Wedding Invitation Tips and Etiquette
Lacey |
Thoughtfully composed by Lacey Filed under: Wedding, Stationary |
This goes along with my previous post about making your own invitations.
Here are a couple tips about invitations:
1) Number those reply cards! Place a small, inconspicuous number on the back of each reply card before enclosing it with the invitation. Use a list to record each guest’s name along with the number on the reply card you are enclosing for them. That way, if someone should forget to fill in their name, a quick glance at your list will tell you precisely who the reply belongs to.
2) Save money by using reply postcards instead of the usual reply cards with envelopes. Postage rates for postcards are about 13 cents less than the rate for stamping envelopes (Remember, you must pre-stamp the reply cards for your guests!) Plus, by using postcards you’ll also save the expense of envelopes. Simply print the response information on one side of the card, and your address on the other side. (Many programs like Hallmark Card Studio as I mentioned before, print post cards on card stock that you can design yourself).
Here are some etiquette tips about invitations:
- Spell out all street names and states.
- Address the invitation to both members of a married couple, such as Mr. And Mrs. Reginald Lawrence. Political correctness and preferences aside, traditional etiquette claims that Mrs. Penelope Lawrence is Incorrect.
- Send one invitation to couples living together, and address it to both of them with each name appearing on a separate line.
Mr. Reginald Lawrence
Ms. Penelope Howington
- List a woman with a military or professional title on a separate line, above her husband’s name, on the outer envelope. The ranking title-professional, military, or social-always goes first. On the inner envelope, you would still use her title, but she and her husband would be listed on the same line, her name first.
Outer: Doctor Diane Bartlett
Mr. David Bartlett
Inner: Doctor Bartlett and Mr. Bartlett
- Send a separate invitation to children over sixteen years of age. If there is more than one child over sixteen years of age, one invitation may be sent to the two of them, listing their names alphabetically or eldest first.
- List the names of children who are invited to the wedding under their parents names on the inner envelope.
Mr. And Mrs. Jones
Carol and Michael (Don’t write “and family.”)
- Don’t write “and guest.” Take the time to find out the name of the guest’s significant other, or don’t invite them. (If they have no significant other, but you’d like to give them the option of inviting a guest, then you can put “and guest”).
Some of these tips seem a little harsh, such as sending a separate invitation to older children. I figure, if they are living in the same household as their parents, they are still children. There was also a suggesting saying that the outer envelope should be handwritten. I think that’s ridiculous. Many people have their invitations printed professionally without calligraphy (let alone the cheaper version of printing your own).
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May 4th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
Lacey, great blog! Numbering the reply cards is key. We had several folks forget to put their names on the card.
Thanks for your comment on our blog the other day. We value your input and will do another post addressing your comments.
Would you be interested in exchanging links?
February 8th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
I have unique US postage for wedding invitations. These can be personalized at no extra cost with your names or date.
Have a look at my store at:
www.zazzle.com/artbylindalou*
I would be happy to put a link to your blog on my site.Thanks!
Linda