So you're getting married! Congratulations! As you have no
doubt already discovered, deciding to get married is just the
first of many decisions you'll need to make on the way to the
big day. This column is intended to help you navigate through
some of the finer points surrounding wedding stationery. We'll
also look at a few "modern issues," areas where
contemporary tastes run counter to tradition.
Invitations set
the tone
Your wedding invitation
will set the tone for your event. Whatever you decide to do for
your celebration, your invitation should reflect both the event
and your personality!
While the traditional ecru or white paper
stock engraved with black ink is still the most popular choice
for a formal invitation, more liberal approaches are
"pushing the envelope," like invitations on textured
papers, in multiple colors, and with custom wedding designs.
Whether you plan to exchange vows in a hotel, a place of
worship, or on a secluded island beach, show your personal style
and create a wedding invitation that truly expresses who you
are, your values, and your individuality.
With that said, it is still important to
follow a few basic guidelines when planning your wedding
stationery. Below is an overview that will acquaint you with the
basics of wedding stationery. Please call or come see us when
you're ready to put your stationery plans "on paper."
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Planning Your Invitation
Order all of your invitations at the same
time, leaving ample time to have them printed and addressed.
Gather and bring all the information you will need to create
your wedding invitation:
- Date
- Time
- Place
-
Parents' names
- Groom's middle name
-
Number of people attending reception
vs. wedding
Getting Formal
The most formal invitation is on ecru
(cream) or white stock engraved with black or dark-gray ink. It
is folded in half, with the text of the invitation on the front
outside panel. A less formal invitation is on an
unfoldedecru or white card. Either of these papers
may be plain or paneled.
Lettering
Style
There are dozens and dozens of
typefaces to choose from, from frilly scripts to austere
all-caps. Choose one that expresses the spirit of your occasion
and matches the tone of the stationery you decide upon. Be sure
to see a printed sample before you choose your typeface - a full
text in a given typeface can look surprisingly different than an
isolated sample of it.
All pieces in your wedding ensemble
should use the same paper and ink color.
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Wording Your Invitation
The content of a formal wedding
invitation is fairly straightforward, albeit slightly more
complicated these days due to changes in social attitudes and
family structures. Regardless of your particular situation, the
lines of your invitation should be in the following order:
1. The hosts'
names
Formal invitations begin with
the person or people involved with the hosting, using formal
names and
titles. For example:
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Johnson
request the honour
of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
If the bride and groom are hosting their
own wedding the first lines would read:
Isabelle
Marie Johnson
and
Jack Hamden Robert
request the
honour of your presence
at their
marriage
2. Invite your
guests
3. State the
affair and relationship to the bride
"at the wedding of our
daughter"
4. The bride's
first and second name
"Isabelle Marie"
If the bride's last name is different
from the host's, it should also be included on this line,
e.g.: "Isabelle Marie Johnson"
5. The connecting,
"to"
This always goes on its own line in
a formal invitation.
6. The groom's
full name
If the bride is using a professional
title, such as "Doctor Marie Ann
Consalves," you should then also include the
groom's personal title, "Mr.," "Dr.," or whatever the case may be.
7. The day and
month
In a formal invitation, spell out
completely the date, time, and location of your wedding.
Thus, the date would be:
"Saturday, the twentieth of June"
8. The year
"Nineteen hundred and ninety-eight"
9. The time
"at two
o'clock in the afternoon"
10. The
location
"The
Waybridge Country Club"
11. City and
state
"Waybridge, New Hampshire"
12. Reception
line
If you are planning to have your
reception at the same location as the wedding, the line "and afterward at the
reception" or "reception immediately following
ceremony" should follow the city and state.
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The Reception Card
If you are holding your reception at a
different location than that of your wedding, you will probably
want to include a reception card with your invitation. This is
helpful in a couple of ways: First, it will not crowd the text
on your invitation. Secondly, if you are inviting only some
guests to the reception, it is convenient to simply add a
reception card to the wedding invitations of those guests.
The card should include the name and
address of the establishment with "Reception immediately following the
ceremony" at the top of the card.
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Assembling Your Invitations
The double envelope, that courtly feature
of the formal wedding invitation, has its origins in the days
when footmen delivered invitations to the landed class. At
delivery, the footman would remove the clean invitation from its
well-traveled outer envelope. The custom has survived, although
with modern postal service the outer envelope is now sealed,
with the inner unsealed and placed with the guest's name face up
so that it can be read immediately upon extracting it from the
outer.
Tissues were originally conceived in the
days when inks took a bit longer to dry. Printers placed a
tissue over the ink so that it would not smear. Today ink is
quick-drying so tissues are not imperative, but used out of
tradition. If you choose to use a tissue, it is the first sheet
of paper that covers the printed text of your invitation. The
large sheet of tissue is for your invitation, the small for your
reply card and other small enclosures.
Place items in inner envelope in relation
to importance and size:
- Invitation
- Reply card tucked under flap of
reply envelope
- Reception card
- Other items, such as direction cards
and accommodation cards, can be placed in order of size. If
there are 2 cards that are of the same size, place them in
order of importance.
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Addressing Your Envelopes
General rules:
- Spell out all Avenues, Roads,
Streets, Boulevards, etc.
- Use the complete name of guest:
i.e., Richard, not Rich
- Write out numbers one to twenty;
higher numbers write numerically
- Junior, Senior: should be stated on
outside envelope, not inner
- A boy under age 13 is referred to as
"Master"
DOUBLE ENVELOPES -
Address Samples
Most of your
addresses will comply with one of the samples below. If any
don't, call us for advice!
Couple (married
with same last name)
OUTER ENVELOPE:
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Johnson
100 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10000
INNER ENVELOPE:
Married, woman
kept her name
Woman first or listed alphabetically
OUTER:
Ms. Karen Connor and Mr. John
Ryan
100 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10000
INNER:
Man is doctor
OUTER:
INNER:
Woman is
doctor
OUTER:
Dr. Marie and Mr. James Hunt
INNER:
Both are
doctors
OUTER:
Drs. James and Marie Hunt
INNER:
Family
OUTER:
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Johnson
100 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10000
INNER:
Separate
invitation to children over 18 years old, even if at same
address
Two sisters
OUTER:
Miss Isabelle Johnson
Miss Renee Johnson
100 Park Avenue
New York, New
York 10000
INNER:
Sister and
brother
OUTER:
Miss Isabelle Johnson
Mr. Matthew Johnson
100 Park Avenue
New York, New
York 10000
INNER:
Two brothers
OUTER:
Mr. Isaac Johnson
Mr. Matthew Johnson
100 Park
Avenue
New York, New York 10000
INNER:
Unmarried people
living together
Woman first
OUTER:
Ms. Susan Smith
Mr. Jack Roberts
100 Park
Avenue
New York, New York 10000
INNER:
Listed
alphabetically
OUTER:
Ms. Roxanne Brown
Ms. Josie Hunter
100 Park
Avenue
New York, New York 10000
INNER:
Single
person with named guest (dating, cohabiting, engaged)
OUTER:
Ms. Susan Smith
100 Park Avenue
New York, New
York 10000
INNER:
Ms. Susan Smith
Mr. Jack Roberts
Single person with
unnamed guest
OUTER:
INNER:
Ms. Smith and Escort
or Ms. Smith and Guest
Junior/Senior
OUTER:
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Johnson, Jr
INNER:
SINGLE ENVELOPES - Address Samples
Couple
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Johnson
100 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10000
Family
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Johnson
Isabelle and Matthew
100 Park Avenue
New York, New
York 10000
Separate invite to
children over 18 years old, even if at same address
Miss Isabelle Johnson
100 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10000
Mr. Matthew Johnson
100 Park Avenue
New York, New
York 10000
Two single people
living together
Ms. Susan Smith
Mr. John Roberts
100 Park
Avenue
New York, New York 10000
Single person with
named guest (dating, cohabiting, engaged)
Ms. Susan Smith
Mr. John Roberts
100 Park
Avenue
New York, New York 10000
Single person with
unnamed guest
Ms. Susan Smith
and Escort (or and Guest)
100
Park Avenue
New York, New York
10000
Mr. Jack Roberts
and Guest
100 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10000
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Finally! The Mailing!
Before sending your invitations, take a
sample to the post office with all pieces to confirm that you're
applying the proper postage before mailing! If you have
international addresses, it is important to ask for postage for
each individual country to which an invitation is being sent.
These measures will ensure prompt delivery of your invitations.
Once everything is properly stamped, you
will want to adhere to the following timelines for mailing your
invitations:
Four to six weeks
before the event is the general rule for mailing your
invitations to ensure your guests receive their invitations and
are able to respond in sufficient time. If you have guests
traveling from outside the regional area, it is courteous to
mail their invitations 6-8 weeks ahead of your wedding date so
that they can make travel arrangements. As well, if you are
planning your wedding around a holiday weekend, it is a good
idea to get your invitations out 6-8 weeks prior so that your
guests are sure to make your wedding the focus of the holiday.
Regardless of when the invitations are
sent, they should all be mailed at the same time.
Now, sit back and relax - and start
thinking about other paper planning! Your wedding reception will
allow you to further personalize your affair and carry the theme
of your invitations right through the day of your wedding. These
stationery pieces can include invitations to the rehearsal
dinner, the wedding program, placecards or escort cards, menus,
and table numbers. We can help you put together a comprehensive
plan of coordinating papers that will help create a lasting
impression.
We also carry papers for wedding-related
occasions such as bridal showers, teas, and engagement parties.
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The Thoughtful and
the Tasteful
Other printed stationery that is both
useful and appropriate:
The Ceremony
Card
If you are planning an intimate
wedding with a small group of family and friends, but are then
going to have a bash to celebrate, enclose a ceremony card along
with the reception card.
Wedding
Announcements
Send these out the day
of your wedding to friends who you did not invite to your
wedding, but to whom you would like to announce your marriage!
The traditional announcement would look like your invitation, in
ecru or white paper with black ink - engraved or thermographed
in the style of your wedding invitations. Mail in double
envelopes.
Gift Received
Cards
A gift received card is a
helpful and tactful way of acknowledging the gift of your guest
without delay, especially if you are having a large wedding or
an extended honeymoon. The card acknowledges a gift and notes
that a personal thank-you will soon follow.
Personalized
Stationery
Traditionally, the bride
took on the role of thanking the couple's guests for wedding
gifts. Nowadays, however, the groom is more likely to lend a
hand or shoulder the burden. When he does, his monogram should
be on cards he is writing, hers on the notes she will write.
Notecards with the married couple's name,
e.g., "Mr. and Mrs.
Johnson," are used by husband and wife for replying to
formal invitations, sending thank-you's, personal notes, or an
invitation.
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