Your wedding day has been decided and you have to send out the wedding invitations. Your wedding invitations are what attracts a person first and is the only source to lure your guests to come to your wedding. You could invest a lot or just enough and still have the perfect invitation cards. The announcement of your D-day should come with a bang, but then not push away guests. An attractive wedding invitation would give a hint to the guest as to how your wedding would appear to be. Entice them, buy knowing the wedding invitation etiquettes listed below.
1. Decide the budget
This is the most vital ingredient of any planning. Since wedding incurs a huge expense, it is always recommended to allot a specific amount for your wedding invitations – the design, printing costs, envelope costs, mailing costs, etc., should be considered while allocating the budget.
2. Choose the design
Wedding invitations are printed only once, and hence, take sufficient time in finalizing the design and concept of these invitations. If you have planned a theme wedding, then choose the designs which indicate that you have a themed-wedding. It could be colors, a specific pattern, or anything of your choice. Choose the wedding invitation designs within the pre-allocated budget. Use a plain and simple font with a shiny color to type the invitations. It is advisable to choose the font color which will be in contrast to the card color. For example, if you have chosen pink color cards, then choose a deep maroon or bright red color font.
3. Order the invitations
It is very essential to order the wedding invitations at least 3 to 4 months before the D-day. This will give you sufficient time to check the invitation wordings and get them corrected. Ask them to offer your thermographed invitations, as the backsides of the invitations remain smooth and your wordings will have a shimmery appeal. As a thumb rule, always order 25 percent more than the exact number of invitations you require. Have a few extra envelopes also handy to compensate for any addressing errors. You must make sure that the number of invitations coming your way are sufficient as you may just remember someone out of the blue too.
4. Include all the wedding information in the card
Consider the wedding invitation as your tote. It should furnish all the information with respect to the wedding – the venue, bride/groom names, wedding host names, date, day, time, address, and phone numbers. You can also include a small road map, so that guests will find it easier to find their way. You would have received many gifts from the guests during your engagement. Add a word of appreciation about the gifts and thank your guests for their gesture. Keep this personal and handwritten note along with the invitation card. It is recommended to spell out everything in the wedding invitation in a formal way. Never include something like 10.00 a.m, instead, it should be written as Ten o’clock in the morning.
5. Write the addresses
Always write the addresses on your envelopes. You can hire a calligrapher to write the address. Hand over the typed address list of your guests to the calligrapher to avoid typos. Proofread the envelopes before proceeding.
6. Carefully mail the invitations
If possible, request the postman to handle the wedding invitations carefully. Passing them via a stamping machine can spoil all the effort. Check the weight of invitations and attach the required postage stamp. Insufficient postage stamp can hamper your wedding plan. The invitation card should along with a thank you note. You could give a personal touch to the envelopes with a ‘Love stamp’. There is a good collection at the U.S. Post Office website.
7. Sign, seal, and deliver
Always send out the wedding invitations 10 to 12 weeks before the wedding invitations so that it reaches everyone on time. For local invitees, send the invitation 5 to 7 weeks before. Whenever you plan your wedding invitations, keep this basic stuff in your mind. It is ideally said, ‘What you sow, so you reap!”. Hence, make sure that you have done everything in a careful way. Remember, happy guests bring in lots of happiness and merry to the D-Day. All the best!
