YOUR CELEBRATION INVITATIONS
Your invitation sets the tone for your event—not only does it say a lot
about your personal style—it also guides your guests as to what to expect
from your event, and even what to wear!
Wording Etiquette
Formal? Contemporary? Whatever style you choose, etiquette is easy to
observe when you follow some basic rules.
Take a look at the templates on this website. Choose the category to find the
perfect verse for your invitation. If you do not find the exact wording
you want, select an example that is close and change it to read exactly the
way you want it to. If you are feeling creative, write your own.
Can’t decide on crisp block lettering, or calligraphy-style script?
Select a combination of typestyles to highlight your names within your wording
for a unique look. Or use the same typestyle in varying sizes to highlight
names, date, and location.
Remember, it is your celebration, customize your invitation
to reflect your personality and spirit. Most anything goes!
Formal Events
Always spell out full names, dates, times and addresses. Nicknames or
abbreviations should be avoided when possible except for Mr., Mrs., Jr., etc.
You may use an initial if you do not know the full name or if the person never
uses his given name. Cities, states, and numbered streets are written
out in full. In regard to addresses, the only optional abbreviations are for
Saint (St.) or Mount (Mt.), which can be written either way.
General wording dos and don’ts:
- No periods (.) at the end of a line
- First letter of each line is not capitalized unless it is a proper noun
(for example, “Sunday, the fifth of October” is correct,
or, “on Sunday, the fifth of October” is correct
- Time and date are written out (half after five o’clock, September
first, two thousand and three; two thousand three is also correct and more
formal)
- Only events taking place in houses of worship would have the phrase
“the honour of your presence” used on the invitations. Otherwise,
it’s appropriate to use “request the pleasure of your company”
Casual Events
Although all the basic information that you communicate to your guests remains
the same, an invitation that includes a personalized verse, favorite sonnet,
or informal introduction gives your invitations a contemporary flair.
Announcements vs Invitations
Announcements should be used to let friends, family and possibly professional
colleagues who were not invited to the wedding, for whatever reason—budget
constraints, travel, etc--know that the wedding took place. Invitations
are sent to those people who the families want at the wedding. This is
when the versatility of “print your own” really works to your advantage--you
can always add more at any time!
Addressing
Follow some basic rules for addressing your invitations:
- Couples who live together receive a single invitation. Address it
the same way you’d address the invitation of a married couple with different
last names—alphabetically, on separate lines of the envelope
- Address an invitation to a married couple, both doctors like this:
The Doctors Smith. It’s that simple. If they are married,
but have different last names, list both names in alphabetical order (on separate
lines): Dr. Benton, and on the next line, Dr. Smith
- Married couple, one a doctor: the spouse with the professional title
is listed first. Dr. Kate Lawler and Mr. Brian Lawler or Dr. and Mr.
Lawler
- A widow is traditionally addressed as “Mrs. John Smith”, but
if you feel the guest may not want to be addressed that way, ask how she prefers
to be addressed
- A divorced woman who has kept her married name should be addressed as Ms.Jane
Alden
- A couple who does not live together technically should be sent their own
invitation, but it’s not incorrect to simply send the invitation to
the person you are closer to with both names listed alphabetically (each on
its own line)
- Same sex couple who have exchanged vows: Ms. Joan McAllen Ms.
Teresa McAllen. List Joan first, as “J” comes before “T”
alphabetically. If you do not want to use titles or put the two on separate
lines, use Joan and Teresa McAllen
Mailing
Mail “Save the Date” cards to out-of-town guests as soon as your
wedding date and location are set. Including information about hotels
now, instead of sending it with your invitations. This will save you money
on postage later, and give your guests time to arrange for a trip to attend
your big event! Mail invitations six to eightweeks before your wedding
date. If you have a large number of out-of-town guests, eight weeks
will give them time to complete reservations and secure travel arrangements
more economically.
Date your response cards to be returned to you at least two weeks before your
big day.
It is a good idea to have a return address on the back flap of your mailing
envelope. The return address should be that of the person whom you’ve
designated to receive response cards—be it the bride’s mother, the
groom’s mother, or the couple themselves. The response card envelope
should be printed with the same address.
There is nothing more frustrating than having a beautifully addressed invitation
returned to sender with postage markings all over it because of an incorrect
address. Please be sure to double- check your addresses and zip codes.
To check zip codes online go to http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp.
Assemble one complete invitation, including any additional insertions, maps,
and the stamp on the return response envelope and take it to your local post
office for weight and measurement. Sometimes it is the size of the envelope
and not the weight that determines the amount of postage, so we encourage you
to take it to the window and have a postal worker weigh and measure it for you.
Request that the post office hand cancel your invitations. This will
eliminate any smeared or heavy ink marks that automated cancelling could cause.