Wedding Invitation Etiquette: Part 1
Invitations are a tricky thing. There are so many rules and variations and different ways to send them. While we love to see the modern twists people now take on wedding traditions, wedding invitation etiquette and formality hold a special place in our hearts. Call us old school, but we love to follow the rules of wedding invitations. Follow etiquette or don’t, it’s totally your call but we’re at least giving you the rules to know!
Timing. Timing is incredibly important when sending out invitations. If you send your invite too early, people will forget about the event. If you send it too late, people will already have plans or not have enough time to plan for the event. Typically, invitations should be sent out six to eight weeks ahead of the wedding date. If you’re sending save the dates, they should be sent out six to eight months ahead of your wedding date. If you’re having a destination wedding, then you should send your invitation earlier, since more coordinating is involved. Sending your destination wedding invitation ten to twelve weeks out is best.
Information. This is the second-most important thing behind timing. The information you put on your invitations is critical. Guests absolutely need to know key things or else they will be reaching out to you with questions, and that’s the last thing you want to worry about. Formally, a wedding invitation should indicate who is requesting the guest’s presence (AKA the hosts), the names of the couple getting married, the date and time of the wedding, and the location, city and state of the wedding. How are these things supposed to be worded and written out? You’ll have to tune in for part two of our wedding invitation series! (Or download our free virtual wedding invitations).
Inserts. If your reception is at a different location, you’ll need to include a details card. If it’s at the same location a simple “dinner and dancing to follow” on the bottom of that invitation is acceptable. The details card should include the location and address for the reception. Your RSVP is also considered an insert and we’ve given you all the deets on RSVP cards in our previous post HERE!
Registry. It is actually bad etiquette to put your registry information on your invitation. Your registry information should live on your wedding website. And your wedding website should go on your save the dates, not your invitation. If you forgot to put your wedding website on your save the dates, it is up to you whether you want to break etiquette and include it in your invitation. If you do, the most common way to include your website is on an inserted details card.
Don’t forget, this is only part one! Stay tuned for part two! In the meantime, check out more of our articles or see what’s included in our wedding live stream packages!
Photo credit: Tossing Wildflowers