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Invitation Etiquette

Although they are not your first concern when planning a wedding, your invitations are the first thing your guests will see. Sometimes an invitation is your guest’s only indication of what to expect of your wedding. Today, it is appropriate to send wedding invitations that are strictly traditional or very modern, extremely ornate or clean and simple. The choice is yours, however, it is best to send an invitation which reflects the theme and style of your event.

Whether you choose to go all out and have custom invitations designed or simply have your invitations custom printed you will inevitably run into a few issues of propriety and logistics. The invitation may seem like one of the easiest parts of your wedding planning, however all brides inevitably run into invitation problems. We have assembled a few helpful tips and guidelines to help you avoid headaches!

Time is of the essence.
It is important to send invitations to guests early enough that they may make arrangements for your wedding. It is best to send out-of-town guests that will have to make extensive travel and lodging plans a Save-the-Date card to give them extra time to make their arrangements. Guests should receive their invitations 6-8 weeks before your wedding, which means that you should order them for 3-5 months before your wedding. You will need the time for preparing, addressing, and mailing the invitations. If you plan on using a calligrapher ask in advance how much time they will require to address the invitations.

On being polite
Mature children living away from home should receive their own invitations, as should children over the age of 16 living with their parents. If your ceremony and reception are family events you may list the names of children after their parents names, or simply add “and family”. If you do not want children at your event simply state that the event is an adult event, or specify how many seats you have reserved for the adults who are attending. Guests who are not married should be given the option of bringing a guest. Simply and “and guest” after their name.

Your invitation should contain lots of information.
The invitation package you send your guests should include all information guests will need for the event. This is especially true for larger weddings. The invitation itself should announce who is hosting the wedding, the names of the bride and groom, exact time, date and location of ceremony and reception, as well as RSVP information. Map cards, menu cards, postage paid response cards, pew cards, and other inserts may be included as you wish.

Keep track of your guests
Many of your guests will probably have terrible handwriting or forget to include their name on the response card. This will make keeping track of your RSVPs a nightmare. We recommend putting a small number on the back of the response card and keeping a list with all the numbers and their corresponding guests. This may seem like a hassle when preparing the invitations, but will be well worth it when sorting through guest responses. If any of your guests have not sent you their response a week after the date you requested it then it is very acceptable to call and confirm their attendance.

Don’t forget to…
Order extra invitations, envelopes, and inserts. We recommend about 15-30, more if you are having a very large wedding. Ordering extra invitations after your original printing can be extremely costly. There will inevitably be mistakes made when addressing envelopes so order plenty of extras. Many calligraphers will require a specific amount of extras, so make sure and ask before you place your order.

Wedding invitations, if done right, can be the stress free part of your wedding planning experience. Enlist the help of a wedding planner, your mother, or members of your bridal party to help with the process. Invitations.ca has many great custom wedding invitation designers and printers that can help make your invitations one of a kind.