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Wedding Invitations
Your wedding invitation will provide guests with
a sneak peak at the event to come, and options abound to make a
striking first impression. The most traditional formal
invitations are printed on simple white or ivory paper in black
ink. But for more contemporary weddings, you might select
pretty papers, imprintable cards, three-dimensional decorations, and
interesting shapes and sizes.
Typically, the main card's dimensions are 5-1/2 X
7-3/8 inches for a folded sheet, or 4-3/8 X 5-3/4 inches for a
single. But feel free to be innovative.
Sending the Right Message
Using traditional language is the quickest way to
bring formality to your wedding invitation. From
punctuation placement (never, except for commas after the day of the
week or periods after abbreviations) to spelling nuances (honour and
favour are always spelled with a "u"), your invitation will
be as elegant as they come. Street addresses and zip codes,
need not be included in invitation text, except in the R.S.V.P.
Also, dates and times should be spelled out with the year omitted.
In a case where only some of the ceremony guests
are invited to a reception afterwards, separate cards saying Reception
immediately following and listing the location should be placed
in the envelope along with the main card. Otherwise, print Reception
immediately following directly on the main card. If you
are sending out invitations to the reception only to most guests, you
may want to include a ceremony card for those close friends and
family who are invited to this more intimate event.
In recent years, enclosing a response card with a
stamped return envelope has become a common practice. (Very formal
invitations, however, should simply be marked R.S.V.P. so that guests
can send a handwritten reply.) Unless all of your guests are
local, you'll also want to include directions to the ceremony and
reception sites. It's preferable to have these cards printed on
the same paper as the invitation, but you may use preprinted
directions provided by the sites.
Besides announcing your upcoming marriage, your
invitation needs to convey: who is hosting; the formality of the
affair; and the time, date, and location. The easiest way to
approach this is to follow etiquette rules, which provide time-tested guidelines.
Here are some examples designed to meet your
specific needs.
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When the bride's parents are hosting:
Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Rogers
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Elizabeth Jane
to
Gary James Michaels
at half after three o'clock
Holy Trinity Church
Wilmington, Delaware |
When one parent is deceased
and the living parent is hosting:
Mrs. Jonathan Rogers
requests the honour of your presence
at the marriage of her daughter
Elizabeth Jane
to
Gary James Michaels
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When one parent is deceased, but both are mentioned:
The honour of your presence is requested
at the marriage of
Elizabeth Jane Rogers
daughter of Jessica Rogers and
the late Jonathan Rogers
to
Gary James Michaels |
When the bride's parents are divorced and
remarried, but co-hosting:
Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Jones
and
Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Rogers
request the honour of your presence at
the marriage of their daughter
Elizabeth Jane
to
Gary James Michaels
NOTE: If one set of parents
are hosting, only their names appear |
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When both sets of parents are hosting:
Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Rogers
and
Mr. and Mrs. William Michaels
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their children
Elizabeth Jane Rogers
to
Gary James Michaels |
When the couple is hosting:
Elizabeth Jane Rogers
and
Gary James Michaels
request the honour of your presence
at their marriage
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When a relative is:
Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Rogers
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their niece
Elizabeth Jane Rogers
to
Gary James Michaels |
When the bride is divorced or a widow
and her parents are hosting:
Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Rogers
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Elizabeth Rogers Cowen
to
Gary James Michaels |
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When the bride, groom, or host has a military title:
Colonel (Ret.) and Mrs. Jonathan Rogers
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Elizabeth Jane
Lieutenant, United States Army
to
Colonel Gary James Michaels
United States Army
NOTE: The title of an
officer whose rank is equal or higher than a captain in the Army or
lieutenant in the Navy is placed next to the name with the branch of
service below. If the title (which may be abbreviated) is
ranked lower, it goes on the line below the name along with the
branch of service. High-ranking officers that are retired
should indicate (Ret.) after their titles. Reserve officers on
active duty may list the branch of service below their names, as
should non-commissioned officers and enlisted persons. |
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When the invitation is for a reception only:
Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Rogers
request the pleasure of your company
at the wedding reception of their daughter
Elizabeth Jane
to
Gary James Michaels |
When the bride or groom holds a doctoral degree:
Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Rogers
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Elizabeth Jane
to
Dr. Gary James Michaels |
Dealing with your Printer
Ordering your invitations 6 months before the
wedding is not too soon. Your printer will need at least 4
weeks to process the order, you'll want to allow yourself a month to
address them, and they'll need to be in the mail 6 to 8 weeks before
the wedding (no later than 8 weeks for out-of-town guests who must
make travel arrangements, 6 weeks for local guests).
How many invitations will you need?
Consider your guest list. Count one invitation per couple, one
for single guests, and one for children over age 18 in a family. Then
add an extra dozen for mementos, and 25 to 50 extra envelopes for mistakes.
The small envelopes for the reply card should
have the return address printed on the front, and for all outer
envelopes it's a good idea to have a return address printed on the
back flap. An alternative: Buy an embosser with the host's
address and stamp the return address on yourself.
Most invitations today are either engraved or
thermographed - two processes that yield similar results, but greatly
impact your budget. Traditional engraving is an expensive,
lengthy process in which letters are etched into paper. Thermography
is less costly and quicker: It creates raised print without indenting
the paper and is almost indistinguishable from engraving. Whatever
choice you make, insist that your printer give you a proof, and ask a
friend to read it, too.
Also, take a sample invitation to the post office
and have it weighed before you approve the print order, since the
cost of postage can significantly affect your invitation budget.
Signed, Sealed, Delivered
When your invitations are delivered from the
printer, you'll have to assemble the many components. With the
text facing up, all insertions are placed on top of the main
invitation in the following order: First, lay down the square of
tissue paper on top of the invitation (if you want - it's not really
necessary), then the reception card, followed by all other cards in
order of size. Next, slip the entire package into the un-gummed
inner envelope so that the text is facing the flap. Finally,
insert the un-gummed inner envelope (so that the guest's name is
facing the flap) into the outer, gummed envelope, which gets sealed.
When addressing your invitations, spell out
titles and degrees, and if both spouses hold doctorates, write
"Doctor Frank Jones and Doctor Betty Jones." If a
guest is in the military, it is customary to print his or her branch
of service under the name. When inviting a married couple
without special titles, write "Mr. and Mrs. Frank
Jones." If a couple is unmarried but lives together or is
married but have different last names, put their names on
separate lines in alphabetical order. If you are inviting an
unmarried couple that does not live together, each partner should
receive his or her own invitation.
It is unnecessary to include children's names on the outer envelope
of a wedding invitation. Instead, list them on the inner
envelope with their parents (Mr. and Mrs. Smith and
Bobby"). The absence of a child's name implies that he or
she is not invited.
Inner envelopes are addresses to "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"
without first names or addresses. Close relatives can be
addressed as "Aunt" or "Grandmother" on the inner
envelope only. If a single person is invited with an
unspecified guest, add "and Guest" to the inner envelope as well.
Finally, when you're ready to mail your wedding invitations, weigh an
assembled package for postage one last time before stamping.
And remember to ask your postmaster to hand cancel them. After
all the care you've taken to make them perfect, you want to be sure
they arrive in top condition. |
