One of the first, and most important, tasks that any bride to be can accomplish is taking planning their wedding invitations. Not only does this help you to know the number of guests to expect for the remainder of your big day, but it will also help you to develop a plan as to who you wish to celebrate your union with.
Continue reading The Importance of Wedding Invitation Etiquette
You have endless options to choose from when creating your wedding invitation. While you can be creative with words and make a remarkable invitation that allows your guests a sneak peek into what to expect, it is also necessary that it conveys all the essential information about your wedding. After all, this card is their go-to reference for everything related to the wedding; and you have to do it right.
To make things easy, we have created this checklist to help you make sure you haven’t left out any necessary details that your guests may seek.
Focus on the Four W’s
The basic idea of any invitation is to answer the four questions – Who, What, When and Where. Before you set off choosing stationery or making an impact with words, ensure that you explicitly answer all four of these questions, and the major portion of your invitation checklist is already covered!
Who: It is a good idea to start your invitation with the names of who is hosting the wedding (either your names or your parents names). Include the last names of both bride and groom in the card, so the guests clearly know whose wedding they’ve been invited to.
What: Next, inform them that the event is a “wedding,” using your choice of words.
When: To answer this question, cite the day, date and time of the event. You should either use a.m / p.m or in the morning / evening, to avoid any possible confusion.
Where: Provide the complete address of the location, including name of venue and street address, so your guests have no trouble locating it even when they are from out-of-town. You can add a location map as an insert, but since this can get lost it is ideal to have the address in the body of the invitation itself. If both the wedding and the reception are at the same venue, you can use a single invitation. Else, a separate card for each event, which clearly lists the specific venue address would be the sensible approach.
Guide to the Type of Ceremony
Specifying this will allow your guests to know whether they are to attend a formal ceremony in a house of worship, or an informal one. Leave no scope for confusion on whether they are invited to the wedding ceremony, or only to the reception. It also helps if you indicate whether it is a black-tie event or a casual ceremony, so they can dress appropriately.
Reply Request
It is a good idea to encourage your guests to confirm attendance, by clearly asking them on your invitation card. For this, include an R.S.V.P line on the lower left corner of the card, with the correspondence address, email or phone number cited clearly. Specify the month and date by which they should respond, so you have time to plan the rest of the arrangements.
Once you’ve accounted for all these details in your wedding invitation, enjoy selecting fancy stationery and spurning words to create a charming invitation. Best for Bride is your one-stop destination for the perfect selection of invitation cards to help you with this. Visit us to find invitation cards, and everything else you need for your wedding.
“Your invitations set the tone for your wedding”, is perhaps the most common and redundant phrase you will hear while you and your betrothed scrupulously plan that once in a lifetime milestone celebration. Your invitations are a reflection of your personalities and a visual representation of your love. Thus, they not only provide your guests with the first glimpse of this special day but they also set the expectations. A word of advice, don’t delay or skimp out on the most important preview of this spectacular day.
Having worked as a seasoned bridal consultant for 4 years and a wedding invitation shop manager for 2 years in my past life, I have quite a bit of insight into the planning process. Aside from the romantic notions, there are some very practical reasons why your invitations should be at the top of your wedding planning checklist. For the next 6-12 months your invitations will serve as your guide for almost every aspect of your wedding planning. I suggest getting your invitations 4-6 months before the wedding date. Turnaround and production time generally takes 1-2 months and you want to make sure your guests have plenty of time to make arrangements in their schedule for your special day. If you are having a destination wedding, send out your invites or a save-the-date card 1 year prior to your wedding day.
What is more important, however, is that by creating a custom invitation with a professional designer, you can nail down the look, theme, and colour scheme for your wedding. This “wedding scheme” is like an inspiration board of all your ideas, which will be required for almost every aspect of your planning. For example, many cake artists will ask you for the invitation as the inspiration for a cake. How will you coordinate your bridesmaids’ dresses? Nowadays brides are stepping away from the conformities of a single colour and choosing to do an ombré effect with their bridesmaids wearing various transitional colours. What about your bridal gown accessories? Will your shoes match your bridesmaids’ dresses or your bouquet? Or perhaps you want to match your groom’s accessories to your own, and the bridesmaids’ accessories to the groomsmen? And don’t forget the colour of your bouquet(s) and flower decorations. Decisions, decisions! All of these elements make up the look and feel of your wedding. All of these should reflect you and the groom on that special day.
Enter your multifaceted fairy-godmother bridal guru. Yes I am boasting, but ask any of my brides and they will confirm that their planning became a lot simpler after contacting me for invitations. I will become your personal wedding planning advisor. Once we sit down with your ideas, I will help you conceptualize your bridal vision. The invitations will become your mini inspiration board and will serve as a guide and help you make decisions in all the other items on your checklist. I am here to make your life a lot simpler and the process enjoyable.
Here are some helpful hints from White Dove about invitations, but if you are a bit overwhelmed with all the above aforementioned, please do take a breather, maybe grab a latte?
Here goes…
It’s a simple equation:
order invitations early = receive replies early = save money and your nerves
Hope these tips are helpful! Just remember, you only have one opportunity to make a first impression, so make it count.
Xo xo,
Alexandra
Invitation artisan for White Dove Invitations
