The invitation season is fast upon us and I wanted to give everyone my top 10 tips. Here they are....
1: When calculating the number of invitations you'll need, it's a good idea to order at least 10% more than your initial count. There is a very good chance you'll have a few stragglers or need to hit up that B-list to fill your guest list.
2: If possible, send out your invitations around 2-3 months before your wedding and request replies 1 month before. This will give your guests plenty of time to finalize accommodations and travel as well as allow you to organize your reception.
3: As much as it is good etiquette to hand write your invitation envelopes, it is a very tedious task in regards to large weddings. In such cases, consider having the addresses printed for you. In addition to your guests addresses being more readable and your writing hand being less cramped, specific aspects of your invitation's design can be used to create an invitation package that stands out before its even opened!
4: Invitation wording is the most important part of your invitation. In fact, it IS the invitation. When creating the wording for your invitation, here are a few suggestions:
a. The wording should fit the occasion. If you are having a traditional wedding use traditionalwording. If you are having a contemporary wedding keep it contemporary.
b. When doing either invitation, consider who is involved with the wedding. If parents on either sideof the wedding are paying for it or at least helping, it is a always a good idea to include them in the invitation unless otherwise instructed.
c. Wedding are a very personal event. Unless you've decided to go strictly traditional make sure your invitations have as much character as you do. Make your guests know they are important enough that you're not just sending them an invitation, you want them to come.
5: Don't forget the stamp! When stuffing your invitations be sure to add postage to your RSVP envelope. Forgetting to do so would be in very poor taste.
6: Avoid having all your invitations returned to you stamped with "Insufficient Postage" ruining all your envelopes! Take invitations to the post office and be sure you get sufficient postage.
7: If you don't receive a reply from some guests by your reply date, don't hesitate to call them. It's important that you know how many are attending so you can budget accordingly.
8: If you want to include children as guests, write out their individual names on the addressed envelopes, or put "and family." For example:
Mr. and Mrs. Bob Simpson, Cathy and John
or
Mr. and Mrs. Bob Simpson and Family
If the children are older teens (say, 16 or older), you might want to send them an individual invitation, just like you would an adult.
If you don't want to include children at the ceremony, don't add their names or "and family" on the outside of the envelope. Although this violates the stricter laws of etiquette, you might even add something like, "Sorry, but children are not invited", "adults only" or a similar phrase to clarify. If you want to have children at the reception but not the ceremony, you could note this on the response card ... or on the invitation itself at the bottom.
9: If your wedding is going to actually be held on a beach or other outdoor area, be sure that you let your guests know this, so they can dress appropriately.
10: Double and even triple-check everything before it gets printed. Borrow another pair of eyes. This includes invitations, response cards, envelopes, wedding programs, and so on, whether you're doing them yourself or having them professionally printed. Search ruthlessly for spelling errors.
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