Tips on Formal Wedding Invitation Etiquette
In this more relaxed era, a wedding invitation can be sent by telephone, conveyed verbally or even emailed. The objective of a wedding invitation is to let your guests know when and where the ceremony and reception are taking place.
Although wedding invitations are similar to other invitations, there is a certain formality associated with 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 etiquette exists because formal wedding invitations convey the formality and the tone of the event through the paper, font and style of the invitation. The more formal your wedding, the more formal the invitations need to be.
Addressing wedding invitations for a formal wedding means you must use the old fashioned paper style of invitations sent by regular mail. It’s considered improper to invite your guests via email or phone since these methods are relatively new.
Formal wedding invitations are usually engraved and most likely written in the third person style. They use a classic letter style such as Roman. They are printed on heavyweight ivory, cream or white paper. Typically, there are two envelopes that form part of the invitation. The first envelope is the outer envelope which holds everything pertaining to the invitation. The second envelope is used for the reply card only.
There are other helpful rules of etiquette for formal wedding invitations which should be considered during the planning stage. For the more formal wedding ceremonies, your don’t want to be overly creative. If you’re quite sure that your guest will bring a friend, it’s perfectly acceptable to use the term “and guest” on the invitation if you don’t know their name. Generally, this will limit the number of unforeseen guests who tag along. Wedding ceremonies that take place in a house of worship call for a more solemn approach than those held in the home or outdoors, and therefore the invitations must convey this formality. Generally, formal wedding invitations are produced at a printing company, and the envelope is addressed by hand by members of the wedding party.
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.
