Saturday, September 1, 2012

Guidelines for Addressing and Sending Wedding Invitations

Guidelines for Addressing and Sending Wedding Invitations

The perfect set of wedding invitations makes a profound statement regarding a couple’s interests, goals, and aspirations for their life together. It also informs family, close friends, and others about the details surrounding this important day in a couple’s life. Addressing and mailing wedding invitations is guided by some simple rules of etiquette that are designed to ensure that everyone who receives an invitation will be able to plan with enough time in advance to attend the event, as well as feeling personally touched by the honor of an extended invitation. The following tips are offered as a guide to ensure that the delivery and receipt of your wedding invitations will be as smooth and sweet as the years that you will spend together in marital harmony.

Give Advance Notice of Your Wedding
If possible, you should begin to prepare your invitations several months in advance of your upcoming wedding. By sending your wedding invitations out within six to eight weeks of your wedding date, you will allow guests to prepare and make any necessary accommodations for attending your wedding. Out-of-state guests in particular will benefit from being able to make reservations for transportation and lodging that they will need in order to attend your wedding. This will also allow you to get an accurate head count of how many people will be attending your wedding within a few weeks of your wedding.

Addressing Invitations
When addressing the outer envelope of your invitation, it is always best to make sure that they are hand-written. This adds a personal touch to your invitation and lets guests know that you value their attendance. You should always make sure that guests names are spelled correctly, and address couples by their common name when appropriate. Write everyone’s name in full and avoid using nicknames on the outer envelope of your invitations. If your handwriting is difficult to read, it is acceptable to recruit friends and other family members to help with addressing envelopes. Calligraphy and addresses directly printed upon the envelope are also gaining in popularity and can offer an alternative to hand-writing that still appears personal to the receiver of the invitation.

Return Addresses
Return addresses are traditionally written on the back envelope flap of wedding invitations. The same rules should be followed for return addresses as were used for the main address, including spelling out of all street names, adhering to formal personal names, and using a professional style of handwriting. Some couples prefer to use embossing for the return address, while other couples use hand stamps or pre-printed envelopes.

Use Outer and Inner Envelopes
The outer envelope of the invitation is designed to provide protection for the actual wedding invitation, leaving the inner envelope free from any dirt or damage that can occur in the mailing process. The inner envelope should be addressed with the names of all the members who live in the home and can include the names of any children that are also invited. Mailing information such as addresses should be left off of the inner envelope. 

Putting It All Together
Once all the envelopes have been properly addressed, wedding invitations should be assembled by placing the invitation and all accompanying cards, maps, and RSVP forms face-up inside of the inner envelope. These are then placed into the outer envelope and mailed to the intended recipients. By following the above guidelines, each of the wedding invitations will be sure to arrive on time and pristine condition to prepare guests for a memorable day.

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