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Invitation Do's and Don'ts |
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The excitement begins when your guests open
their mailbox and find your invitation. "We're invited to a party!" Your invitation sets the tone for your occasion. Does it scream, "I can't miss
this party it sounds fabulous!" or did you send out a letter sheet that
reads like a grocery list of boring statistics that immediately got
relegated to the pile referred to "maybe we'll think about it unless
something better comes up." |
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Choosing your Invitations |
Your invitation should match the style of your
event. Is it formal, semi-formal or a casual backyard get together. Your invitation provides the details of the celebration as well as what to
expect at the party. A casual get together? A corporate gala for 500? A surprise birthday party for your husband of 20 years??
When choosing your invitation, remember you already have a theme -- it's a party!
So is the party for a man or a woman, is it a birthday, an anniversary or a baby shower for a friend. What are their hobbies or interests? What's their favorite cocktail? Is it a summer pool party or a winter "we're freezing but need a reason to party" kind of thing. You can use our site's Search feature to help narrow down your search for the perfect invitation.
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What to include in your Invitations |
- The purpose of the invitation -
A birthday party, a wedding, a holiday open house.
- Name of honoree - the birthday
person, the mother-to-be, the bride and groom
- Day and Date of the party
- Saturday, August 29th or if it is formal, Saturday, the twenty-ninth of
August. Look at your calendar to make sure the as in this example,
the 29th of August is really on a Saturday. If a formal event, include the
year and spell it out - two thousand and ten
- Time -6:00 p.m., or for formal
events, spell out the time such as six o'clock in the evening
- Name of Place - Opah's
Restaurant
- Location of Place - street
address, city and state if inviting out of town guests, but no zip code
- Name of the host(s)/hostess(es)
or parent(s) giving the party
- RSVP - be sure to use RSVP instead of Regrets Only if you need to stick to a budget or need a real count of who's attending your party.
- Appropriate attire - if it is an
issue with your party -do not use on formal invitations-the event should
be the clue as to the appropriate attire.
- Proof read several times for
mistakes and/or forgotten information! Even have a friend read it to make sure it's perfect!
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Wording your Invitations |
| All invitation phrasing is in the third person. |
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Examples: |
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Use: |
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Don't use: |
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...the birth of their son... |
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...birth of our son |
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Smith & Co. invites you to their |
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Smith & Co. invites your to our Annual... |
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Jane and Tom invite you to their |
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Jane and Tom invite you to our |
| Do not use abbreviations. |
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Example: Spell out words such as Road, Street, and state names;
California |
| Do not print a zip code on an invitation |
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A zip code is not needed to use on-line directions and is never needed on an invitation. Usually the zip code will be on the envelope as the return address. |
| Days,
dates are always spelled out |
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Example: Monday or September |
| Times and Years should be spelled out on wedding
or formal invitations |
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Example: Four o'clock in the afternoon / Two Thousand Four |
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Tip: The "o" and "c" in "o'clock" are never capitalized |
| Punctuation is not used at the end of the lines.
(no commas, periods, colons., etc.) |
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Example: John and Sally invite you to join the fun. (leave off the
period) |
| Commas can be used to separate information that appears on the same line such as: |
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Example: November 14, 2012 or Rochester, New York |
| Children Allowed, Mentioning Gifts, Where you're Registered: |
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It is socially incorrect to mention "no children allowed" or to mention gifts or
where you are registered on invitations. We have found that our
customers follow these rules on strict formal invitations such as black tie
or wedding invitations, however, on informal invitations, anything goes and sometimes, the more information, the better.
When in doubt, you can inform your guests of any important details when they
RSVP to the invitation. |
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When to mail your Invitations |
Traditionally, it is advised to send out
invitations eight weeks before your event. We can hear you screaming
"Eight weeks!"
We've found while this is a good idea with formal
events and weddings, it is just not possible with most every-day events.
Our customers tell us that they didn't even think about having a party
until 2-4 weeks before their event. Obviously, the sooner you can
notify your guests, the better, but don't let this stress you out or prevent
you from getting killer invitations at the last minute. Anything goes and much is possible these days.
If you know you're having a party for an event
that is several months away, consider sending a Save the Date Card.
This is simply a notice to your guest list that you are planning an event
for that date and to mark their calendars so they'll be ready when the
details follow by invitation closer to the party date when the details have
been finalized. Save the Date cards are almost a necessity for events
taking place on holiday weekends, events that will require out of state
travel for guests or a wedding to ensure vacations are not scheduled for the
same time. |
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Invitation Etiquette Questions: |
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| Here are answers to some of the most frequent questions we've been asked: |
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Is it ok to send save the dates to part of invite list?
In today's economy, everyone is trying to cut costs and save money. A Save the Date card can help you get an idea of who is planning on coming to your event or wedding. You should treat a save the date card the same as you would an invitation -- you need to send them to everyone you intend to invite. Remember, people will be excited when they receive your news and they will talk, email, tweet and facebook to everyone that might also know you "Did you get the Save the Date for Dave and Karen's Wedding!" After you've sent the save the date cards, you will probably get some informal feedback as to who will and will not be able to attend your wedding so might be able to use that information to help you budget. As the save the date cards are an informal notice, I would still send everyone on your save the date list a wedding invitation as that is when you ask invited guests to RSVP and you will then have your final head count for your wedding or event. |
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Do you announce where you are registered on your wedding announcement card?
It is not proper to include any gift information on your wedding invitations, save the date card, or any other pre-wedding event invitations. Let your parents, wedding party, close friends or persons throwing you a shower, know where you are registered so they can tell guests that ask, call or RSVP to an event.
Today, it seems anything goes, but it is proper for guest to ask, call, email, tweet or facebook the couple's mothers, maid of honor or even you to get your registry information. Adding registry information on any of your printed invitations makes it seem gifts are more important than your invited guests.
It has become popular for couples to have a wedding website - this is a great place to put your registry information. You can then give your wedding website link to people to get more information about your registry, directions to your events, hotel information, and more about you as a couple.
When in doubt, it is more discreet to add a link address to your wedding website than it is to print something that makes guests think you've stated" "We are registered at everyplace under the sun, so bring gifts!" If your wedding website address is superlong, consider using a URL shortening service such as bit.ly to shorten a long link to something manageable. If you don't like the link that is automatically created, you are allowed to customize it. You might choose something like: www.JimAndMary452013.com that is easy to remember and easy for guests to type in to find your site. |
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How do you state "No Children invited?"
It is socially incorrect to mention "no children allowed" on invitations. The proper way to inform a household who is invited is on your envelopes. The person(s) listed on the outer envelope such as "Mr. and Mrs. John Smith" is who is invited to the event or "Mr. and Mrs. John Smith and Miss Amanda Smith" indicating that the Smith's daughter is also invited. The answer to this question goes back in history to the question below "Why two envelopes?" |
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Why do formal invitations have two envelopes? When invitations were hand written, the names of guests were written as part of the invitations themselves and hand delivered by a footman. If the footman didn’t know the home he was to deliver the invitation, detailed directions to the guest’s home were written on the outside envelope. Or, if you didn’t have a footman, invitations were put into envelopes and the address of delivery was written on the front envelope and was delivered by the post.
Households typically contained extended families and when the invitation was delivered, the outer envelope was removed and the household members invited to the event was written on the front of an inner envelope. To prevent snooping, the inner envelope was often sealed by wax so only the invited guests would see the envelope contents. So, the purpose of two envelopes is that the outer envelope detailed whose household the invitation was going to and directions for delivery and the inner envelope stated who in the household was actually invited to the event. |
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Have a question? Send us an Email and we might feature it here! |
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You might also like:
...12 Things RSVP does not Mean
...What to include on Invitations
...Apostrophes-When and Where
...RSVP Etiquette
...RSVP vs. Regrets Only
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