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We realize that various functions and events are surrounded in etiquette that can be confusing and even stressful for some people. Therefore, we have gone through and written some highlights of things commonly addressed in our client sessions.
Baby Announcements
The baby has arrived so spread the word. Ideally announcements should be sent within six weeks of the baby’s arrival, but anything less than six months is acceptable. Include the full name of the bundle of joy as well as the date, weight, length and the parent’s names.
Wedding Invitations
WORDING
There are plenty of rules on what to say and what not to say….and quite honestly you should refer to a professional stationer for proper wording. Some highlights include:
• Invitations are traditionally written from the perspective of the host
• “honour of your presence” is reserved for a wedding in a church
• The day is included and the date & year are spelled out. Example, March 24, 2007 is:
Saturday, the twenty fourth of March
Two thousand and seven
• The time is spelled out. Example, 4:00 pm is four o’clock in the afternoon.
ADDRESSING & STUFFING The invitations should be addressed by hand on the inner (if using one) and outer envelopes. Heartstring Studio has developed a selection of computer fonts that truly appear hand done and we do use them to address client’s envelopes as a service; however, we must stress the importance of the invitations looking hand done. If you are going to use a computer, print directly onto the envelopes. Labels are a no-no.
Spell everything out…. i.e. Street, Boulevard, Texas, Reverend, etc..
The outside envelope is addressed and the inside only has the names of the people you are inviting. Try to avoid the short cut of “The Smith Family”. If they are important enough to invite to the wedding they are important enough to call by name. Family is also widely interpreted in terms of definition. Most people mean immediate family but the receiver of the invitation may have another idea.
If you are inviting someone that may bring a guest, that information goes on the inside envelope only.
When stuffing the envelopes they are stacked by size with the largest item on the bottom. The items are placed into the inner envelope so that they are the first thing you see when pulling it out of the envelope. The flap of the inner envelope is not sealed. The inner envelope goes into the outer so that the nameson the inner envelope are the first thing you see when it is pulled from the outer envelope.
MAILING Wedding invitations should be mailed four to six weeks before the big day, or if you have many international guest or are getting married on a holiday weekend you might consider a six to eight week window.
Be sure to verify the weight of the invitation ensemble to ensure they are stamped with the correct postage. Square invitations weighing less than one ounce require a $.11 surcharge.
You spend so much time and money selecting your invitations, take one last step to see that your invitations arrive to your guests as beautiful as you intended. When you are ready to mail the invitations take them inside the post office and ask the friendly clerk to “hand cancel” the stamps. This process manually cancels the stamp and avoids the normal process of machining the envelope and thus potentially streaming black ink across the front of the envelope.
RESPONSE CARDS
A response card allows your guests the opportunity to let you know if they plan to attend your event. The response date should be 2-3 weeks before the wedding.
Be sure to stamp the return envelope. Also note that guests in other countries cannot use an American stamp to send the response card back. There are international vouchers available for purchase at your local post office that you can include with the response card to cover the postage for guests in foreign countries. Your guest will exchange the voucher at their post office for the proper postage to return the response card.
RECEPTION CARDS
When a reception is held at a location different than the wedding ceremony an enclosure with the reception information should be included.
MAPS ENCLOSURES
What a great way to get your guests where they need to be….and hopefully on time. Take advantage of the space! Include information about the wedding and/or reception site, directions, details on hotels blocks and anything else you might find important for your guests to know.
REGISTRY INFORMATION
This is easy….it doesn’t go anywhere on, in or around the invitation. Please don’t talk yourself into it by thinking it is a convenience to your guest. Use your family and friends to spread the word.
SAVE THE DATE
Save the Dates are a new trend of the past few years. It is a card, magnet, postcard, golf ball….whatever, that provides your future guests with idea that you are getting married on a certain day and they should expect to receive an invitation. There are no hard rules just send them before the wedding invitations. My one suggestion would to be sure to include “Formal invitation to follow” so people know there will definitely be more information coming their way in the future.
WEDDING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Wedding announcements are sent to family and friends to announce your marriage. They are sent to those people that did not receive a wedding invitation, and should be sent the day of or shortly after your wedding.
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