When Should I Mail My Save The Dates
Typically, the first piece of wedding stationery your guests will receive is your save the date announcement, sent out 6-9 months in advance. Mail save the dates once you have confirmed the critical wedding details such as the date, location, and venue. As a matter of etiquette, save the dates should only be sent to people you are confident will be invited to the wedding.
When Should We Mail Our Wedding Invitations
I typically recommend mailing your wedding invitations 8-10 weeks before your wedding day.
That means, by this time, youve already ordered, received, stuffed, weighed, stamped and addressed your invitations.
Now, before sending, I recommend a few things:
- Before going too far, assemble and stuff one complete invitation suite. Take this to your Post Office to have it weighed and measured. They can give you the proper postage for however many you need to send. Most invites will require additional postage than sending a regular letter and you dont want all of your invites getting returned.
- Make sure the address on the envelope is clear and easy to read. If you work with a calligrapher , they will guide on whats best based on your color palette.
Photo by JBJ Pictures with calligraphy by Paperloveme Calligraphy
Get Your Dates Straight
Include your RSVP information on the bottom right corner of your invitation or on a separate enclosure, and make the deadline no more than three or four weeks after guests receive the invitations. Check with your caterer first to find out when they’ll need the final head count. Remember: The more time you give guests to reply, the more likely they are to forgetbut you’ll need time to put together the seating chart. Plus, your final count may affect the number of centerpieces and other décor elements, which your vendors will need to finalize a few weeks before the wedding.
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Dont Forget Extra Invitations
How many extra wedding invitations should you order?
Every couple should include at least 10 extra wedding invitations, just in case.
If you want to make sure you have more than enough, stick with the industry average of ordering 10% extra wedding invitations. For your wedding of 200 guests, youll want to order an extra 20 wedding invitations and envelopes.
You should buy extra wedding invitations just in case any of the following occur:
you make a mistake when addressing the envelopes
you forget to invite a friend from work or social circles
you have initial cancellations and have room in your guest list to invite additional guests
It is more affordable to order extras when ordering wedding invitations than to have to re-order later since youll have to reprint the original and pay for shipping again. Plus, youll have to wait for them to arrive.
How Do You Decide If A Guest Gets A Plus One
If there is one question that always makes it into the wedding FAQs, its this one! And for good reason, because it can be a tricky question. Here is our stance: Married, engaged, and cohabitating guests should get a plus one. Give your wedding party members a plus-one. Also, guests whove been with their significant other for so long that it would be awkward if you didnt invite them should get a plus one. For everyone else, make a blanket rule, like only immediate family or close family can bring a date and stick to it . In order to indicate whether a guest gets a plus one, note it on theresponse card that is included in the wedding invitation. It will state your guests name and the words and guest” if theyre invited to bring a plus one. A guest can correctly inform the wedding couple theyre bringing a guest by sending back the response card and indicating there will be two people attending.
Delightful by Phrosne Ras
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Things You Should Know About Wedding Invitation And Announcement Etiquette
- Wedding Etiquette on Wedding Invitations Name Order
- Wedding Etiquette on Wedding Invitations Wording and Addressing
- Assembling My Own Wedding Invitations
- Wedding Etiquette on the When and the How of Sending Out My Wedding Invitations
- Wedding Etiquette on the How of Mailing Wedding Invitations
You could learn all this by reading Emily Posts book on Wedding Etiquette. It is available in Barnes and Noble and stores. It is the best primer for everything that has got to do with wedding etiquette.
Formal Or Casual: What To Include
First, decide what will be written on your invitation and how it should be worded. You and your fiancé may feel that since committing to one another is a very significant event, you would prefer to use formal phrasing on your wedding invitations.
This formal phrasing can work for any style of wedding. Its particularly appropriate if you will be having a more traditional wedding with a religious ceremony, followed by formal reception. It can give your guests a heads up to the fact that your event will be classy and elegant.
However, if you and your fiancé are hosting a more casual event, the phrasing on your wedding invitations can likewise be more casual.
Regardless of how formal or casual the phrasing on your wedding invitation is, there are some basics that always must be included: who, when, and where. This means the invitation should give the full names of the couple, and the full names of the hosts if youre using formal phrasing. It should clearly list the time, date, month and year of the wedding. Dont forget the full address of where it is being held! If you are requesting an RSVP, this should be written on the lower left corner of the invitation.
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When To Order Place Cards:
Order your wedding place cards with your invitations .The Knot Note: Instead of writing each guest’s table assignment on the escort card itself, slip the card into a small envelope that’s tagged with a table number. This way, you can easily swap guests’ table assignments up until the last second.
These handwritten notesâfrom both of youâshould thank guests for their gifts and/or presence at your wedding.
Have A Pro Address Your Envelopes
When you order your invitations, see if you can take the envelopes home immediately . That way, if you’re having someone other than your stationer print the return addresses on your envelopes , they can get a head start. While you don’t have to hire a calligrapher to address your envelopes, we highly recommend itit looks beautiful and makes an elegant first impression. Traditionally, addresses are handwritten, so unless you have impeccable handwriting, it’s best to leave the envelopes to a pro. If you plan to do them yourselves, tackle the project in a few sittings to avoid sloppiness or mistakes. While using printed labels is an easy option, handwriting each address is not only more formal, it’s also more personal. It shows your guests you want them to be at your wedding so much that you took the time to handwrite their name and address on the envelope. But if your penmanship is more like chicken scratch and you don’t have the budget for a calligrapher, you can print the addresses from your computer using digital calligraphy software.
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When Should You Send Invitations If Guests Need Extra Time To Save
If youre having a destination wedding and asking guests to travel, its understandable that some of your guests will need time to save up for their flights and other expenses. Dont assume that everyone has cash on hand. A save the date will come in handy to give your loved ones a heads up to start putting money away for your wedding. You can send this out as soon as you know dates and location. You dont need every detail finalised, just let them know June 15-18 2019, Bali or similar so they can do some research on ticket costs and plan things ahead.
Include More Details In Your Invitation Suite
The design of the invitation itself is truly up to you to choose, though professional wedding planners often recommend that you tie it into your wedding theme in some waythrough colors or design embellishments.
Wedding etiquette demands that the invitation only contains the above key details of the event. However, the invitation suite can include other important details:
- the appropriate attire for guests at the event
- a map to the event location
- accommodation details
- information about any wedding-related activities.
It can also include an RSVP card, with a please respond by date that is roughly four weeks prior to your event. Dont forget a self-addressed, stamped envelope!
Wedding etiquette also demands that you leave gift or registry information out of your invitation suite. If you have prepared a wedding registry for your guests convenience, family members can help to spread this information. Additionally, you can include registry information on your wedding website, with easy links to follow.
Another important detail is the wedding invitation envelope, which should always be hand addressed in beautiful handwriting. Your guests names should be written out in full, preceded by social titles like Mr. and Ms.
All the words in the address should be written out in full, with house numbers under twenty spelled out. The return address should be written on the back flap.
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Wedding Invitation Dress Codes
I was recently going to two weddings and the dress codes, according to my husband, were as follows:
these gave me basically no indication of what to actually wear. I see this all the time, so I wasnt surprised.
In a case where you dont have a dress code, or have a confusing dress code, Id recommend asking. Ask what the groom is wearing, or what bridesmaids are wearing if theres no groom at the wedding. In general, male dress codes are a bit more straightforward, and you dont want to overdress the groom.
So in this case, I had my husband ask if either groom was wearing a tux and then we dressed accordingly. He wore a suit, and I wore more semi-formal/cocktail attire). I wore a long dress to the one that said formal, and a shorter dress to the one that said semi-formal.
So what the heck would the right dress codes say?
When To Order Engagement Party Invitations
You should start on engagement party designs right away. You should plan to mail them to your guests at least 2 weeks before your party. If you plan on doing a formal engagement party where you will be doing a dinner or meal for your guests, then you will want to mail them at least 4 weeks in advance to allow time for replies.
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Printing At A Local Print Shop
A local print shop like Kinkos or FedEx Office can provide professional quality prints at a fraction of the cost of boutique printing.
But there are a few drawbacks.
Here are some things to keep in mind when choosing a local printer:
Tips for printing at a local print shop:
But What If I Need My Wedding Invitations Sooner
No need to worry! I work with brides on a condensed timeline all the time. Shorten the design time by choosing a semi-custom suite and flat print. Flat printing is the fastest printing method and semi-custom designs require less turnaround time than custom work. Simply put, semi-custom invitation suites are pre-designed suites. To be the first to know when our Semi-Custom Collection launches, sign up here.
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Burning Wedding Invitation Etiquette Questions Answered
So you and your partner have decided to get the ball rolling on your wedding plans. Youve visited reception venues, found one you like, and you booked it. Then you spent hours agonizing over your guest list. Now its time to get those invitations in the mail! As youre picking out different stationery elements and trying to figure out when to send them out, you may have a few questions. Dont worry, were here to help. We went to wedding planner Crystal Adair-Benning of Distinct Occasions with all of your most burning wedding invitation etiquette questions. These five tips will help you to ensure that everyone you know and love will show up for your special day.
1. When do I send my save-the-dates and what should I include on them?Save-the-dates are especially important for destination weddings or if you have many out-of-town guests. You should generally send out your save-the-dates nine to 12 months before your wedding, but for destination weddings, or if you have a lot of guests who are coming from out of town, you want to send your save-the-dates closer to 12 months in advance. If the people youre inviting will need to request time off for work, you want to give them ample time to do that, Adair-Benning explains.
Do Guests Have To Buy A Gift Off The Registry
Registries offer great gift suggestions, but you dont necessarily have to purchase your gift from one. If youre thinking about wedding gift etiquette and want to purchase a gift from elsewhere, taking a look at the registry to get a sense of the couples style is a good idea. If you want to give the wedding couple cash, that is perfectly acceptable, just make sure it includes a note so theyre not confused about who its from.
Wedding Moments Landscape by Hooray Creative
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