Wedding Invitation Basics for the Bride-to-Be
January 18, 2007
Once you’ve recovered from the initial shock of becoming engaged to be married, there may be a myriad of pressing issues facing you in advance of your wedding. These can include everything from who will give you away on your special day to whether or not you want to secure the services of a flower girl for your march down the aisle.
Even if your plans for your wedding and reception are somewhat unusual, you’ll need to devote some attention to wedding invitations. Your invitation is your best means of communicating with your wedding guests before the big event. The invitation will inform them about what kinds of clothes they should wear, where the wedding will be held, the time of year it will take place, and the expected size of the event.
If you envision your wedding to be a formal event, you’ll need to make sure that it’s clear on the invitation who will be acting as host. You also need to indicate whether it is permissible for your invited guest to bring a guest of his or her own.
Generally speaking, you will only have to send a single wedding invitation to a couple or family. And it’s important to make sure that you send invitations to each member of the wedding party including the parents of the groom. You will also need to send an invitation to the individual who is officiating the wedding, often a clergyman. If the clergyman is married, it is considered good form to also invite his wife.
Suppose you know that your grandmother will not be able to attend your wedding because of ill health. You want her to feel a part of your wedding day yet, you don’t want to hurt her feelings by emphasizing the fact that she won’t be able to make it. What should you do in such a situation?
Etiquette experts say, should such a situation arise, it is vitally important that you send an invitation to your beloved guest even if she can’t be physically present for the wedding and reception. By mailing her an invitation, you are making her feel cherished and welcomed. Even though she can’t attend, she might be able to send a card or gift, which will make her feel as if she is part of the festivities. Chances are it will lift her spirits, knowing that you cared enough about her to send an invitation.
Basic etiquette requires you to mail out the invitations six weeks in advance of the wedding. This gives your guests plenty of time to clear their calendars and to voice their intention to attend. Waiting just a few weeks before the wedding to mail out invitations is considered to be an incredible breach of etiquette and could strain relations between you and some of your guests.
Mailing out wedding stationery can be a nerve-wracking process. However, through careful planning, you should emerge from the process unscathed, ready to take on all the other challenges that face a prospective bride.
Keywords: Wedding Invitations, Wedding Invitation Wording, Weddingblog
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