You're well into planning your wedding, and you've finally decided on a design for your wedding invitations. You've worked out the wording, and practically have the guest list licked. Here are a few more wedding invitation tips and advice to keep in mind.
* If you want to include children as guests, write out their individual names on the addressed envelopes, or put "and family." For example:
Mr. and Mrs. Bob Simpson, Cathy and John
or
Mr. and Mrs. Bob Simpson and Family
* If the children are older teens (say, 16 or older), you might want to send them an individual invitation, just like you would an adult.
* If you don't want to include children at the ceremony, don't add their names or "and family" on the outside of the envelope. Although this violates the stricter laws of etiquette, you might even add something like, "Sorry, but children are not invited", "adults only" or a similar phrase to clarify. If you want to have children at the reception but not the ceremony, you could note this on the response card ... or on the invitation itself at the bottom.
* When issuing invitations to a single guest, it's polite to put "and Guest" on the outside of the envelope so that they have the option to bring along a companion. For example:
Mr. Ralph Jones and Guest
or
Miss Sarah Campbell and Guest
* Be forewarned: usually 7% to 10% of the guests who respond with a yes won't actually show up at the wedding. In addition, 20% to 30% won't make it to the reception. This can wreak havoc when budgeting for a sit-down dinner. You might want to consider a buffet-style dinner instead.
* In some cases, you'll want to invite people to the ceremony, but not the reception — or vice versa. If so, then you will need two sets of invitations printed, one that includes reception information and one that doesn't.
* If you don't receive a reply from some guests by your reply date, don't hesitate to call them. It's important that you know how many are attending so you can budget accordingly.
* When ordering invitations, order at least 4 to 6 weeks before they're scheduled to be mailed. If you plan on mailing your invitations around the 15th of March, order them between February 1st and 15th.
* Double and even triple-check everything before it gets printed. Borrow another pair of eyes. This includes invitations, response cards, envelopes, wedding programs, and so on, whether you're doing them yourself or having them professionally printed. Search ruthlessly for spelling errors.
* Always order extra invitation envelopes and response card envelopes. There will inevitably be a few mistakes when addressing these and you'll want to have a few extras on hand.
* Mail your invitations at least 6 weeks before the wedding date, and ask for a response at least three weeks before the wedding date. So if your wedding date is July 1st, mail your invitations by May 15th — and ask your guests to respond by June 7th. This will give guests time to reply by mail, which in turn, gives you time to firm up catering plans, seating arrangements, etc.
* If your wedding's going to actually be held on a beach or outdoor area, be sure that you let your guests know, so they can dress appropriately.
By: Rose Smith
Source: http://www.favorideas.com/learn-about/wedding-stationary/wedding-invitation-tips-and-advice/
