Wedding Invitation Guide for Dummies

When to Order the Stationery

The stationery is essentially the first introduction your guests will have to your wedding’s look. Think of it as the teaser trailer of weddings, you can tell so much of the ambiance you’re aiming for. The stationery should be coordinated and will encompass everything you will be sending; from save the date cards, engagement party invites and RSVP cards all the way to the guest’s place cards, ceremony booklets and programs, all depending on what you are going to need. They should be well thought and with plenty of time as to order and send each piece. All in all, stationery should be ordered six to twelve months in advance which will give you sufficient time to have each piece ready for their determined use by the time you need it.

Should There Be a Certain Color Theme for the Invitation?

If you’re already set on your stationery, this should include your wedding invitations to go along in coordination. Otherwise, the color or theme for the invitations depends widely on that of the actual wedding. The invitations should be in line with whatever color scheme you have chosen to go for in your wedding or if the season takes play in the theme of the event, you may consider using flowers, leaves or cool colors. Accessories on the invitation will all depend on the style of your wedding and what you’re going for; more on the actual content of the invitations are detailed further in this wedding invitation guide, so keep reading. Always remember to order more than you need for last minute guests, accidents or keepsakes.

When to Send the Wedding Invitations?

Wedding invitations are typically sent four to eight weeks in advance to allow your guests to plan ahead. If you ordered you invitations six months in advance there will be no problem getting these bad boys out on time.

The upside to a thousand-plus-year-old tradition is that many have been standing exactly where you stand now. The work is cut out, it just has to be done!

In this wedding invitation guide we’ll stick to the most common structure used in most weddings. They include the following sections:

1. Host

2. Request

3. Bride and Groom names

4. Date, time & location

5. Reception location

6. RSVP

You may stray from these if you wish, but they are the most common elements used in most invitations. So let’s take a look at these one at a time:

• Host Section

  The host line is a thank you of sorts. It can be interpreted as an acknowledgement of the parent’s efforts and help with the wedding. In “ye olde days” the host was the parents of the bride who financed the entire event, however in a post-modern world we now live, it can be addressed to both sets of parents.

• Request Section

  In this line we’ll include what our hosts are requesting. Whether it is to “Cordially invite” or “Request the honor of your presence” to the marriage of the couple. If you decide to go with the word, take note that “Honour/ed” indicates the ceremony will be held in a church and “Honor/ed” for one not held in church.

• Bride and Groom Name’s Section

  In this section you would include the bride and groom’s full name. Customarily, the bride’s name will precede the groom’s.

• Date, Time & Location Sections

  As the title says, this will be the where and when of the ceremony.

• Reception Location Section

  This is used if the reception will be held in a different place after the ceremony and will indicate the location. This can be included either on the invitation itself or as an additional card in the envelope.

• Instruction Section

  This section will carry any instructions necessary for the guests to know, such as limited attendance, or dress code: casual, black tie, etc.

• RSVP Section

  This section is provided for each guest to formally mail back their response regarding their attendance to the event.

Other than the invitation itself, the invitation package may include separate additional documents such as the response card and envelope for guests to reply back with their attendance, a map or direction slip, registry information, plus any other information or document the attendees will need.

The final and most important step to your invitation’s success is to send them out! Now get your materials together before you start. Put these things together:

• Envelope for mailing.

• Envelope for the invitation itself, with names of the invited guests.

• The wedding invitation and the vital inserts!

• The map to your wedding and reception.

• Some tissue paper to line the envelope neatly and elegantly, protecting the high quality print job.

Once you have them all together, you can begin stuffing the envelope. Start by wrapping the invitation, inserts, and map with tissue paper. With the papers facing upwards, slip the papers into the envelope. If you have reply cards and envelopes, arrange properly and make it the foremost insert. 

Leave the envelope unsealed for easier and smoother access, but double check that the outer envelope for mailing is sturdy and secure as well. The invitee’s name and address can either be manually written in ink or printed and most often formally addressed to the household instead of a specific person.

 Once all this is done you can seal the outer envelopes up, send the invitations off and have a glass of wine. Hope you find this wedding invitation guide useful.