Helpful Hints to Get Your Wedding Invitations in the Mail

Many brides can’t wait to walk down the aisle, but don’t know where to start on their wedding planning. One of the first tasks on your list should be your wedding invitations and wedding stationery. It can be a little more complicated than just putting a card in the mail. But with these helpful hints, you’ll get through it in no time.

The List
You’ll need to make a complete list of guests. Be sure you include both sides of the family and all of your friends you’d like to invite. As your list grows, you’ll need to be mindful of budget and venue limits. You might not be able to invite everyone. If you do need to cut back, you can still include those that didn’t make the invitation list with a wedding announcement (see below).

Save the Date
You’ll need to get your save-the-date cards in the mail about four to six months ahead of time. If you’re planning a destination wedding or a wedding around a holiday, you should give even more notice. Also, remember that everyone who receives a save-the-date card will be expecting an invitation. You’ll have very little - if any - wiggle room to change your guest list once your save-the-dates are in the mail. Make sure you’ve got a complete and accurate list and you’ll be ready when its time to get your actual invitation in the mail.

Picking out your invitation
There is no hard and fast rule about your invitation. Only you know what you like and what you can afford. You should be ready to compare and contrast invitation options and make a choice in a timely manner. Set a budget and a time limit for this task to keep you on track. Once you’ve picked your invitation you should consider choosing any other wedding stationery (see below) you may need.

Getting your invitation to your guests
Your wedding invitation should be mailed or hand-delivered. An e-invitation or email is never appropriate in this situation. Make sure you have adequate postage for the size and shape of your envelope. Nothing would be worse than having your invitations come back to you due to ‘insufficient postage.’ Take a sample into your local post office and ask them to weigh it just to make sure you’re all set. Don’t forget to affix postage to your reply card also. Your guests will need an easy way to get your reply card back to you.

RSVP date
Make sure you give your guests plenty of time to respond. And keep in mind that you may have to call guests who haven’t responded by the appointed date. Usually, your caterer and venue will want to know your guest count a week to 10 days before your wedding. Give yourself enough time to make those phone calls, if necessary, so you don’t end up with an inaccurate guest count.

Invitations or Announcements?
Anyone that didn’t quite make the official invitation list should still get a wedding announcement. If a guest has RSVP’d ‘no’ to your wedding, they do not need an announcement. These cards are for anyone that would otherwise not have formal notice of your wedding. Typically, you would order these when you order your wedding invitations and send out immediately after your wedding. However, some brides and grooms would like to include a photo of the actual wedding with their announcement so it is sent a little while after the wedding. In any case, you want to make sure you send these out as close to your actual wedding date as possible.

Additional wedding stationery
In addition to invitations, reply cards and announcements you should consider your other wedding day needs. If your reception will be using a program you’ll need to order those as soon as you have the details. If your reception will be assigned seating, you’ll need escort and/or place setting cards. After the wedding you will need thank-you notes and possibly even day-to-day stationery. All important things to consider as you create your wedding stationery order.

It may seem like a daunting task, but taken one step at a time, it can be very easy to get your invitations in the mail. Once you’ve got this done, plan on taking a short break. Go get a massage or have lunch with your bridal party. And come back to your planning refocused and ready to tackle the next fun item on your wedding to-do list.

wedding invitations
Wedding Invitations