Planning a wedding is stressful enough right? Finding the right dress, flowers, venue. All of this is time consuming and can be very daunting. But one of the most important aspects of a wedding is the very first thing your guests will see before the big day. The Wedding Invitation. Wedding Invitation Kits are a great way to save time and money and enable the happy couple to create their own unique theme based invitation with their personal stamp on it. But choosing text for an invitation can be a bit tricky, especially when you have certain rules or “sticky” situations surrounding the wedding.
Let’s suppose you have an adults only wedding. This one can be a little tricky.How do you word an invitation to reflect an adults only theme? Especially when Aunt Sherry and Cousin Tom have 3 and 4 little ones each. Well, one tried and true method for just about any communication is word of mouth. Tactfully mention that the affair will be a more formal, cocktail oriented and fancy affair. If you aren’t comfortable that your message will get across, then send a nice personalized note with the invitation explaining the reasons for your decision to not have children. You could use budgetary, the type of affair, etc.
Or, more directly simply state “the reception and wedding are adult only affairs”. That is pretty black and white and to the point.
What all should be included in a wedding invitation? Well, the days of rules surrounding right and wrong protocol are fading. Just about anything goes due to the ever changing family landscape. Divorced parents, widowed, remarried; all of these have created a more free form method of choosing and wording invitations to reflect your day. Many invitations today are more informal and personal which is a great way to express yourselves as a couple and wedding invitation kits allow you to be as formal or as casual as you like.
But some things absolutely need to be on the invitation including:
- The wedding date: When (date and time), Where (ceremony and reception location) and a map and directions are important to include with the invitation. If you have a wedding website, some people even do dry runs a week or few days before the wedding to be sure there are no roadblocks, construction or detours to interfere with the timing of the affair. Then simply post the updates on your site so people have a heads up.
For a more formal invitation there are certain rules of etiquette which should be followed including writing out of the full names including middle names. Stay away from using middle initials. It is better to leave off the middle name entirely rather than use a middle initial. If you prefer, keep it very formal by using the “Queens English” when spelling out words like “honour” and “favour”. Also, it is important to spell out everything including, dates, times, hours, addresses, etc. Use Roman Numerals for names as in John Thomas, III.
For a more casual, non religious ceremony it is fine to simply state “request the pleasure of your company” but for a religious ceremony it is better to say “request the honour of your presence”.
Regardless of which wedding invitation kits and text you choose, keep the affair stress free and fun. Be yourself, stay focused and everything else will fall into place.