Congratulations, you have chosen your life partner! Now, it’s the time to announce it to the world. It’s exciting to decide how your wedding invitations should be. There is a variety of designs, patterns, styles and types out there. Which one will you choose? Also, when to send out the invitations? There are a lot of factors to consider. Here are some tips that you may find useful.
1. Order in Person
Ordering your wedding invitations in person is always better. This eliminates the possibility of getting what you didn’t want. Ordering on phone increases the possibility of mistakes. While ordering online, make sure that you give them detailed instructions. Also make sure that the contract says that they will rectify mistakes for free.
2. Order Early
You may need at least two months for decide the design and to get the invitations printed. So, make sure that you start the process well ahead of time. Ordering the invitations beforehand saves you from stress and even money (for rush fees as well as expedited shipping). This also gives you time to decide and check all your components. You should work with your stationer and make the most of your bucks.
3. Creativity along with Clarity
Today there is a lot of scope for fun for couples with their save-the-dates and invitations, in the form of telegrams and invisible ink. Look for example, the Utah Wedding Announcements; some of the fabulous styles have been given in this article too and there are many more on their website.
If you want to be creative, make sure that you include all the essential information. In case of save-the-dates, the names of the bride and groom and the date should look the most prominent. You can also include a note that invitations will soon follow. You need not include the venue name; but you can include your wedding website’s URL, if you have one.
4. Beauty in Simplicity
While being stylish you should also remember the old phrase, beauty is in simplicity. So, keep it simple! Full names of you, your partner and the hosts (if you are not the hosts) should be included in the invitation. Other important things to include are venue and time. And that’s it! You should not include registry information in your invitation; family and friends can spread the word about it or you can include it in your website.
5. Guests’ Names
On the outer envelope, you should include your guests’ names. Here their entire names should be written. Married couples should be addressed as “Mr. and Mrs.” followed by the first and last name of the husband. It’s also perfect to write full names of both. But when the woman keeps her maiden name, it’s better to write her name first followed by the husband’s name.
If the wife is a doctor, then too, her name should come first followed by her husband’s name. If the husband is a doctor, the couple should be addressed as “Doctor and Mrs.” If both are doctors, they should be addressed as, e.g. “Drs. Mary and Jason Lawrence”.
A single woman (unless she is a doctor) must be addresses as “Ms.” If she is below 21, she should be addressed as “Miss”.
6. Never Give Too Much Notice
Typically save-the-dates can be sent out 3 to 4 months before the wedding. If your guests are spread far and wide or you are arranging a destination wedding, the earlier you send your destination wedding invites, the better. None of your guests will complain for getting extra time margin for planning. Sending invitations 6 to 8 weeks prior is perfect, with an RSVP 2 to 3 weeks beforehand so that you can get a correct final head count.
Follow these tips and you will enjoy announcing the most beautiful day of your life.
