Invitation Etiquette

As your wedding date draws nearer, it is time to send out your wedding invitations. With so many options available, it is important for you and your guests to understand the etiquette involved.

1. Each invitation should be specifically addressed to the guests that are being invited. For example, if you address the invitation to Mr. and Mrs. Carl Smith and Family, you are inviting Carl, his wife, and their children. If you only address the invite to Mr. and Mrs. Carl Smith, the intention is to only invite Carl and his wife. However, please note that although you may be aware of invitation etiquette, your guests may not. The response card may be returned with more guests than you you intended. If this happens, it is up to you to decide on how to respond. You may have to call them and politely explain that the invitation was really intended for only the adults. If this is an uncomfortable conversation, then you may just have to be ready to add to your guest list.


2. If you are inviting a couple who live together, but who are not married, then you specifically address the invitation to both of them, such as Mr. Carl Smith and Ms. Anna Roberts.


3. In the past, when single friends have been invited it has been customary to address the invite as Mr. Thomas Anderson and Guest, giving them the choice of whether to bring someone or not. More recently, with the high costs associated with weddings, some couples are choosing to limit their guest list, especially if they have a number of single friends who already normally hang out together. Once again, if you receive the response card and the number is two instead of one, then be prepared to make a phone call to clarify the situation right away or accept an increase in your guest numbers. However, please note that if a single friend has been seeing someone for three months or more, you should include "and Guest" on the wedding invitation, allowing them to bring a date.


4. RSVP cards should already be stamped and ready to be mailed back. It may seem like a little thing, but it is considered bad form to make your guests pay for their own postage.


5. Information in regards to where you've registered for gifts should not be included in your wedding invitation. Instead, create a wedding website that not only includes maps and updates about your wedding, but a specific section of links to places you've registered. Now days it is considered quite acceptable to include the website address in your wedding invitation to point guests in the right direction.


6. Wedding invitations are normally mailed out three to six months prior to the wedding. Although e-mails work for Save The Dates, invitations should still be "hard copy".
   

For additional assistance on how to properly word wedding invitations or help with any of your other wedding stationary questions, please contact us at info@creativeweddingsandoccasions.com.

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Cathy MacRae is a certified wedding and event planner, and owner of Creative Weddings and Occasions and Del Sol Destination Weddings. Located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, she plans wedding for couples in and around the Calgary and Banff area. She is also a destination wedding and honeymoon travel specialist helping couples plan their weddings in paradise all around the world. For more information about planning your own wedding or for advice from Cathy, please contact her at info@creativeweddingsandoccasions.com.