Wading Through Wedding Invitation Etiquette
Invitations are the first glimpse your guests will have of the nature of your event. Your invitation sets the theme and mood for your wedding. When picking out styles of invitations you need to remember the invitation may be the only clue your guest will have in deciding how to dress, what to bring and what to expect of the grand affair you dream your wedding to be.
Working with your Guest List
Make sure you count the addresses and not the guests when budgeting for your invitations. What special arrangements need to be made for your out of town guest? Should you send them their invitations earlier than local guests? The best thing to do is send your out of town guests a “save the date card” which contains information about the wedding as well as information about any special accommodations that have been reserved for them. This card should be mailed out as early as one year before the wedding so that your guests have time to plan and make flight reservations if necessary.
Can I Invite Some Guests to the Wedding but not the Reception?
Yes, this is perfectly acceptable. Your invitation can have a separate card used to invite special guests to the reception.
Sending out your Wedding Invitations
Wedding invitations should be sent out 6-8 weeks before the wedding. The response cards must always be sent with postage. Make sure you have the right amount of postage on the response cards. You should never assume you are putting the correct postage on your invitation. Take one of your completed invitations to the post office and have it weighed. The correct postage will ensure prompt delivery with no postage due. Enclosing gift registry cards with wedding invitations should never be done…your family can get the message out about where you are registered.
Hand canceling your invitations is also a nice touch. It looks nicer and the envelopes tend to not get as damaged in the mailing process. Your local postal worker will frequently assist you with this. During the week mail gets set aside and sometimes misplaced so it best to mail invitations to your local guests on a Thursday. By doing this your guests receive them on a weekend and will be more likely to take the time to read and enjoy the invitation. Send invitations to out of town guests earlier in the week to allow for the extra mailing time. Always include your return address. This will guarantee that you know if your guest has not received their invitation.
Tracking Your Invitation Responses
Often one of the biggest headaches for brides is keeping tracking of who is coming, are they bringing a guest, are their kids tagging along, have they even responded? Atlas offers Invitation Tracking along with our design services. Your rsvp card would return to our office and we track every guest for you. You can receive daily or weekly reports of who is coming, who is not, and who you’re still waiting to hear from without the hassle of trying to keep track of it yourself.
Is it Mandatory to send a Thank You, even though I spoke to them already?
Yes, social etiquette says that you should always mail out a thank you note, regardless of if there was already a verbal thank you. A written thank you note should be sent out as soon as possible after receiving a gift. This is normally within 2 to 3 weeks of receipt. You do have up to about three months to send them all out.
Tags: Wading Through Wedding Invitation Etiquette, wedding, Wedding Etiquette, wedding invitation etiquette, wedding invitations
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