Everything You Need To Know About Wedding Invitations

Designing your wedding invitations is one of the first tasks a bride looks forward to planning. While these pretty little keepsakes are fun to look at and hold onto for years to come, they also hold vital details about your big day.

These invitations are the first glimpse into your wedding style that your guests will see so whether you choose to include your wishlist or show off your sweet engagement photos, we have created a guide to help you make decisions from when to send out wedding invitations to designing them and mailing them to your guests.

1. When To Send Wedding Invitations

Traditionally, if you are planning on sending out Save The Dates, they go out 6-8 months before your wedding as your wedding invitations will go out 2-4 months before the wedding date. (Make sure to allow extra time for turnaround if you are planning on ordering a custom wedding invitation design.)

This gives guests plenty of time to make career and travel arrangements to be present on your wedding day. Be sure to book your venue location as well as date and time before either of these get mailed out. Guests need to know where they will need to travel to. What’s a wedding day without your friends and family?

2. Guest Count

Before making any major decisions on style, sit down with your partner and create a list of guests that you’d like to invite. It’s important to do this step with your soon-to-be-spouse so that there are no discrepancies on who gets invited. Take into consideration how many people are in each household. Considering guests count will also be helpful when planning other aspects of your wedding like seating and dinner preparations.

3. Consider Your Budget

Budget may be a huge factor when deciding how many invitations to order and what style you choose. It may be a desire of yours to save money for another feature of your wedding instead of wedding invites. In this case, consider a DIY option. The same materials can be purchased at local office supply shops or craft stores. A little manual labor will be needed to put them together but it is definitely doable. Either way you are able to customize your wedding invitations to match your wedding style vision.

How To Choose Your Invitation Design

1. Photos

Now for the fun part.

Whether you choose to send out Save The Dates or not determines the style of your wedding invites.

Save The Dates are initial invitations that go out to guests displaying the couples names, date and time of the wedding. This invite often is a chance for you to display your engagement photos.

If you choose not to send out Save The Dates, you may want to place your photos on your main wedding invitation.

When choosing a design, take into consideration space to display your photos as well as other important information to avoid overcrowding.

2. Wedding Theme & Colours

When designing your wedding invitations, it’s important to know your wedding theme as well as colours.Your invitation style will give hints to the formality of your wedding. What type of celebration are your holding? Classic and elegant, rustic and relaxed, glam? Invitations are the first impression to guests and should be cohesive with your wedding theme.

3. Shapes And Sizes

Be creative! The traditional size of wedding invitations is a 4.5-inch-by-6.25-inch rectangular card. Brides are now opting to go with a design more modern and unique. Invitations now have the option to be shaped into circles, squares and any other shape you can think of. We’ve even seen invitations that can be printed onto magnets! Keep in mind the size and weight if you are straying from the traditional size as postage may increase to send.

4. Readability

As you are choosing colours and patterns, be intentional when it comes to the font. Your invitation will have no use if your guests can’t read the text. For example, most overly scripted fonts are hard to read.

Your stationer will have experience with these things, but if you choose to create your own invitations try not to place lightly colored text onto a light background or dark text on a dark background.

It’s also vital to proofread your invitation once you have added all of your info!

What To Write On Wedding Invitations?

When composing the invitation for your big day, be sure to include these commonly overlooked details.

Along with date, time, location and names of the couple, there are a few other things to include.

Include an invitational line, which lists the names of the hosts. Follow that with a request line like, “Request the pleasure of your company” or “Invite you to celebrate the marriage of.”

Don’t forget to add the guests of honor – YOU the couple!

What To Include In Wedding Invitations

Your invitation tells the guests the who, what, when and where of your wedding. Oftentimes, a few different cards may be delivered with the invitation to explain these things –

An invitation itself

1. RSVP Card

An RSVP form is used to help keep track of guests who are expected to attend your big day. Adding a line for the date in which you would like guests to respond “yes” or “no.”

2. Directions And Lodging Card

Directions to the ceremony and reception locations would go here along with recommended hotel options for your loved ones. It’s important to write out the directions to the venues and not leave it to unreliable electronic devices. Some elderly guests may not use these devices and may find it helpful to read the directions from a card – but it’s especially important if your wedding is being held in a country area that may not have good mobile phone reception!

3. Weekend Itinerary

If you choose to host a weekend long celebration, it may be a good idea to include a list of daily activities. Providing guests with an itinerary will let them know what to expect and what to pack for.

4. Attire Details

If you have a dress code for your guests to abide by, place that info on this card.

5. Reception Info

If you are hosting your reception in a different location than the ceremony, let your guests know where it will be held and what to expect. Describe the nature of the reception along with whether or not dinner will be provided.

Are you wondering how to say “adults only” on wedding invitations?

If you plan to host an adults only event, include a line at the bottom of this card.

6. Wedding Website & Registry

It is not correct etiquette to add this information on the main invitation. By putting your wedding website address on a separate card, your guests don’t feel as obligated and pressured to purchase a gift. A wedding website is also a perfect place to list things like registry locations as well as accommodations, directions, your love story and everything in between.

How To Address Wedding Invitations

After you package the envelope with all of the necessary details for your guests, it’s time to seal and deliver them.

While we would all love to have our invitations addressed by a calligrapher, it just may not be in the budget. Stencils, stamps or custom stickers to write your guests names will do just fine.

The traditional way to address your guests is by using “ Mr. and Mrs.”

The return address, which is always recommended to avoid getting lost in the mail, should be placed on the back flap of the envelope to not distract from the formality of the front.