The ring is on your finger and plans are under way! Now you just need to get your guest list finalized and start inviting them to your wedding. Below are just a few wedding invitation tips to get you started as you begin to officially invite your loved ones to celebrate your wedding! Check out BridalPartyTees.com for all your other wedding preparation needs! We have a HUGE selection of customizable gifts for your bridal party, bachelorette party tees, and more!
Save-the-Dates: Sending out a “save-the-date” about six months before the wedding has become an expected courtesy. With travel arrangements and busy schedules, giving your guests a heads-up on your wedding plans increases the chances that they will attend your wedding. Save-the-date invitations can also be a little more fun and casual than your actual wedding invitations! We have adorable customizable magnets that are perfect for you to upload a photo of you and your fiancé to act as a save-the-date and a keepsake!
How to Assemble Invitations: Sometimes wedding invitations already come folded, but if not, you should fold them like a book. If the cards are flat, then no worries! The fold should be on the left with the invitation text on top and the inside page blank. Enclosures such as maps are usually placed beneath the response card if the card is placed on top of the invite, or they can be tucked inside the invitation if it’s a folded card.
Include Reception Entrée Options: More and more caterers are requesting entrée preferences beforehand so that they know how much of a dish to prepare (chicken, fish, meat, vegetarian). You can have this information printed on the response card itself, or on a separate sheet that matches your invitations.
Hand-written Invitations: If you’re having a small, laid-back wedding with fewer than 50 guests it is perfectly acceptable to hand-write invitations. It doesn’t have to be written in calligraphy, just neat handwriting will do! You will save some cash by handwriting your invites, but you might not want to do that if your wedding is larger and more up-scale because it won’t match the style.
Including a Dress Code: If you want your guests to dress more formally, instead of writing “black-tie” on the invitations, write something along the lines of “black-tie invited” or “black-tie optional” so that your guests know that the wedding will be formal, and that they should dress appropriately-tux or no tux.
How to State the Time: If you will be getting married at 2:30 pm the traditional wording would be “Half after two o’clock”. However, if you think this sounds too stuffy and formal, you can certainly use “two-thirty in the afternoon” or “in the evening” if the wedding is later.
Reception-Only Invites: If you and your fiancé opt for a destination wedding and would like to host a reception after the wedding day your invitations would read :
Ann and Vincent Smith request the honor of your presence at a celebration of their marriage Saturday, the ninth of November at seven o’ clock Rob Roy Country Club Mount Prospect, Illinois
This way, guests will know that the wedding has already taken place.