There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to wedding invitation etiquette. The most important thing to include is who is getting married, the date and where. After that, any other information can be given by word of mouth, through additional insert wedding cards or by directing your family and friends to your wedding website.
If you’re still worried, we’ve rustled up a few simple Invitation Do’s and Don’ts to save you the stress. But if it’s a wedding invitation template you need, try a Breakdown of Formal Wedding Invitation Wording.
DO: Proofread and be consistent in your language
Make sure the language is consistent throughout your invitation and card suite. This might be as simple as choosing between colons’ or hyphens. But there’s also nothing worse than discovering a spelling error on the invitation when it comes back from the printer.
So, proofread! Get your mum to proofread! Make sure they double check it at the printer before it gets sent off! Double check and triple check.
DON’T: Include gift information on the invitation
Gift giving is a huge gesture for people to wish you well at the beginning of a new part of your life. It’s hard to let friends and family know you’re all set for crockery. Don’t try putting it on the invitation.
There a couple of ways of getting around cluttering your wedding invitation: include an additional closure card in your invitation suite, or you can always use word of mouth.
DO: Imply who is hosting through the language of the invitation
The host line lets guests know who to thank when they’re at the bottom of their second bottle of free champagne. The easiest way to do this on the invitation is to say the parents of the bride or groom invite the guests to join them in the wedding of their children. For detailed examples, try here.
DON’T: Include a list of food and beverage to be served
This is unnecessary on the invitation itself. If it’s important to you that people know what food and drink will be served, you can include an additional enclosure card with the menu. Or, you can always wait for the reception.
DO: Address guests by their name
Where you can, use full names and titles. If you’re not sure of the name of your cousin’s new girlfriend, ask your aunt. Worst comes to worst, address it your cousin and ‘guest’.
A simple, sleek invitation design often only includes the name of the bride and groom with the essential details. You can get around this by personalising the envelopes, or even personalising the RSVP cards.
DON’T: Say ‘Adults Only’ or ‘No Children’
This is a tricky one. It really depends on the tone of conversation you want to set next time you’re talking to friends. A lot of people would suggest addressing the invitation to only the parents, which implies the children aren’t invited.
If you’re not sure this is enough to keep screaming toddlers away, consider talking to your friends and family. Mention that this is supposed to be a fun night out; a chance to temporarily hand the apron ties onto someone else.
DO: Give yourself and your guests plenty of time
You can send save the date cards out six to eight months before the wedding. If you’re not so organised, it’s best to send out the wedding invitations six to eight weeks before the date. This gives your guests plenty of time to organise the details of getting there and away, and they can’t complain when you ask them to RSVP three to four weeks prior.
DON’T: Forget to give information for how to RSVP
Make it clear if you want a quick text message, an official RSVP on a return piece of card or a response to an e-invitation. If people haven’t got back to you by the RSVP date, you can rest assured it isn’t because they didn’t know how.
If these Invitation Do’s and Don’ts aren’t enough, try reading our Wedding Invitation Etiquette: Your Top Questions Answered.