Wedding Invitations: A Complete Checklist
Need the 411 on wedding invitations and more? Here's
everything you need to know about all the paper products you'll be ordering.
Before you go buying every pretty note card in sight,
determine your needs by breaking down your wedding day. Use your
wedding
style, however formal or casual, as well as time and budget to guide you
through the boundless options. It's helpful to establish a thread of
consistency -- with color, theme, or motif -- and apply it to each piece. For
efficiency and cost effectiveness, strive to order all your stationery needs from
the same place and, ideally, at the same time. Here's everything you need to
know about the paper products you'll be ordering.
Invitations
The centerpiece of your wedding stationery, the invitation
reflects the tone of your wedding, whether black tie or beach party. An
invitation can have several pieces: the outer envelope, an unsealed inner
envelope, the invitation, a reception card (if the party is held at a different
venue than the ceremony), and a response card with a self-addressed, stamped
envelope. Printed maps and information on hotels is often also enclosed.
These are heavy stock, 100-percent cotton or linen paper in
white or ecru, engraved with black or charcoal ink, and with a square of tissue
to protect the type.
Couples are steering away from the standard invitation and
using papers in unusual sizes and colors, with exotic textures (perhaps
relating to the color scheme of the wedding), and emblazoned with motifs,
graphics, monograms, and family crests. Waste-conscious brides with less formal
invites often forgo the unsealed inner envelope (originally used to protect the
invitation from the elements when mail was hand-delivered and often arrived in
shoddy shape).
Three to four months before the wedding date. The sooner you
order them, the more time you'll have to proof them, make any changes, and
address the outer envelopes (a
calligrapher,
for example, requires up to two weeks to address 100 invitations).
Six weeks before the date is the most common; eight weeks is
ideal (10 weeks for guests coming from abroad). You have more leeway if you
send save-the-date cards first.
Reply Cards
These cards are, of course, sent with your invitations with
a self-addressed stamped envelope.
Reply cards often ask each guest to check a box letting
couples know how many people will attend the wedding. A date for the return of
the reply card is essential.
Since so many people have dietary concerns, many reply cards
now include the menu options so that guests can check off what they wish to eat
that day, and so the caterer can be fully prepared for the number of vegetarian
meals that needs to be cooked. Additionally, if it's a weekend wedding, the
reply card will often include a list of activities with check boxes so that
guests can let the couple know which events (such as a tennis tournament or
golf outing) they plan to attend.
With your invitations.
Reception Cards
These are cards sent with the wedding invitation to inform
guests where the party will take place.
A small card that asks guests to join the newlyweds and
their families for a celebratory reception. It gives the date, place, and time.
Play with fonts and designs (like a motif or monogram) on
this card, especially if your invitations are classic.
With your invitations.
Wedding Programs
Not only can they provide useful information, they also make
charming mementos. Programs are often in the form of a small booklet and
include information about the ceremony, such as the date, the names of the
bridal party (and perhaps their relationships to the bride or groom), the order
of events, and the titles of readings and songs. Couples may also choose the
program to honor deceased loved ones, to thank important people, and/or to
explain unfamiliar rites of the ceremony.
On your invites, the "reply by" for the response
cards should be at least three weeks before the wedding so there's time to
create the seating arrangements.
The front cover of the booklet bears the couple's names or
joint initials. The pages are bound, usually by the stationer, with a satin
ribbon.
A less expensive option is a single piece of heavy-stock paper
with a vellum overlay, tied together,
by
you and your bridesmaids, with a ribbon reflecting your color scheme. Some
couples are including their favorite poetry or the story of how they met or got
engaged. Other couples are crafting creative programs, such as ones shaped as
fans (especially popular for beach or summer weddings).
If the programs will be formal and multipaged, it's best to
order them with your invitations. Otherwise, order four to six weeks before the
wedding date.
Knot Note: Read more on
wedding
program basics before you visit your stationer.
Menu Cards
These cards are becoming more popular and thankfully so. No
one likes to sit down to a meal when they have no idea what is about to be
served.
Often designed as a single card in a heavy cotton stock in a
rectangular shape and containing the elements of the meal, including different
wines or other beverage options.
This is a great place to list why you've chosen a particular
dish if it has cultural or personal significance. Drink cards (listing the five
martinis available to guests, for instance) are cards that stand at the bar.
At least six weeks before the wedding day.
Place Cards
Place cards inform guests which chair to sit in. (Escort
cards direct people to their tables.
Small, tented cards that are printed with each guest's name
and placed at the top of every setting.
You can choose to use any kind of prop you like to tell
guests where to sit: small stones with hand-painted names, the tag of each
favor, even a die-cut flower to enhance your wedding aesthetic.
With your invitations (or buy them about four weeks before
the wedding day).
Knot Note: Instead of writing each guest's table assignment on the
escort card itself, slip the card into a small envelope that's tagged with a
table number. This way, you can easily swap guests' table assignments up until
the last second.
Thank-You Cards
These handwritten notes -- from both of you -- should thank
guests for their gifts and/or presence at your wedding.
Cards that say "thank you" or have your new
married monogram and new address stenciled into them.
Our favorite idea is a picture card or postcard with your
wedding photo (or a photo of all the guests at the ceremony) on the front.
With your invitations.
No later than one month after your honeymoon for gifts
received the day of your wedding. You should ideally send thank-you notes out
immediately for any gifts received before the wedding day.
