photo courtesy of Cat Thrasher Photography via The Brides Cafe

Oh invitation wording. The stress such a simple thing can create. I’m almost certain this is one of the biggest things I help brides with. As with most things, I tell my brides to do what they are comfortable with and what makes the most sense to them. I will go over a couple of the most popular ways of wording I come across from traditional to modern.

Traditional

Mr. and Mrs. Donald Rutherford
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Cynthia Ann
and
Mr. John Quincy Smith
son of
Doctor and Mrs. David Smith
Saturday, the twenty-fifth of August
two thousand eleven
at four o’clock
St. James Catholic Church
Fort Worth, Texas 

Yes, the word honour has a “u”. This is not a typo.

Modern

Together With Their Parents
Cynthia Ann Rutherford and John Quincy Smith
Invite You to Join Us in a Celebration of Marriage
Saturday, the twenty-fifth of August
two thousand eleven
at four o’clock
St. James Catholic Church
Fort Worth, Texas 

Modern invitations can really be worded however you see fit. If you want to say “Let’s Party and Tie the Knot” go for it. Just make sure that your wording and the feel of your wedding match. Don’t say the above statement if you want everyone to come dressed in black tie. Cousin Joe will read that and show up in his jeans ready to take advantage of the open bar!

My advice is really think about what you want people to get from your invitation. Is it formal, casual or whimsical? Wording can help establish this. I encourage you to look at what other people have done on their invitations and to seek out advice from the experts when you get stuck. I’m always happy to help my couples find the words that are most inviting to them!

Have some more questions? Say Hello and I’ll help you out!

Click Here to get started on your Custom Designed Wedding Invitation!

Stay tuned for more information in my Wedding Stationery 101 series!

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The post I’ve been dreading, but I need to address a question I get all the time. Why do custom invitations cost so darn much?

I hate, repeat, hate having to tell brides how much their invitation dreams will cost. Trust me. If money were no object, I would do this for free because I love it so much!

The truth is, custom invitations are expensive because they are custom. This means they are created just for you and in my case, with original artwork. They take time. LOTS of time to design, print and assemble. If you decide that you want custom invitations, you have to understand what you are paying for. When that bill comes and each invite costs $5 and up, you need to understand that it is worth every penny.

The biggest thing you are paying for is time. It can take me up to 2 weeks to design original concepts for a bride to look at. From there, it can take me anywhere from 4-6 weeks to assemble an order. Not to mention, the amount of time I spend communicating and editing a project with a client.

So what should you do if you can’t afford custom invitations but need something custom? Research, research, research! There are tons of amazing invitation designers out there who offer ready made designs. While you may not be able to find exactly what you are looking for, I’m sure you can find something really special and unique. I have a small ready made collection on etsy and will be expanding this year!

Lastly, never be afraid to ask! More often than not, I can come up with a solution for custom designed invitations that will meet a bride’s budget. It never hurts to find out all of your options.

Have some more questions? Say Hello and I’ll help you out!

Click Here to get started on your Custom Designed Wedding Invitation!

Stay tuned for more information in my Wedding Stationery 101 series!

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Source: thegiftofgoodmanners.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Ah Emily Post! She is always my go to for etiquette information and I can’t tell you the number of times I have sent a bride to her site. Today I want to talk about the do’s and don’ts I get asked all the time when it comes to wedding invitations. Things can get tricky and there are expectations put on by others. However, I believe if you follow proper etiquette, you can minimize any major damage.

Let’s start with the DO’S:
DO hand address or print in a really pretty font the addresses on the envelope. Labels can ruin any good invitation.

DO address your invitations formally and include all members who are invited in the address. Don’t assume that they will know who to bring. If the whole family is invited, say “and Family.” See the DON’T about children below.

DO use correct titles such as Dr. or Mrs. or Miss. Be sure to double check if you aren’t sure.

Now for some DON’TS:
DON’T include registry information in the wedding invitation. What? I know, I know. I’ll be honest: I put a slip of paper inside my wedding invitation envelope with registry info. Well it was more a direction to our website which had registry information on it. I think that’s ok as long as you don’t say “to buy me gifts go here!” It just seems tacky. Don’t worry. If someone wants to buy you a gift, they will find the info they need.

DON’T say “Children not Invited.” I can’t tell you how often I get asked this question. I’m going to quote Emily Post directly on this one:

Do not print “no children” or “adults only” on an invitation. The way an invitation is addressed, whether on the inner or outer envelope, indicates exactly who is invited, and, by omission, who is not invited to the wedding.  If the envelope is addressed to “Mr. and Mrs. Hayward,” then Mr. and Mrs. Hayward should not assume that their children are included. If the envelope is addressed to “The Hayward Family” or “Mr. and Mrs. Hayward, Sarah and Elliott Hayward” then it can be assumed that all mentioned are invited. In addition to this, you can talk to close friends and relatives and ask them to help spread the word about your preference to keep the event to adults. -http://www.emilypost.com/weddings/your-day/601-kids-or-no-kids

DON’T tell your guests how to dress. Again, I know I know, but if you are sending the correct invitation for the event, your guests should know what to do simply by looking at it. Also, the location should give this information away too!

Now, I know there are many many more that I didn’t include. Just be thoughtful when wording your invitation and remember: Good manners never hurt anybody!

Have some more questions? Say Hello and I’ll help you out!

Click Here to get started on your Custom Designed Wedding Invitation!

Stay tuned for more information in my Wedding Stationery 101 series!

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Wedding invitations have become so important to the wedding process. I don’t remember receiving wedding invitations in the mail that were as informative and had as many pieces as I do now. I love finding an invitation in the mail that has everything I need to know summed up in one envelope. How amazing is that!

Brides can often get overwhelmed by what they need or don’t need to include in a wedding invitation, so I’m going to break it down for you.

Invitation- obviously this is the main part of the wedding invitation as a whole. This should include the basic information: who, what, where and when.

RSVP card- also a super important part of the package. This is a card to let people tell you whether or not they are coming. This is especially important for weddings who are serving food and will have seating. Although online RSVP systems are gaining popularity, I still think it is good to include an additional card or slip of paper with the RSVP instructions on them and to not crowd text on the actual invitation.

Insert cards- additional insert cards to be used as needed. For example, is the reception in a different place than the wedding? A reception card would be great to convey this information. Is there an after party? Are there any other special instructions that need to be shared?

Map or Directions- a map is by no means necessary but sometimes really nice to include. If your reception and ceremony are in different places but not close or if you have a lot of out of town guests, maps are a nice touch. For a recent wedding, we did a 2-sided map which was fantastic. Guests just threw the map in their car before leaving and it took the guesswork out of getting everybody to the right location. You can forgo a map altogether and just simply include text directions. Both are great options.

Envelope- last but certainly not least: the envelope. You can use an inner envelope to be more formal. I honestly rarely see a bride use one these days. If so, you would want use the guest’s title and last name such as Mr. and Mrs. Hull. The outer envelope would be address using the formal listing of title, first and last name such as Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Hull.

In my next post in Wedding Stationery 101, I will cover some do’s and don’ts for wedding invitations.

Have some more questions? Say Hello and I’ll help you out!

Click Here to get started on your Custom Designed Wedding Invitation!

Stay tuned for more information in my Wedding Stationery 101 series!

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Custom design can be a pricey endeavor for anyone needing stationery. So why would you choose custom design over going to the store and picking something out? I’m going to focus on weddings here, but this information could really apply to any type of stationery.

Here are my top 5 reasons to choose custom design:

1.) Your invitations will be exactly what you require and what you desire
That is a pretty bold statement, but as a custom designer this is what I want to achieve with each and every custom job I take on. You work one-on-one with your designer to come up with something that matches your theme, colors, style, traditions, etc. to a tea. This is hard to do with stock invitations. Also, if you require something special such as a 2-sided map, I can do that and the map will coordinate with the rest of your invitation suite.

2.) Branding
What? Branding when it comes to weddings? Oh yes. When I got married, we could not find invitations that we liked. We wanted our monogram to be special, unique and EVERYWHERE. Cheesy I know. I ended up designing something that transcended the invitation and really took a life all it’s own. Everything coordinated and made sense. When you walked into the reception, the same ideas from the invitation were in place. We had created the CHC brand. If I’m proud of anything in my wedding, that was it.

3.) Everything goes together
This is along the same line as branding but requires some more emphasis. If you choose to go with a custom designer, you can create programs, place cards, menus, etc. that all coordinate. There is nothing I love more that designing every paper product for a wedding!

4.) You have help
Designing or ordering an invitation suite can be daunting. How many of this insert do I need? Should I get an inner envelope? How many sets should I order? When you work with me as your custom designer, I walk you through everything from wording to choosing paper. This is the same with any custom project. I’m like your own personal stationery consultant and I love it!

5.) The design is a reflection of you!
This is the most important thing about custom design. The design is created for you through consultations with your designer. Nobody else has it and when people see it, they understand who you are.

I hope this helps my loyal readers out there who are considering or questioning custom stationery design. If nothing else, know that when you work with me, you will get someone so passionate about paper! I’ll make you love paper too!

Have some more questions? Say Hello and I’ll help you out!

Stay tuned for more information in my Wedding Stationery 101 series!

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