How to Select Wedding Invitations

Weddings are huge, gala occasions that seem to grow more complex with every passing year. Selecting your wedding invitations seems to be the last thing you want to spend time on as the big day approaches. Wedding invitations come in so many varieties, you can match them exactly to your wedding’s mood and style.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Browse the Internet or visit local printing companies to peruse their catalogs. Get an idea of the many different shapes and styles and then begin whittling down your choices.

2. Start by choosing the paper. Smooth-edged or torn? Textured or plain? Color, weight and rag content. There are many paper options to choose from including the paper's edge, texture, color, weight and rag content.

3. Pick the font you want on your invitation. Script fonts can make the invitation both more formal and more personal.

4. Decide on the wording with your partner. Often, this will depend on who is paying for the wedding. If the parents are paying, then their names should come first, such as “Mr. and Mrs. John Doe cordially invite you to the wedding of…”. If you are paying for the wedding, then mentioning the parents is not necessary.

5. Request invitation samples, a necessity when shopping over the Internet. Many printers offer a limited number of free samples so you can compare your options side by side.

6. Finish your selection process and order at least 4 months in advance of the date. This allows the invitations to be printed and delivered to you on time.

Tips & Warnings

• Check for a minimum order size. Some printers require a certain number of invitations to be ordered and will only print more in pre-set amounts.
• Send wedding invitations 8 weeks in advance of the date.
• You might wish to include directions to the reception, RSVP cards or other material in the invitation.
• Give yourself plenty of planning time (accounting for production, proofing and mailing the invitations to your guests).