Invitation Protocol

Wedding invitations do far more than convey basic information—they set the tone for your entire celebration. This “preview” of your wedding will communicate volumes about what guests can expect on your big day, not only through the invitation’s form and content, but also through its texture, paper quality, wording, printing method, and ornamentation. With more options available than ever before, making decisions regarding your invitations might take a bit longer than you expect. Fortunately, the process might be more fun than you anticipate, too.

Choosing a Printer and Placing the Order
Begin looking at invitation styles early in your planning. Order invitations four to six months prior to the wedding; mail them approximately two months prior to the wedding. Choose a printer or designer who will take time to show you various styles and help with appropriate wording. The 4 1/2” x 5 1/4” invitation is the most popular size; the larger 5 1/2” x 7 1/2” invitation is used for more formal weddings, but additional postage will be required for these larger envelopes (as well as square-shaped invitations).

Go through your guest list before ordering your invitations. You’ll need one for every married couple, each single adult guest, each attendant and their parents (if invited), your attendants’ dates (if single), everyone in the groom’s family, as well as your wedding officiant and guest. Order extras for emergencies and keepsakes. Extra envelopes are a must; they allow for any mistakes you may make when addressing.

Invitations are always written in the third person. Spell out everything: including all numerals and names. Abbreviations and initials are never used except for Mr. or Mrs. and Sr. or Jr. Address envelopes in black ink.

Enclosure Cards
Enclosure cards may be used to alert guests to special arrangements.

RSVP Cards and Envelopes: Allow guests to respond as to their attendance;
Ceremony Cards: Enable you to invite a limited number of guests to the actual ceremony;
Reception Cards: Allow you to limit the number of guests invited to the reception.

Wedding Announcements
Will you need wedding announcements as well as invitations? Probably. Send announcements instead of invitations to those people whom you’d like to tell about your marriage even though it would be impractical or impossible for them to attend. Perhaps you’re planning a private ceremony with immediate families or eloping to an exotic location. Address the announcements and have them all ready to send. However, wait until after the ceremony to drop them in the mail, because announcements are worded to say that the marriage ceremony has already taken place. 

It’s important to remember that receiving an invitation or announcement does not require the recipient to send a gift or even a congratulatory card. However, gifts are likely to arrive from most of them. Be sure to order thank-you notes and write personal messages to all those who send gifts.

RSVP
The more accurate guest list you have available to give your reception facility and caterers, the better. Strategies for developing a solid guest list include sending your invitations early (more than a month in advance), putting postage on the response card (a must), and making phone calls if you don’t receive a response card within two weeks of the wedding.