are as follows:

• Wedding invitation - Provides information about the wedding ceremony and sometimes the reception
• Directions - Provides information regarding different locations of the wedding day
• Outer envelope - Gets addressed, stamped, and contains other pieces to the invitation
• Response set - Includes cards so guests can respond and pre-stamped return envelope
• Save-the-date - This is a preliminary notification that is sent before the invitations
• Reception card - Includes reception details

Wedding Invitation Tip #2 - When do I order the invitations?

Do you desire custom-designed invitations or a boxed set? The former can take up to six months to create, so it is necessary to be aware of time. Remember, you want to order six months before you want invitations in the hands of guests, not six months before the wedding date! For boxed sets, order about three months before you intend to send them out.

Wedding Invitation Tip #3 - Assembling for mailing

The following is an efficient way to assemble the parts of the invitation for mailing:

• Start with the invitation facing upwards
• Place the reception card (face up also) on top of the invitation
• Place the response card under the response envelope and place on the reception card
• Put directions and other extras on top next
• Place all components in inner envelope so print is visible when envelope is opened
• Put the unsealed inner envelope and contents into the outer envelope
• Ensure the seals of both envelopes are facing the same direction before sealing outer envelope

Wedding Invitation Tip #4 - Order extras

Make sure to order some extra invitations in the event that an error, such as a misspelling, occurs. Invitations are normally sold in counts of twenty five, so it may be a good idea to order an entire extra bundle of twenty five.

Wedding Invitation Tip #5 - Money saving ideas

• More means more money. You can decide to go with just the bare minimum (invitation, response card and envelope, and outer envelope), or add the extras. The more extra implemented, the higher the cost.
• Embellishments cost more money. Specialty paper and quality inks raise the final cost as well as ribbons, wax stamps, and bellybands.
• Labor costs money. Laser printing costs less than calligraphy, engraving, and letterpress services.
• Remember, the decision is yours. All couples are different; you may decide that the invitations are of paramount importance or that they are only of peripheral importance. Most wedding planners theorize that wedding invitations should only account for less than five percent (sometimes as little as two percent) of your total wedding budget.

Wedding Invitation Tip #6 - Wording

There is a traditional and modern way of addressing guests.