All About Wedding Invitation Etiquette
If you are anything like most people, wedding invitation etiquette isn’t something you’re well versed in. While the rules regarding invitation etiquette have relaxed quite a bit, especially over recent years, there are still a few basic protocols to follow.
Choosing Your Invitations
Choosing your wedding invitations is a rather important part of planning the entire event as it gives guests their very first glimpse of what to expect on the big day. The stationery or design you use says a lot about the two of you as a couple, and also gives friends and family the pertinent information they’ll need to attend.
Opt for an elegant, but easily readable font for the wording that fits your personality and style, and if the wedding has an overall theme, be sure the invitations reflect that. The invitations should be selected and ordered no later than two to three months before the wedding to give you enough time to assemble, address, and mail them. Some brides choose to order theirs just as soon as they’ve settled on a theme or decided on the formality of the wedding.
Wording for the Invitations
The very last thing you want to do when inviting someone to your wedding is to offend them or someone in their family. And, while you are inviting friends and family who care about you and would be understanding, you still want to take the time to make sure your invitations are worded correctly.
If the couple themselves is paying and hosting their wedding, their names should be first, while if one or both sets of parents are footing the bill, their full names should then appear first. If you have any doubts, consult an expert online or a company that specializes in wedding invitations.
Properly Assembling Your Invitations
Although other aspects of wedding invitation etiquette may have changed over the years, one thing remains the same - the order of assembly. Here’s how to properly assemble your invitations in their envelopes:
- First, count every piece to be sure you have no duplicates or missing parts so when you are finished you’ll know if every envelope is correct. To start, place an invitation with the right side facing up and put the piece of tissue paper on top of it.
- Next are the reception cards, if any, also facing up, followed by the response envelope placed upside down with the flap facing upward. The response card is slid under the flap face up, and any additional enclosures like directions to the reception should be next, also facing you.
- The pile should be placed in the inner envelope facing the back, and you’ll know you’ve done it correctly when the invitation can be pulled out and read without turning the envelope over. With the front facing you, place this envelope inside the outer one with its back facing you. This is done correctly when the outer envelope’s back faces you and the inner one can be pulled out with its front facing you as well.
When to Mail
Wedding etiquette dictates that invitations should be mailed approximately six weeks before the big day. While you don’t want to send them too early, a mistake many brides make, you don’t want to send them too late either. At the absolute earliest, wedding invitations may be mailed eight weeks ahead of time, or as late as four weeks, but no definitely later.
Remember, guests need time to make their own arrangements for attending the wedding, such as the travel and hotel accommodations if visiting from out of town, organizing child care if the wedding is an adults only affair, buying your gift and finding something to wear, and responding to the invitation before the required date.
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