The Ins and Outs of Formal Wedding Invitation Etiquette
January 14th, 2009. Published under Weddings. No Comments.
In today’s modern society, wedding invitations can be given via word of mouth, telephone, or email. The main goal of the wedding invitation is to make sure that all your guests know the who, what, when and where of your wedding and reception.
Even though wedding invitations are like many other kinds of invitation, there is almost always more formality to them. Because of this association, wedding invitation etiquette has been established to help you navigate the ins and outs of inviting guests to your wedding. This protocol is in place because a formal wedding invitation lets your guests know through the paper stock, the type style and the wording that this is not a casual event. For a more formal wedding, your invitations need to match the tone.
Addressing wedding invitations for a formal wedding does not allow for inviting guests via email or phone since these methods are relatively new. It calls for the traditional style of printed invitations, which are sent by regular mail.
Formal wedding invitations usually have the following characteristics. They are printed on heavyweight ivory, cream or white paper. They use a classic letter style such as Roman. Formal invitations are usually engraved and most likely written in the third person style. Typically, there are two envelopes that form part of the invitation. The first envelope is the outer one, which contains all the other components of the invitation. The other envelope is used by the guest to return the reply card.
There are other useful guidelines for preparing formal wedding invitations that you should keep in mind. Most formal wedding invitations are printed by a professional printing service and then the envelope is hand addressed by either the groom or bride. If your guest is certain to bring a date or companion it is acceptable to write “and guest” on the invitation when you do not know their name. Usually this limits the amount of unknown guests brought along by others. For a very formal wedding, your invitations should not be highly creative. Ceremonies held in places of worship require a more formal setup and thereby more formal invitations than a ceremony held in a nature setting or a home.
Wedding invitation etiquette is essential for a formal invitation. This implies the importance of the special occasion to those involved, unlike other invitations such as wedding shower invitations which are far less formal and more festive.
