How To Choose The Perfect Wedding Invitation

By Author: Khrista White
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Planning your wedding will include hundreds of details, all of which can reflect who you and your mate are in addition to how you want to celebrate your special day. This also includes your wedding invitations. Invitations are no longer one-dimensional, one color and one idea. You have choices now and what better way to make a great impression with your guests than to choose the perfect wedding invitation for you?

So how does one pick out the perfect wedding invitation?

1. STYLE - Traditionally, a person had only one choice in picking out the style of their wedding invitation. Wedding invitations were always on ecru, ivory or white card and engraved with black or dark-gray ink. While these colors and style are still the most popular choice for a formal wedding, there are also other choices. Other styles to be picked from include: semi formal, romantic, funky, kitsch, or relaxed. Invitations can be printed on textured paper, in multiple colors, include embedded flowers, on recycled paper, have gilt edges or photographs - the ideas are endless. The place you choose to hold your wedding, be it a garden, hotel, beach ...
... or church will of course greatly influence your choice of invitations. When preparing to order your invitations, remember to gather and bring all the information you will need to your printer. You will need the date of the wedding, time and place of wedding and reception, names of parents and the full name of the bride and groom including middle names.

2. ORDERING - After picking the perfect wedding invitation comes making sure you have ordered them on time - otherwise your perfect invitation may never come to be. Ordering mistakes are common, brides and grooms assume that because they are inviting 100 guests that they need 100 invitations. This is not the case. You need to remember that couples can be invited on the same invitations and so can children under the age of sixteen. For a wedding of 100 you should start with 50 invitations and then add on about twenty to twenty five extras to cover any extra people you may have forgotten or mistakes made on the envelopes. Many people like to also keep at least one invitation as a memento. When mailing your invitations, don't forget to send them to people you know who are coming but may want one as a memento, such as your parents or the wedding party.

3. LETTERING - Picking out the font or lettering on your invitation may seem trivial but it can be tricky. Formal wedding invitations are traditionally engraved which is the most expensive option. Engraving produces textured raised letters and they are typically in black or gray ink. You can also choose thermography, which is a less expensive but a popular alternative to engraving, and it nearly looks the same. If you want to use colored ink and/or highly textured paper then you will need to use offset printing. Engraved, embossed and invitations written in calligraphy are likely to be at the high end of the price range. Many professional wedding stationery suppliers provide a wide selection of local, imported and their own exclusive designs in a wide range of styles, colors and prices so that there is something to suit every budget.

4. WORDING - You might be wondering how the wording within your invitations should go. Again, there are traditional rules about wording and there is the option of just putting in whatever type of wording you prefer. Today, family relationships are much more complicated than in the past, and the standard wording of parent's names can be more difficult. If this is your case, don't worry. There are templates you can look at or you can get advise from your printer regarding the most appropriate wording for any situation. Most wedding invitations include the names of the hosts, which may be your parents, yourselves or both, your own names, and the date, time and location, and reception. You should also add RSVP cards and details. The trend these days is for the bride and groom to choose more creative and personal wording than the traditional formal wording of the past.

5. THANK YOU CARDS - While you are at the printers having your wedding invitations designed, you might as well get those Thank You notes printed as well. You may want your wedding invitations and thank you notes to match or you may just want to get all the printing needs taken care of ahead of time before you are married an on your way to your honeymoon. When it comes to Thank You Notes, it is tradition and common courtesy to thank those who give you gifts for your wedding. Thank you notes should specifically mention the gift, and how the bride and groom intend to use it. Thank you notes can be brief, but should be very personal. You should try to finish them no later than three weeks after the wedding. Everyone who gives you a gift should receive a thank you note.

6. THE MAILING - Before mailing invitations you must proofread them very carefully. Check and double-check the wording of all your wedding stationery. Have a friend check them over for you also. To ensure your guests receive their invitations and are able to respond in sufficient time, mail them four to six weeks before the event. Invitations being mailed overseas should be mailed eight weeks in advance.

So here are your tips in choosing your perfect wedding invitation and the process of making sure they are mailed on time. Remember your invitations do not have to cost a fortune to look wonderful and reflect your personal self.
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