Setting the Tone: The ABC’s Of Wedding Invitations
By JENNIFER THOMPSON
Facchianos Bridal & Formal Attire
A wedding invitation is not just an invite to your wedding; it sets the tone for your wedding day. I have seen so many different kinds of invitations. I think invitations are the first glimpse people get at the wedding you are having. When I receive a great wedding invitation, I know that the wedding is going to be great, and I only give money for gifts, so I know I have to up the ante on the present. I was taught growing up, you have to pay your way for the wedding; that meant giving cash around the amount what you think it cost for them to have you as a guest. It must be an Italian thing.
I have had friends in the past tell me “I ordered my invitations from a printer in a bridal magazine, or online, it was so reasonable.” I have received some of those invitations and I wouldn’t use it to blow my nose. It was so thin and flimsy, I was embarrassed for them. I thought I can’t be the only one who noticed the bad quality of the paper, the smudged printing, and the poor design. And mind you there could be so many mistakes in spelling, grammar, and punctuations. You don’t just get an invitation to let people know where they can see you get married, and where the after party is. The invitation is the opening act to the wedding. It must exude what your wedding is about. If it is a destination wedding it may have a beach scene. For a formal wedding the best design is heavy ecru card stock with black type. My favorite trend right now is pocket invitations, where everything fits in a little pocket, the invite, the map, the response card, and the itinerary for the wedding. Invitations can match the wedding colors to pull all of the wedding together as a whole.
Be sure to remember how many invites to get; just because you are having 400 guests does not mean you need 400 invitations. You have to group people together, couples get one invite, families can get one invite unless one of the members are over 18, then you send them a separate invite with guest. Once you group them together you can get a better idea of how many invites to get. Order 25 more than you think you will need; you will wind up forgetting people and have last minute invited guests. Also order some extra envelopes; there will be some mistakes when writing them. Another important thing to remember is to package one invite, bring it to the post office, and have it weighed to see how much the stamp will need to be. It is so sad when they are over the amount you stamped and get returned; or worse than that get delivered and the recipient owes money to receive it, UGH! I have had that happen and it is sad and embarrassing. Also please remember your old school etiquette and do not forget to put a stamp on the response card envelope. Do not make people have to put a stamp on the envelope to tell you they are coming to your wedding. Expect to spend anywhere from 54 to 94 cents per envelope depending on the weight and if you have an invitation budget add that into it. One more thing: e-vites are not ok; they are borderline tacky.
Carefully choose the place to purchase invitations. If you go into a place and are shown a huge book and left all alone, quietly get up, AND GET THE HECK OUT OF THERE!!! Invitations are a big and overwhelming task. You need help step by step to get the invitations you want and need. You also need to know etiquette and how to word things; what about blended families and step parents? Whose name goes on the top of the invite? Most invitation places know exactly what you need to say and how to phrase things. Do not leave the first things your guests will see in the hands of amateurs. Most wedding specialists know about invitations and can guide you right from the start. If you do buy wedding invitations from a Web site, make sure they are local and you can actually go in and see the invitations and touch them to see the quality. If you want to see some new invitation styles, you can look at www.facchianos.com for some ideas. We have step by step instructions for ordering, and they can be done at your convenience on your personal computer and shipped straight to your house.
Updated 04-29-2009
READER COMMENTS
- — K.i.s.s Wedding Ideas Apr 20, 05:27 PM #
- — Kim Apr 30, 04:32 PM #
