Do's and Dont's of wedding invitations?

Question

No explanation needed, just advice would be helpful, anything is great, thanks!

Answer 1

Do: Make rules about the guest list and stick to them, no exceptions. If you and your partner decide not to invite coworkers, then no coworkers, no ifs ands or buts. Include something about both families on the invitation even if they aren't contributing financially. I've heard horror stories about parents threatening not to attend just because they didn't get a mention on the invite. Its just an invitation, no one needs to know who's forking out the dough anyway. Include accurate turn by turn directions (including approximate mileage and easy land marks) from local hotels where your guests may be staying with the invitation. Hand drawn maps are usually confusing and difficult to read for those not familiar with the area. Give yourself plenty of time with RSVP's. Don't make the respond deadline to close, because people straggle sending them back in and you want to give yourself time to make phone calls if you need to.

Don't: Include any registry, gift preference, or cash request information in your invitation. That's a big huge ettiquette no no, and the pet peeve of many many people. While gifts may be customary, they are not required and any information in the invitation regarding gifts implys that you expect them, which would be rude as hell. Don't worry about choosing a super fancy invitation. Classic and simple will do. People will mark the date on their calendars and then throw them away. Not the place to waste money. You don't necessarily want to go cheap with them, but they don't need to be a huge chunk of your budget. Don't forget to include reception information, directions to ceremony and reception venues and some sort of indication of the formality of attire you expect. Often, the invitation and time of day is enough to indicate formality, but if you want black or white tie, this is the place to indicate that. If you need guests to choose a meal selection, don't forget to include that on the RSVP card. Don't expect everyone to reply with their RSVP info in a timely manner. In general, people are horrible at RSVPing. You'll probably have to make phone calls to get an accurate count, so give yourself time for that.

Other than that, good luck and have fun. That's pretty much all I can think of right now, but there are articles on theknot.com that talk about invitation ettiquette, how to cut down the guest list, and invitation wordings. Check them out if you have any more questions.
http://www.theknot.com/sf_invitationwording.shtml
http://www.theknot.com/keywords/sc_221_525.shtml

Answer 2

No. That's so rude. Why would you announce to your family that you're getting married but dont want to invite them to the wedding. No, you wait until after your married and then you can send like "We've moved" cards telling them your new address. Better yet, invite your family to your wedding.

Answer 3

-You do NOT need an inner envelope.
-DYI. Michaels, Target, Office Depot have great invitations if you have a good computer and printer.
-Response envelopes... Put their return address on as well as the address that you are having the RSVP's going to, that way if they forget to put their name on the response card, you know where it is coming from. Also put a stamp on the RSVP.
-Instead of RSVP cards/envelopes, try postcards! Even easier to send back than the envelopes.
-DON'T put anything about gifts or registries on the invites.
-Put the time 30 minutes prior to the actual ceremony time.
-Have the RSVP date 1 1/2 months prior to the wedding date. This way you have an extra week to call up non RSVP-ers to get their tally and get it to the caterer/ceremony/reception site.
-The Knot has an excellent Guest List spreadsheet. Also helps with seating and gift stuff.
-Attire, PLEASE put this on the invite. We forgot to and plan on putting it in our reminder package closer to the date.
-Directions Insert... An insert with directions/addresses/phone numbers, etc

Answer 4

Invitations are the first thing your guests see related to your wedding, so they should really emanate a sense of what your wedding is like-will it be formal? Have the wording be formal as well as the typeface and the layout. Choose colors that are more serious and elegant. Is it informal? Have the wording be warmer with more modern typeface and cheerful colors. Is there a flower that is dominant in the decor? (I.E. hydrangea), then accent it with that flower image.

Have fun with it-invitations can be just as big a part of your day as any other detail. :)

Answer 5

DO - Make it simple and elegant, make sure that if you are having a formal wedding that you don't have a casual invitation and vice versa. The invite sets the tone for the wedding for the guests and is their first idea of what to expect. Send them out 8 weeks before, no more or less.

DON'T - Mention gifts or registry. Don't list a ton of names for parents if the family has been victim to divorce, keep it simple. Don't have Cinderella or some other character on it, it's a ceremony celebrating marriage, not a girl's 5th birthday party invite.

Answer 6

Ultraformal wedding . . all the invitations and stationery are engraved

Formal wedding . . engraved, letter press or thermographed invitations

Semiformal wedding . . invitations and stationery are less formal and more decorative and/or contemporary in design .. . thermographed or letter press are preferred methods of printing

Informal or casual wedding . . handwritten, home computer generated, flat printed or thermographed decorative or contemporary invitations are appropriate

The request line "the honour of your presence" should only be used if you are getting married in a house of worship or on sanctified ground (meaning holy or sacred). If you are getting married at some other setting (country club, park, museum, historical site, someone's home) the request line should read "request the pleasure of your company."

For your information . . most "home computer generated" wedding invitations are done incorrectly or have mistakes (misspellings, shortened names, incorrect abbrevations, wrong street address, etc).

Always buy twenty-five more invitations than you need.

A wedding invitation sets the tone or determines the formality of your wedding to your guests. Many wedding guests determine "how much money they are going to spend on your wedding gift" by the style and formality of your wedding invitation.

Answered by: A Certified wedding specialist / A Professional bridal consultant / A wedding ceremony officiant

Answer 7

-Keep the words short and sweet - don't ramble
-Don't include ANYTHING about gifts - including where you're registered, that you'd prefer cash over gifts, etc
-The exception to the above is if you don't want gifts - then say something like "your presence on our special day is the only present we want"
-The return and RSVP address should be the bride's name and address
-Send them out 2 months before the wedding and set an RSVP date 2 weeks before the wedding
-Don't forget to put a stamp on the RSVP envelope!
-Use colours you'll be using in your wedding
-You can state the formality if you wish. IE: "black tie (or informal, casual, etc) reception to follow"

Answer 8

Be sure and go into great detail about everywhere you are registered. If you would prefer money, be very specific.

Hahahahha I couldn't resist! Don't DARE mention money or gifts on an invitation.

Answer 9

do
put dress
casual, formal....etc

do have directions

set the time half an hour earlier on the invite... people are always late!

dont

use a font that people cant read
if you are inviting people that are single or are often in and out of relationships DONT put there x flings name as the partner, just put "james & partner"

Answer 10

Keep the writing short, simple and straight to the point. don't make the wording too long.
Use neutral colours (cream/gold/silver etc) and choose a nice font for the writing.
GOOD LUCK and CONGRATS!