Wedding Invitation Wisdom

Think of your wedding invitations as a preview of your wedding ceremony on paper.  Your wedding invitation conveys more than just the date, time and place of your ceremony, but also the theme and feel of your wedding.

Elegant  or shimmery paper; ribbon accents or photos; raised, flat or engraved print and lined envelopes  or pockets  give your guests clues as to how formal or informal your ceremony will be. The look and feel of your invitation tells your guests a little more about your personalities and your tastes.

Choosing invitations can be daunting. The choices and options are vast. Take your time and keep these ideas in mind when shopping for invitations:

1. Before ordering (or making) invitations, take the time to visit an invitation dealer who has invitation albums you can browse. There are all kinds of online invitation companies. While most of the online invitation companies offer samples of their invitations few brides take the time to order samples. And an online image of an invitation doesn’t really convey how that invitation feels. When you can actually see an invitation, you’ll have a better sense of how your guests will react when they receive your invitation.

2. Give yourself plenty of time to order  your invitations. The rule of thumb is to mail your invitations 6-8 weeks before your wedding. I recommend you order your invitations about 4 months before your wedding. Allow yourself time to see and share a proof of your invitation. Keep in mind that most invitation printers can take up to 5 working days to complete the printing of your order.  And regular group shipping can take up to a week. Then consider how much time it will take you to address your invitations before you can get them in the mail.

3. Keep an open mind when shopping for invitations.  It’s great to have an idea of your perfect invitation in mind when you come to a dealer’s shop, but take the time to look at the albums so you don’t miss out on invitations you had never seen that might even be better than the ones you imagined.

4. Don’t think you can’t afford professionally printed invitations.   It’s possible to get 100 professionally printed (raised print) invitations for around $30. Wedding magazines often feature very high end invitations, but the majority of invitations are very reasonably priced.

5. Take advantage of the online proofing tools available from most invitation companies. You can play with different wording options, type styles and even ink colors. Compare and contrast your favorites with your wording.

6. Don’t get talked into purchasing enclosure cards you might not need. Almost all brides need Invitations and Respond Cards; sometimes it’s important to also order other enclosure cards. An experienced dealer will be able to help you determine the best invitation package to suit your needs.

Have fun researching and selecting your invitations and when you come across your perfect invitation, you’ll know it. And you’ll be able to cross  a big item off your to do list!

Contributed by Puget Sound Wedding Professional member: Judi Brown of Getting Personal Imprinting LLC, they can also be found on Facebook.