When planning for the wedding day, many considerations must be taken into account. There are proper ways to conduct the service, the reception and all of the details that are required of a wedding. Proper etiquette standards are in place for such things as attire, manners, procedures and announcements. Wedding invitation etiquette is one area often overlooked until it is needed.
What Is Wedding Invitation Etiquette?
Wedding invitation etiquette is the proper announcing of the wedding. Invitations are sent to friends, family and other acquaintances who you want to attend. When conducting a large church affair, invitations go out to friends and family of both the bride and groom. When inviting people associated through business, it should be done out of friendship, not for business contacts. For smaller home weddings, the list can be narrowed down to family and close friends. Consideration must be given to how many people can comfortably fit into the reception area.
General Rules
Wedding invitation etiquette, for either formal or informal gatherings, follows general guidelines.
*Wedding invitations should convey the mood of the event be it formal, whimsical, low-key or intimate.
*Wedding invitations need to communicate the details about the proceedings of the day.
*You should be clear in both the language and the meaning when it comes to times, locations, attire, directions or any other items that are involved on the special day.
*You need to send your invitations well enough in advance to allow for response and for guests to plan accordingly.
*When inviting a guest to the ceremony, it is proper etiquette to also invite them to the reception.
In today’s world wedding invitations can be sent out a variety of ways. This depends on the formality of the occasion. Formal wedding invitation etiquette, for example, does not allow for anything other than paper invitations sent by regular mail.
Formal and Informal Etiquette
There are two styles of wedding invitations, formal and informal. Formal wedding invitation etiquette, the older style, is most often used when planning a large elaborate gathering or a huge church wedding. Informal wedding invitation etiquette can be for small family weddings where not much planning is required.
Formal wedding invitations usually have the following rules:
*Names are usually written out in full, including middle name
*All words should be spelled out, including the hour, date, time and year. All street addresses must follow this rule as well.
*Rather than 3rd, or “the third”, use III (Roman numerals)
*Formal invitations have two envelopes, the main envelope and the responding envelope
*Religious settings “request the honor of your presence” while non-religious gatherings “request the pleasure of your company”
Informal invitations usually follow these rules:
*Hand written, email and telephone invitations are acceptable
*Less formal use of tone and words
*Simple statements of time, date, place, directions, along with who is to be married.
Wedding invitation etiquette mainly follows either the formal or informal rules depending on which you decide to work with. Wording is very important. This conveys both the tone and the seriousness of the event.
Formal wedding invitations are the most common; informal invitations have given couples more innovation and freedom of expression. With either, wedding invitation etiquette is a must.
More Articles on Wedding Invitation Etiquette