How to Write Your Wedding Invitations.

Your wedding invitations are the first impression your guests will get of your wedding day so they need to be fabulous! If you’re not sure where to even begin when it comes to choosing wedding invitations and knowing what to put on them then you’ve come to the right place! We’ve got all the tips and tricks to give you all the information you need on this important wedding stationery.

Save the Date VS Wedding Invitations

You’ve probably come across the names “save the dates” and “wedding invitations” when doing your research, but what is the difference? The main difference is that you don’t need to respond to a save the date card whereas wedding invitations come with reply cards to fill out and send back. Generally speaking, you would send out your save the date cards to give your guests a heads-up as to when your wedding will be before you’ve had time to finalise all of the details that will go on your wedding invites.

When should I send out wedding invitations?

Your save the date cards should go out 8 to 10 months before the wedding and the invitations should go out 8 to 10 weeks before. If you’re having a destination wedding it’s a good idea to send them out even earlier to give your guests plenty of time to make all the necessary travel, accommodation and/or childcare arrangements.

Picking Out Your Wedding Invitations

As we’ve mentioned your wedding invitations are the first impression your guests will get of the type of wedding you’re hosting so you’ll want them to reflect that. So think about your theme, is it classic and elegant or casual and relaxed, what are your wedding colours? Once you know what look you’re going for you can browse for some inspiration online.

Think about Readability

Keep readability in mind when creating your invitations. After all, the information on them is the whole reason you’re sending them out so they need to be legible. Avoid light ink on light backgrounds and dark ink on dark backgrounds. Try to go for something that’s high contrast to make it easier to read. And, although they may look elegant it’s a good idea to be wary of script fonts as these can sometimes be hard to read.

What to Include on Your Wedding Invitations

It’s best to keep your wedding invitations short and sweet, you don’t want to overcrowd them with unnecessary information. So, what should you include in your wedding invitations line by line?

• The hosts’ names. The hosts are generally the people who are contributing the most financially which, traditionally, is the bride’s parents. However, it’s becoming more common for the couple to pay for their own wedding and name themselves as hosts.

• The request to attend. There are lots of different ways to ask for the pleasure of your guests’ company depending on how formal you would like your invitations to be. Here are a couple of examples, “…request the pleasure of your company to celebrate their marriage”, “…would love for your to join them on their wedding day”, and “…invite you to celebrate with them on their wedding day.”

• The date and time. For very formal weddings everything is written out in full so no numerals however if you’re wedding isn’t to be particularly formal then the use of numbers is fine.

• The venue. Let your guests know the address of the ceremony (or the reception if they are only evening guests.)

• What happens next? This line is not necessary for evening guests or if your ceremony and reception are being held in the same place. For those invited to the whole day, you should let people know what happens after the ceremony. Traditionally the wording is “followed by a wedding breakfast and evening reception at…” but for something less formal you could say “followed by drinks and dancing at…” and then state the address for your reception.

• RSVP details. Usually, this is the last part of any invitation however, if you’re a little short on space you could always include an RSVP card with your invitation to let guests know when and where you wish them to respond to. Make sure to include a stamp and envelope if you want the RSVP cards sent back to you.

If there are more details you would like to give your guests such as plus ones, dress codes or directions to your venue for example then it is best to include a separate card with these details to avoid overcrowding your invitation.

Hopefully, this has been helpful to you and you should now be ready to order the perfect wedding invitations for your magical day!