Wedding Invitations Guide from Selection to Send
Wedding invitations are an important part of planning your celebration. They help set the tone for your wedding and give your guests important information about the big day. Follow our wedding invitations guide for tips about selecting and sending your invitations to family in the neighborhood or friends across the world.
Wedding Invitations Guide: Tips for Selecting Your Wedding Invitations
Your wedding invitations are more than just a piece of paper–they are a reflection of your style and personality as a couple. With so many options available, it can be challenging to know where to start. Here are a few tips to help you select the perfect wedding invitations.
1. Determine Your Wedding Invitation Budget
Including stamps! (More on that later.) When determining your overall wedding budget, it’s essential to budget enough for your wedding invitations. The cost of invitations will depend on a few factors, including the size of your guest list, quality of paper and printing, and the cost of postage. Whether you create them yourself on sites like Minted and Zola or hire a custom designer will also significantly affect the price–with the latter being more expensive. If you’re unsure where to start when developing your wedding invitation budget, work with your wedding planner for expert advice and guidance.
2. Consider Your Wedding Theme and Style During the Design Process
Your wedding invitations are often the first glimpse your guests will have into your wedding day, so it's important to choose a design that reflects your theme and style. For example, you might consider invitations with natural materials like wood or burlap if you’re planning a rustic affair. Or, if you're going for a more formal look, you might want to select invitations with elegant detailing like embossing or gold foil. Whatever route you choose, stay true to your overall wedding theme and style. Your invitations should set the tone for your big day, so put some thought into the design process, and you'll end up with a beautiful suite of stationery your guests will love.
3. Include Important Information and Follow Invitation Etiquette
The most important aspect of your wedding invitations is what you write on them. Invites aren’t just to look good but to provide your guests with essential information about the event. Wedding invitations should include the following:
Couple’s name
Date and time of the ceremony
Location of the ceremony and reception with the address(es)
Attire details
Wedding website URL
RSVP card
Important information about the venue (i.e., parking)
Guest name and address
Return address
Extra postage
The one thing your wedding invitations shouldn’t include is your gift registry. Instead, have it on your wedding website. When your guests receive the invitations, they can access your site via the URL provided and see your wedding gift options online.
4. Choose Your Paper, Printing Method, and Place Your Order
Once you decide on the details–including your design and wording–it’s time to solidify your paper and printing method and place your order. In some cases, choosing the paper is done ahead of time. For example, if you’re working with a wedding invitation designer, you’ll determine all of those aspects at the beginning. Either way, once your wedding invitations are on their way to you, it’s time to prepare to stamp and send them to your guests.
Wedding Invitations Guide: Tips for Sending Your Wedding Invitations
Your wedding invitation is one of the first glimpses your guests will have into your wedding day, so you want it to be perfect. You also want to make sure it shows up in their mailbox with plenty of time to RSVP. Here are a few tips to help you send your wedding invitations with ease.
1. Know Your Timeline Ahead of Time
You should send your wedding invitations six to eight weeks before your wedding to give yourself plenty of extra days in case they get lost in the mail or take longer to arrive than expected. This is especially important if you’re mailing invites across the country or somewhere around the world. Look into how long it typically takes to get a piece of mail where you need it to go. Then plan accordingly!
2. Learn How Stamps Work
Contrary to what you may have experienced when you sent letters to your pen pal as a kid, stamps are a bit more complex than you probably realize. Not all stamps are “forever” stamps–meaning they are always valuable. Some stamps are worth different values, and when the price of stamps goes up, your leftover ones from a couple of years ago won’t get your wedding invitations very far. Keep this in mind before you place a bulk order or start stamping your invites.
3. Choose the Proper Stamps for Your Wedding Invitations
How much postage your wedding invitations need depends on their weight, size, and thickness.
Weight: If your wedding invitations are less than an ounce, you can use a “forever” stamp, which is currently $0.58 per stamp. If your invites are over one ounce, each letter requires a forever stamp plus an additional $0.20 stamp to cover the extra weight.
Size: A typical wedding invitation size is 5x7 because it makes mailing them much simpler and, in some cases, cheaper. Bigger invitations or a unique shape, like a square, will automatically cost more to mail, regardless of the weight. Keep this in mind when determining your wedding invitation budget and purchasing stamps.
Thickness: Your wedding invitations can go through the sorting machine if one invitation is thinner than 1/4" thick at its thickest point. If it’s thicker, then you’ll need extra postage. Typically embellishments like ribbons cause the invitation to be too thick for standard sorting. With this in mind, you can decide whether the extra details are worth the extra cost when designing your invites.
If you’re mailing invitations out of the U.S., be sure to refer to the USPS mailing and shipping prices for the most up-to-date information.
4. Double Check that Everything is Correct and Send Away
Sending invitations is an exciting step in the event planning process. It means you’re one day closer to your wedding day! Double-check to ensure all the details are correct, including the postage amount, your guests’ mailing addresses, and your return address. This will minimize the chance of invitations getting lost or bouncing back to you. Does everything look good? Then it’s time to start addressing and mailing your invitations!
Follow Our Wedding Invitations Guide to Send Your Invites with Ease
You’ve said “Yes!” to marry the love of your life. Now it’s time to celebrate by sending beautiful invitations to all your friends and family! We understand that even with this wedding invitations guide, it can feel a bit overwhelming to coordinate and execute all the tasks required to plan your special day. But don’t worry; we’re here to help! When you hire Mountainside Events as your full-service wedding planner, we’re with you every step of the way. We help you with everything, including developing your wedding budget and accounting for invitations and stamps. Check out our wedding service packages, and contact us when you’re ready to start planning your dream wedding!