A wedding invitation is the first contact the couple will have with their guests. So, like an initial interview, it must create a good impression. There will be a wide spectrum of guests ranging between the conservative and not so conservative. The wedding invitation, however unorthodox, must remain within the range of good taste catering to the acceptability level of the guests. Your invitation could employ formal or informal wording. It could consist of one or more cards but it will provide you with the location of the event, the date and time, the name of the couple, the RSVP and the mention of who is hosting the occasion.
When you are sending out a formal invitation you have to conform to certain rules. It is only with informal invitations that these can be relaxed. For formal invitations the full name including the middle name is written. The date, the time and the year are all spelled out and so is the address including “street” and “road” However. a good invitation is one which is a blend of the formal and the personalized. There could be many reasons why couples would like to be more informal with the wedding. They could be the kind of people who are averse to formality and have friends of the same kind. Or they, like most other couples who are starting afresh in life, do not have that kind of money which traditional formality requires. For informal invitation cards white and off white paper could be discarded for other brighter or pastel shades. Different kinds of fonts with different colored ink could be used. A bit of artistry can also be utilized by painting borders and pictures on the cards after they have been printed. Some couples also like to put up their pictures on the top of the card.
Verses and quotes are often effectively incorporated in the invitation. Although all this adds to the interest of the card, care should be taken not to inundate the main message. Information about the venue, the date and other important facts should not require a big hunt.
Traditionally the mention of the bride comes before that of the groom. The bride’s first and middle names are used but the full name of the bridegroom with his title.
For example:
“Elizabeth Mary to Mr. John Henry Smith”
However, a more modern approach,
“Elizabeth Mary to John Smith”
would also be considered appropriate.
The date in an invitation card has to be given in detail. For example Wednesday the fourteenth of October two thousand and nine, with the month and the day capitalized. The time could be written as 5p.m or five o’clock in the afternoon. As again a less formal Wednesday, October 14, 2009 would be equally acceptable.
The information regarding the location depends on the location itself. If it is a well known place like for instance the city community hall, no other address need be given. However, if it a smaller location like one’s own house, the full address needs to be mentioned. For example
Hennery Lodge
26 Sheraton Road
NY City, NY
If the reception and the wedding are to be at different venues, it is a good idea to give two separate cards, the second card giving the time and the location of the venue, for example:
Reception 5 o’clock
Hennery Lodge
29 Sheraton Road
NY City, NY
It would be courteous to inform your guests if you are not serving a full meal. The card could mention that there is dessert or cocktails to follow the ceremony.
The people hosting the reception will be mentioned initially in the card. It is usually the parents, who host a reception so the invitation will go like,
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Or informally,
Sabina and Andrew Smith.
If it is the bride and the groom who are hosting their reception then it will be
Elizabeth Mary and John Smith
Or
Ms Elizabeth Mary and Mr. John Smith
It is quite convenient for the couple if they get to know beforehand how many of their guests will be attending. For this reason most invitations have RSVP printed at the end of the card requiring a response. Or they could have a separate reply card with options to attend or not to attend with a cutoff date.
Other options could also be included in the card. Some venues require a certain dress code. So, while generally dictating an attire priority is not the most recommended thing to do, it would be prudent to warn the guests about what to wear to eliminate embarrassment when they arrive improperly attired.
There are so many websites available with templates, suggestions ideas and guidelines to ease our way through the business of marriage and achieve wonderful results. Sending out wedding reception invitation cards is no longer a matter which should rob us of our night’s sleep.
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