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Tips & Etiquette |
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Choosing your words
There’s no reason to feel overwhelmed at the thought of writing your own unique and personal wedding invitations. There is often a lot of information that needs to be communicated to wedding guests, and there are just as many ways in which to do it, all depending on the tone of your wedding. Following are some basic rules and suggestions to help you create a wedding invitation where the words reflect your personality and the mood of your wedding.
Writing the invitation
- We’ve put together some basic rules to help give consistency to your invitations and other wedding stationery. These are relevant to all types of weddings; however you may prefer to write your invitations differently.
- Make sure you include the names of the bride and groom and of course the details of the ceremony and reception. It may also be appropriate to include the names of parents if they are hosting the wedding (usually this is the parents of the bride but you can include the groom’s parents as well).
- Be consistent with your tone. Whether the invitation is written in a fun and casual manner or more formally, be sure to carry this across all your stationery.
- If you are getting married in a church the traditional invitation wording of 'request the honour of your presence' should be used.
- If you are not getting married in a church then the more casual words of ‘request the pleasure of your company’ are more suitable.
- The word 'and' in between two names typically implies that your hosts or guests are married. If your guests are not married then place one name above the other
Dizzy Wizzy Tips
- Always use the correct names of your guests, if you don’t know the name of someone’s partner, ask them so their name can appear on the invitation
- If you have a gift registry include a small separate card with the details. Don’t say ‘please no presents’ on your invitation as its your guests choice as to whether they give you a present.
- Check all spelling once, twice and then again and in particular check your guests names!
Monograms
A popular way to tie together all aspects of your wedding is to create a monogram that is used on all pieces of the invitation as well as other wedding stationery.
Today most couples include both their initials in the monogram although it is tradition for only the bride’s initials to appear on pieces that are sent before the wedding, including the invitation. The easiest way to create the monogram is to use first names only, for example, if Kate Smith and Paul Jones are getting married, the letters in their monogram would be KP (bride’s initials first).
Pieces that appear after the wedding has taken place, menus, thank you cards and so on, can include the married monogram. For Kate Smith and Paul Jones this would be KJP (with first initials either side of the groom’s surname)
Envelopes
The first impression your guests will have of your wedding is the envelope their invitations arrive in, so you want to make sure its addressed properly. For formal invitations we suggest the following;
- Married couples: Mr and Mrs Robert Jones
- Married couples with different last names: Mr. Robert Jones and Mrs. Kate Smith
- Unmarried couples living together: Mr. Robert Jones Ms. Kate Smith
If your wedding and therefore your invitations are more casual you may prefer to use;
- Married couples: Robert and Susan Jones
- Married couples with different last names: Robert Jones and Kate Smith
- Unmarried couples living together: Robert Jones Kate Smith
Dizzy Wizzy tips
- All words on the envelope should be spelt in full, including words like ‘street’ and ‘road’.
Return address
- Always include a return address on everything you post. It allows items that can’t be delivered to be returned to you as well as telling your guests where replies and gifts should be sent. Use a return address even if you have included a reply card within the invitation.
- It is up to the bride as to where the replies are returned to, some brides want to receive the replies themselves while others find this is a good task for parents. Either way, follow the same rules as for addressing the envelopes.
Putting it all together
- You want your invitations to look their best when your guests receive them so take care when placing them in the envelope or box.
- Place them in size order with the largest on the bottom, this should be the actual invitation.
- For single sided invitations, place the invitation with the printed side facing up. For double sided invitations double-sided, place the invitations so the ceremony details are facing down.
- Then stack any extra pieces (reply cards, gift registry cards) in size order.
Dizzy Wizzy Tips
- Put together one complete invitation set and take it to the post office to check that it can be sent the way you want.
- Also check the postage cost as insufficient postage will mean all your invitations get returned (provided you have included a return address!).
- If you have guests coming from overseas put their invitations to one side as they will have different postage requirements.
- If you're including inner envelopes, make sure the names on the outer and inner envelopes match. Except for in the case of families where not everyone is invited as inner envelopes are a tactful way to invite only select family members.
- As for your invitations, check all spelling once, twice and then again.
- Stuffing the envelopes may not be the most exciting part of getting married (especially if you’ve invited 300 guests) so make it fun. Put your bridesmaids to work, supply food and drink and turn it into a party – but don’t spill your drinks!
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