Choosing Your Wedding Announcements
Announcing your wedding is an exciting and busy component of
wedding planning. Besides the usual invites and personal wedding
announcements you make to very close friends and love ones,
there is some traditional and standard etiquette often used when
both inviting and thanking guests for celebrating and attending
your cherished event:
Announcement Cards
These cards are used to announce your engagement to friends and
relatives. They can also be used as invitations to a bridal
shower or engagement party.
Wedding Invitations
Wedding invitations are available in many different
varieties and are the classic wedding announcement. You can have
them professionally printed, or print them yourself. These
options give you plenty of room to express yourself and your
sentiments. Whichever option you choose, it's always recommended
that you purchase invitations and envelopes to match at the same
time. This is just a precaution to ensure there will be no
variations in the size of your envelopes. Inside of the mailing
envelope, your invitation should rest in an inner-envelope, as
this is proper invitation etiquette. The inner-envelope should
only bear the name of the invitee.
Reception Cards
These cards are to be sent to guests of your wedding reception,
who many not have been invited to the ceremony. This is
increasingly popular among re-married couples who only wish to
have their relatives present at the reception without sending
formal wedding announcements to out-of-touch friends. Reception
announements are also embraced by many couples who wish to
celebrate a milestone anniversary.
RSVP Cards
These cards should coordinate with your wedding invitation. Each
card should be placed in the same envelope with pre-paid postage
and a return envelope.
Wedding Programs
The most popular wedding programs are printed on standard-sized
paper and folded in half to make a booklet. These booklets are
handed out to your guests by the ushers who escort them to their
seats. Each wedding program will inform family members who the
members of the wedding party are.
Thank You Notes
Always send thank-you notes to the guests who attended your
wedding 4-6 weeks after your wedding date. These cards really
should be personalized, preferably hand-written. It tells your
guests that their presence was especially important to you. All
guests who recieved any form of wedding announements from the
host of the wedding should be sent a thank you note.
Guest Book
At your wedding ceremony, your guests are asked to express a
special sentiment in your guest book. Typically, the bride and
groom choose young women to sit with the guest book and
encourage your guests to sign it. Some family members may choose
to wish an expression of good wishes, others will write a
favorite quote or love poem. These expressions, once compiled on
the pages of your guest book, will make a wonderful keepsake
that you can treasure forever. Although not wedding
announcements, these entries signify and capture memories to
relish for years to come.