Ah, wedding invitations. Your wedding invitations are one of the first impressions that you give your wedding guests, and they play a pretty large role when it comes to “setting the stage” for your wedding day. The ins and outs of wedding invitations could be a whole series of posts, but I’ll leave that for an invitation professional to write. Today, we’re just going to keep things short and sweet and give you five things that are important to know about wedding invitations…
1. Quantity
You don’t have to order one invitation for EVERY person on your guest list. Because I’m pretty sure half of those people live at the same place. So when thinking of how many invitations to order, don’t forget to cut your total guest count in half.
2. Price
Custom invitations are the way to go- and they’re NOT as expensive as you think. I think that just because the word “custom” is associated with it, many people automatically think it’s out of their price range- I know I did! (Note: Essentially everything for your wedding should be custom, because your wedding is CUSTOM to YOU!) Think of it this way- you don’t blink twice when you buy a mass produced greeting card with glitter on it for Mother’s Day for $5 at the drugstore, do you? I know I don’t! So if you can get awesome custom invitations that are SO much better than a glittered up greeting card for a few more dollars (or the same as that greeting card), that’s pretty great, don’t you think?
3. You need time.
I can attest to that. I didn’t have time have my invitations custom made, so I had to order through a “big book”. But now you know, and you can have plenty of time to work with a custom designer. It is recommended to start the process for your invitations 6 months before your wedding- essentially giving you 4 months to go through a design process so you can have them nice and ready to be sent out 2 months before your date. (Oh, and while we’re on the topic of designing invitations, please don’t ever expect a designer to replicate someone else’s design. Show them what you like that you’ve seen elsewhere and they’ll create something custom for you from your inspiration, but don’t ask them to copy someone else’s work!)
4. Proofread!
You don’t know how many times I’ve heard about invitations being printed wrong because of a lack of proofreading! Your stationer most likely doesn’t know the exact spelling of your fiance’s name, your parents’ names, your venue’s name, etc- but you do! Make sure you look over the proofs sent to you, and then have at least 2 other people look them over as well!
5. Don’t forget!
Don’t forget about postage and other paper elements too! The majority of the time an invitation is NOT going to take a normal stamp, so you’re going to need to take it to the post office (assembled) and have it weighed before you buy your stamps. And don’t forget that you need stamps for your RSVPs too!
As for other paper elements, people always think about them, but they’re often forgotten in the excitement of the invitation design- menus, escort cards, programs, etc. Even though they’re not needed until the day of your wedding, I definitely recommend having your stationer design these items along with your invitations so they’re ready to go once you have all of the details to “fill in”. [PS- having table numbers designed to match your stationery is great, but the options are also endless when it comes to table numbers!]
There is SO much more beyond these 5 things to know about wedding invitations… lucky for you, you can find out more here on ELD by clicking below!
Have any questions? Feel free to ask in the comments- we’re here to help!
Editor’s Note: A version of this post was originally published in 2011. It has since been updated and revamped for looks and accuracy.
Lauren
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great tips, lauren!
Good tips – I laughed when I saw “Proofread,” because I just watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding (for the millionth time) – and their invitation says Rodney and Harry (instead of Harriet) – so funny! But it would NOT be funny in real life! :P So, good point!
great post lauren! those are all great tips!
Yay- invite tips!! I love how you take the time to write these in-depth posts on each of the wedding pros, it’s awesome! Can’t wait until we see an ELD couple- I know they’ll be well informed :) And a big fat yes to “proofread”- as you can tell by our post today!
Yes! Especially about needing time. That was something I didn’t really think about until crunch time…And we did our own custom design.
Great tips- as usual!
Excellent Tips! Number three is so important. Give yourself, and your designer time to do amazing work. It really pays off to have all or most of your paper goods done by the same designer as well. It’s easier and you are guaranteed that everything will coordinate perfectly!
Wow- great timing lauren with this post! It’s invite time for me according to my checklist so these tips will definitely help! thanks girl!! =)
Great points.
I just wanted to add one more:
Off-the-shelf invitations cannot be printed at places like Staples, OfficeMax, etc., because their machines cannot handle anything smaller than 8.5″ x 11″. Also, they won’t print on material that is embossed, engraved, scored, perfed, folded or that contains mylar (metallic).
99% of the time you see invitations that you love (whether in the magazines, online, or Pinterest), those were professionally designed and produced. Generic office supply stores will not be able to produce this level of work because it’s not the type of cookie-cutter service they provide.
Wow! Great Tips on wedding Inviations