Make an Impression with
Your Wedding Invitations

The appearance, wording and formality of the wedding invitations all contribute to the impressions that your guests form about your wedding before they even decide whether or not they will attend.

Not only do you have to decide on the font, color and paper, you also have to decide on the wedding invitation wording.

Of course, the main purpose of a wedding invitation is to inform the guests of the date, time and location of the ceremony and reception. However, this is not the only purpose of the wedding invitations. Remember, your wedding invitations are your first chance to make an impression on your guests. It gives them a hint about what to expect at your wedding. The wedding invitation wording can indicate the theme of your wedding or simply give the guests a glimpse into how formal your wedding will be.

Here are some simple steps for the
wedding invitation wording

The 1st step is who is hosting the wedding ?: - The first names on the wedding invitation wording should be those who are paying for the wedding. If, as normal, it's the bride's parents, then the wording would be: "Mr and Mrs Ken Henrick or Kate and Ken Henrick". If it's the bride and groom who are hosting the wedding, then the line reads:
"Ms. Jane Mackenzie and Mr. Fred Nile" or if you want to have the families involved you can say: "Together with their families, Jane Mackenzie and Fred Nile."

Step 2 is the request that your guests attend: If your ceremony is at a church for instance, you would say: "Request the honour of your prescence at the marriage of their daughter". However, if it's at home or some other location the the line would read; "Request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their daughter". If the couple are hosting then "invite you to join us at the celebration of our marriage"

Step 3 is the names of the couple: So, "Jane Mackenzie to Fred Nile" .Some couples, especially Jewish couples, may choose to use and instead of to.

Step 4 is the date and time. For example you can say: "Saturday June 10, 2007, at 4pm"

Step 5 is the location: If the ceremony is at a well known location there's no need to include the address. "St Marys Church, Wayfield, Texas". However, if it's at your home or some other location then yes, you do have to include the address.

Step 6 is the place and time of the reception: You should let your guests know that there is going to be a reception and this can be included on the wedding invitation or on a separate reply card. "reception to follow at the Country Golf Club"

Step 7 is to ask your guests to RSVP: Traditionally RSVP and the date were written on the invitation and the guest would reply either formally by using their own stationary or informally by telephone. These days, couples find that they get faster responses if they include a separate reply card.

Since the most important purpose of a wedding invitation is to let guests know the particular details of the wedding it is important to ensure that these details are accurate. Most importantly, you will want to hold off on ordering your invitations until you have finalized all of the details to ensure that your invitations are printed with accurate information.

It is also critical that you proofread your invitations several times to ensure that all of the information in correct. Once you have proofread the invitation a few times, you should consider having someone else proofread it as well. This is sometimes necessary because it is easy to overlook a mistake on your invitation when you know what the invitation should say. Please check your names and your parent’s names as to their spelling. Also check the spelling and punctuation of the rest of the text.

Are you having a wedding theme ?

The look and feel of your wedding invitation can say a lot about your taste and your expectations for your wedding. If you are planning to have a particular theme for your wedding, you might want to incorporate your theme in your wedding invitation to advise your guests as to what they can expect at your wedding.

For example, if you are planning to incorporate a theme of old fashioned movie romances you might want to invest in invitations that depict a scene or make a reference to an old fashioned romantic movie such as Casablanca. Or if you plan to have a wedding with a Hawaiian or beach theme you might choose invitation that conveys this sentiment with a background picture of a beach or a whimsical border with a Hawaiian pattern. While not all weddings have a particular theme, if you are planning on having a theme, it’s a fun idea to purchase invitations that express this theme to your guests. The wording that you use on your wedding invitations can also make an impression on your guests.

You will want to ensure that the text of the invitation matches with the formality of the wedding. If you plan to have a wedding with a relaxed atmosphere you can afford to be creative and original in your wording but if your wedding will be more conservative you will want to use language that will convey this sentiment. While slang is never appropriate verbiage on a wedding invitation it is acceptable to use more relaxed speech if the wedding is expected to be casual.

Many guests form their first impressions of a wedding based on the invitations. Since this is true, it is important to exercise caution and ensure that your wedding invitations will convey the message that you wish them to express. If you want to maintain a degree of formality in your wedding, then your invitations should also be very formal. Conversely, if you expect your wedding to be casual with a relaxed atmosphere, it is acceptable to send out invitations that are informal.

Invitation Problems:
Children: If you do not want children at your wedding, you have two options:

Leave the children’s names off when addressing and don’t mention them in the invitation. Also have friends and family pass it around that you don’t want children at the wedding.
Of course, you could also cut to the chase and say what you mean by adding down the bottom of your reply card that one of these phrases:
“Adult reception” or “we hope that the (# of) of you will be able to join us” or “(#of) seat have been reserved in your names”

Other invitation stuff:

If someone hasn't responded to your invitation, one week past the "Reply by" date, call him or her and confirm over the phone.
Your officiant and their better half get an invitation
Send your parents and wedding party invitations, as a keepsake. They don't have to reply.
You have to put return postage on your RSVP's.

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Wedding invitations - your plus size wedding dress.
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