The Do’s and Don’ts for Wedding Invitations

 You have just said “yes” to the man of your dreams and you have picked out your wedding colors and you have started on the planning process, now you have to pick out and send invitations. Yes, you could send everyone an e-vite (invite through email) or you could create a page on facebook for people to RSVP; but if you are more traditional and would like to actually send someone a personal invitation through the mail it will take some planning and some work.

Unfortunately sending personal invites through the mail is not as easy as using predictive dialers that call each person and do the work for you. Here are some tips on the do’s and the don’ts for wedding invitations:

• Do order more than you need. Order more invitations than you need and order even more envelopes. You need to leave room for last minute changes and for writing errors. You will need to send one invitation per household, however if someone is eighteen or older and living at home he or she should get a personal invitation.

• Do provide all information. You want to make sure all of the information your guests need is in your invitation. Things like the names of the wedding sponsors and or hosts, the names of the bride and groom, the date, day, time, and place of both the wedding and the reception. You will also want to include RSVP information. RSVP means "repondez s'il vous plait," which is a French phrase that means please respond promptly if you wish to attend.

• Don’t be casual. As you are going through and writing your invitations, or if you are having a calligrapher write your invitations, it is customary to spell everything out so that the invitation looks more formal. Even the time is spelled out.

• Don’t send late. An acceptable time to send wedding invitations is usually about 10 to 12 weeks before the wedding date. Do not send out your invitations later because you want to give your guests plenty of time to clear their schedules.

• Do say thank you. As you are going through and making a list of the people who have RSVP’d save that list. Also be sure to have someone from your wedding party, usually a maid of honor or a bridesmaid, record all of your gifts at your wedding shower. Later on when it is time to send out thank-you cards you will be able to use those lists instead of going through and trying to figure out who sent what and who you have to thank.

Madison Hewerdine is an author who writes about predictive dialers and has a passion for singing.