Do make your own invitations if you have the time and are looking for areas to cut costs. With do-it-yourself invitations you are not limited to what the stationer has to offer and you have complete creative control over the paper, fonts, colors and embellishments. You can buy blank stationary and design your invitation from scratch, or you can purchase a wedding invitation kit. If you do not have access to a high quality printer you can still save money by designing your own invitation and taking your design to a local copy center to be printed.

Don’t use your new monogram on your invitations or any other pre-wedding stationary or decorations. Save your married monogram for post-wedding activities like the reception and thank-you cards.

Don’t print “adult reception”, “adults only” or any other variation on your invitation. The way you address the invitation should make it clear who is and who is not invited to the wedding.

Do print the dress code on the invitation if it is a formal affair (i.e. black tie, black tie optional, etc.)

Don’t include registry information on your invitation or any of the insert cards. Registry information should only be included in the bridal shower invitation and spread by word of mouth by your family and the bridal party.

Do address the envelopes prior to inserting the invitations to avoid indentations or ink marks on the invitation.

Don’t worry about hand writing the addresses on the envelopes. Traditionally, all addresses were hand written, however some modern couples are opting to have the addresses printed directly onto the envelopes to cut costs and save time.

Do visit www.usps.com and browse through their inventory of stamps to find a stamp that fits your wedding style and theme. 

Do call guests if you have not received a response by the deadline. Don’t automatically assume that they are not coming, they may have simply forgotten to send back the response card.


 
 
If you have room in your budget, consider hiring a calligrapher to address your inner and outer envelopes. Calligraphy will add an extra touch of elegance to your invitations as well as save you some time.
When deciding on a calligrapher factor in the cost and timeliness. As with other vendors, ask to see a sample of their work. When looking at their samples pay attention to the consistency of their work, the pen strokes, the weight and the spacing of the letters.

Also ask how long it will take to complete your invitations. Generally speaking, it can take between 10-14 days to address 100 invitations, however the time varies based on the number of invitations and the complexity of your order.

Once you have made your final decision, provide your calligrapher with a list of addresses in the format that they request. Don't forget to proofread your guest list before you give it to the calligrapher. When you receive the completed envelopes from the calligrapher check and double check each envelope to ensure all names and addresses are spelled correctly.



Share |
 
 
We just added the following to our Wedding Planning Worksheets Page:

o Florist Interview Questions and Contract Points
File Size: 74 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
o  Makeup Artist Interview Questions and Contract Points
File Size: 77 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
o  Outer and Inner Envelope Wording
File Size: 65 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


 
 
The price of the invitation depends on many factors such as, the type of invite, the stationer, the ink, the typeface, the printing process and the quantity. To keep costs low use simple designs and opt for a single color.

In addition to the cost of the actual invitation, you need to factor in the cost to mail the invitations, as well as the postage for the response cards. The heavier the invitation the higher the cost. Use lightweight papers and fewer insert cards to save on postage for the invitations. Also, consider using postcards for the response cards to save on postage for the RSVPs.


Share |
 
 
A:  The line after the ‘M’ is meant for your guests to fill in Mr, Mrs, Ms, etc. followed by their name. For example, a completed response card would look like this:
 
Mr. and Mrs. John Smith

Some guests may neglect to write in their names on the response card, or they may write illegibly. To avoid having to make phone calls to determine who the mystery guest is, number your guest list. Then, discreetly print the corresponding number on the back of each response card.


 
 
A: Regardless of how the invitation is addressed, some guests may assume that they are automatically invited with a date or that they can bring children or additional guests that you did not invite. If you want to avoid making the potentially uncomfortable phone call explaining that they were not invited to bring a date, their children or any other additional guests, you can include, ___ of ___ will attend or ___ seat(s) have been reserved in your honor on the response card, and pre-fill in the number of people you are inviting. For example;

We have reserved 2 seats in your honor
M___________________________
___ Accept with pleasure
___ Decline with regret
Please respond by [RSVP date]
 
OR
 
M___________________________
___ of 2 will attend
Please respond by [RSVP date]
 
However, there is a downside to this approach. This leaves the door open for people to add on a guest if one or more of the people that were invited can’t make it. For example if you invite John and Jane to your wedding, but only Jane can make it. Jane may respond that she is coming and she’s bringing Michael with her since there were 2 seats reserved. Make sure you are prepared to deal with this potential outcome before deciding to take this approach with your response cards.


Share |
 
 
Picture
Although the President and the First Lady probably won’t be able to attend your wedding, receiving a congratulatory note stamped with an official seal from the White House can be a nice consolation prize and a wonderful keepsake. Wedding invitations for the President can be sent to:

The Honorable Barack Obama and Mrs. Obama
The White House Greetings Office, Room 39
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500




 
 
 
In the past, response cards were not included with formal invitations. Guests would send their acceptance or regrets on their own stationary. However, today it has become common practice to include a response card with a formal wedding invitation. Like the invitation and reception card there are many variations for the wording of the response card. The most common wording is as follows:

The favour of a reply is requested
by[RSVP date].
M__________________________
____Accepts with pleasure
____Declines with regrets
 
 
 
 
If the reception will be held in a different location than the ceremony, you should include a reception card. There is no right or wrong way to word the response card. Below is an example of common wording, click here to see some additional examples.

Reception
immediately following the ceremony
[Name of reception location]
[city, state where reception will take place]

 
 
It is customary in a formal wedding invitation to spell out everything, including the date and time of the wedding. Each bit of information occupies its own line. Below is the template for the traditional formal invitation wording. Click here for some common variations and examples of the traditional formal invitation wording.

[proper names of those hosting]
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their [list relationship of the bride to the host]
[bride's first and middle names]
to
[groom's full name]
[day of the week], the [day] of [month of wedding]
at [time of wedding] o'clock in the [time of day]
[name of the wedding location]
[city, state where wedding will take place]
Reception to follow