Wedding Invitation Basics

I often get asked many of the same questions about the parts of a wedding invitation, including how invitations should be worded, what to include in the envelope, and so on, so here are some of the most commonly asked questions, summed up for all the brides out there!

Wedding invitations have come such a long way in the last ten years, which is so exciting for the modern bride.  The typical wedding invitation used to be extremely plain but thankfully today there are so many options for invitations that let couples infuse their individuality into the stationery of their big day.  There are still, however, basic guidelines for wedding invitation wording and information, that should be at least slightly adhered to.  

 1. Invitation Wording

While a wedding invitation gives the basic details, such as who, what, when, and where, it also sets the tone for the ceremony and celebration to follow. The invitation should provide a sense of the formality of the event, thus giving guests an idea of how to dress. This is done both by the design of the invitation, and also by the wording. The wording should also note the hosts, either by stating 'Mr. and Mrs. Travis Sullivan invite you to the wedding of their daughter...' or 'Sarah Elizabeth and Michael John together with their families invite you to...'. There are many different options for this part of the wording, but it is largely based on who is hosting the wedding and the formality of the event.

Next up on the wedding invitation is the date. Typically the date should be spelled out, and the year should be written without an 'and' (ex: two thousand eleven, not two thousand and eleven). The reasoning behind this technicality is that in writing numbers, 'and' signifies a comma, and there is no comma when writing the year 2011, so the 'and' should be omitted. The time of the ceremony is normally spelled out with 'in the afternoon' or 'in the evening' following.  Periods, abbreviations and zip codes should not be included on a wedding invitation.

2. Response Postcards

Also in the invitation envelope is a response card and envelope, or more popularly, a response postcard. A response postcard is really a great option for a few reasons; it's eco-friendly (eliminating the need for an extra envelope), it saves on the cost of the extra envelope, and mailing a postcard is less expensive than a traditional small envelope. The response card can contain and request any information you'd like. Traditionally it will contain an area for the guests to write their names, and select whether or not they plan to attend, in addition to requesting a date that the response be returned by. These are really the three most basic parts of a response card. You can, however, add anything else to this such as requesting guests to choose a meal for the wedding, requesting a favorite song choice, or additional information if you are planning a destination wedding or if many of the guests will be coming from a different state.

The back of the response postcard (or the front of the response card envelope) should contain a mailing address and a stamp, so the guests simply need to fill in the response card and drop it in the mail. This address can be of the bride, the bride and the groom, the hosts, or whomever plans to keep track of responses, which could be someone else such as the maid of honor. 

Any other insert cards or information can be included in the envelope, such as hotel accommodation information, rehearsal dinner information, or a weekend itinerary if you're planning a weekend wedding! If you have a large amount of information you'd like to convey to your guests discuss this with your invitation designer, as they may have suggestions to keep everything neat and organized such as using a pocketfold, or turning your invitation into a booklet invitation.

3. Mailing Envelope

Last up is the mailing envelope, which is really the simplest part of the whole invitation process. Back when wedding invitations used to be delivered by messenger, inner and outer envelopes were used to protect the inner envelope. Butlers would receive the invitation, remove the outer envelope, and deliver just the inner envelope to the head of the household. Things have of course drastically changed since these times, and there really isn't the need for an outer envelope, particularly given the eco-friendly world we now live in.

The back flap is, typically, where the return address is printed. The names and address printed here should be of the hosts, and should match the look and feel of the rest of the invitation suite. The front of the envelope is of course where the guest's name and address will be written or printed. Calligraphers are a fantastic option for this part of the invitation, as calligraphy can add a great element of formality and uniqueness to your invitations. Another great option is to have the guest addresses printed by your invitation designer, which can often be a more cost effective option. Also, receiving the invitations from your printer all ready to be mailed can be a great time saver for the super busy brides out there.

So while that was a lot longer than I had intended, I think this covers the basic invitation questions brides seem to have. And while I certainly didn't go into detail on the proper way to address envelopes (that could be an entire book), I will be sure to cover that in another blog post. I hope this answered any questions you may have about the main components of a wedding invitation! And if not, please feel free to email me: brittany@cricketprinting.com. Thanks and happy wedding planning!