It's official and it's time to let friends and family know. So much goes into each and every card — from the invitation design, to the wording, details, and finally mailing them to your lucky guests. It can seem overwhelming at first, but we're here to help you create the perfect first impression with all the information needed to get everyone as excited about the big day as you are. Let's look at the most important topics that needs to come together to create the perfect invitation for the big celebration:
D E S I G N
Creating invitations for your wedding should be a fun expression of your personal style as a couple, as well as helping your guests get a feel for what’s to come. Sending out a 'Save the date' card, with a matching invitation to follow will give the event an overall impressive introduction and keep your look cohesive and intentional. The choice of format, paper, fonts, color, and printing technique will together create the first impression, and should represent both you as a couple as well as the party itself. The setting, the location and the style should all be represented through visual and tactile elements. Additional embellishment, like wax seals, silk ribbons, embossed monograms etc. will elevate the appearance and make it stand apart.
W O R D I N G
Depending on the style of your wedding, you can help set the tone for the big day through the wording you choose for your invites.
For a formal and traditional style wedding, below is two classic examples of wording that might work for you:
1: Together with their families Jane Alexandra Hoff and Benjamin Anderson request the honor of your presence at their marriage
2: Mr. and Mrs. Frank Gustavson request your presence at the marriage of their daughter Camilla to Mr. John Hammer
For a more contemporary, casual style wedding, wording like the four examples below might work best as an introduction to your big day:
1: Welcome to the wedding of Odette Nilsen and Lucas Samuelsen
2: Kathrine and Paul invite you to share in the celebration of heir marriage
3: Together with their families Sonja Holt and Bjørn Winther invite you to celebrate their marriage
4: Thomas and Bea Hillman invite you to celebrate the marriage of their daughter Nora Jane to Alexander Dahl
I N F O R M A T I O N T O I N C L U D E
When it comes to sharing the necessary wedding information, there are a few key details you want to make sure you include on your invitations, whereas other details can be put on additional cards or your wedding website if you have one.
Your invitations should include:
1. Name of Bride and Groom
2. Date of the wedding
3. Time of the ceremony and wedding reception
4. Location of the ceremony and wedding reception
The following information can be put on the invitation or on separate cards in the invitation set:
5. Dress code
6. RSVP details
7. Your wedding website and/or contact information
Additional cards and information to consider:
8. Rehearsal dinner / Farewell brunch (if applicable)
9. A map
10. Information on accommodation
11. Addresses for the day
12. Timeline
13. A note on gifts
Pro tip: Traditionally, you do not need to include street addresses of well-known locations on invitations (venues, hotels, churches, etc.). If your wedding is being held at a private residence or a location less widely known, feel free to a the address. Adding a map will definitely spark anticipation and help your guests plan the logistics.
A D D R E S S I N G E N V E L O P E S
When addressing your envelopes, you should always address to both members of a married couple. For a formal invitation include titles, first (middle, if desired) and last names.
Examples:
1: Lucas and Birgitte Hoff
2: Mr. and Mrs. Lucas Hoff
For an invitation to an unmarried couple living at the same address, spell out both names connected by 'and'.
All words withing the address such as 'road', 'avenue' or 'suite' should be spelled out. If the street number is under ten, feel free to spell out the number - otherwise the numeric representation works best.
Example:
Hegglandsvegen 193
5680 Tysnes
NORWAY
Pro tip: We offer addressing with all our invitation orders to make it the best possible experience for both the wedding couple as well as the guests. It will save you the hassle in a busy time, as well as impress the receivers with having cohesive details. It can be a good idea to start collecting addresses in a spreadsheet early on.
T I M E L I N E
It’s typical to send your 'Save-The-Date' cards 8 - 10 months ahead of time, or 12+ months if it's a destination wedding. That gives you enough time to organize your event and include everything needed on the invitation and mail it 6 - 10 weeks before the wedding. For destination weddings, three months is a more suitable time frame as guests will need to make more extensive travel plans.
For RSVP’s, we suggest asking for replies five weeks before your wedding day. This gives you enough time to communicate the final headcount with your caterer, confirm the seating chart, and have your day-of paper printed, and anything else you may need for the reception.
It might seem like many details and a big job, but a good stationer will make it a fun part of your wedding. Email us and we will happily guide you through the whole process and make sure your biggest celebration has the perfect paper.
Comments