One of the most exciting moments of a person’s life is that moment when the question is popped and the answer is yes. These days, engagement gets almost as much attention as the wedding, with Instagram-worthy photos and extravagant locations and methods.
However, we all know the real planning begins when the excitement of the engagement dies down and the wedding day takes priority. The happy couple is faced with endless choices of venues, dresses, hors d’oeuvres, flowers, and more. One of the many decisions comes when the save the dates and invitations must be sent out.
If you’re overwhelmed with your options – fonts, styles, envelopes, labels, and so much more – here are a few tips for making this process more simple.
Budget First
If you go into any decision for your wedding without knowing exactly how much you want to spend, you run the risk of going over budget. Maybe the sky’s the limit! In that case, you can look at higher end invitation options without worry.
However, if you’re trying to be a little more conservative with your save the date announcements and invitations, going in with a price cap will ease the decision-making process. A budget will keep you focused on how much you can spend and help you figure out what your options are based on your price range.
This will also help you to decide which services you are willing to pay to receive, such as address labeling or having your invitations mailed out for you.
Save The Date
Before you send invitations with specifics, you’ll choose a date and let people know so they can have it on their calendars. While invitations tend to be more formal, the save the date is often a more casual announcement.
Consider doing something fun with this, such as using a high-resolution photo from your engagement photos; perhaps a close-up of the ring, or of your joined hands. You can play with the wording; use an expression that captures your relationship, like “We’re finally tying the knot!” or “Adventure awaits!”
You can choose playful fonts and styles, going with options that reflect your relationship and personalities. The invitations will often reflect the wedding style, but the save the date can be a little less formal.
Know Your Style
There are invitation options for every style. Because of this, choosing the best option for you can feel overwhelming. Just as it helps to make decisions with a budget, it also helps to go in knowing what you do, and DON’T like.
A wedding planner can help with this, and local printers will often have consultants who are happy to meet with you and help you figure out what you’re looking for.
Do you love the look of a traditional, embossed invitation? Do your tastes run more modern? Perhaps you want an invitation that mimics your parents’ wedding invitation, or your grandparents’? Knowing these things in advance may help you narrow down your options and choose what’s right for you.
Make It Personal
Wedding invitations used to be a pretty cut and dry affair, but these days, an invitation can be an expression of creativity. Once you’ve decided on the details of your wedding, you can incorporate those little personal details into the invitation as well.
Consider using colors that you’ve chosen for your wedding, or perhaps a photo of the venue. Not into those sorts of details? That’s FINE! Personal for you might mean less is more. Go with something simple and clean, and don’t let the invitation be a point of stress for you.
Include The Right Details
This might seem obvious, but don’t forget to include all of the correct details in your wedding invitation! You’ll want to make sure you’ve included the who, what, where, and when of your big day:
- Obviously, the invitation will include the names of the happy couple, and it’s up to you to include any other names (such as parents or other family members…it depends on who is doing the inviting).
- If the ceremony and the reception are in separate locations, make sure you include both names and addresses… You may also want to add a little map for the directionally challenged, or those who haven’t bought into the idea of GPS yet (believe it or not, these people exist).
- Give the guests an idea of the flow of events. By saying something like, “Guests are invited to enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres immediately after the ceremony.” The guests will know what to expect while they wait for the couple to arrive at the reception.
Check for Typos!
There’s nothing worse than receiving a box full of invitations, only to realize that there’s a terrible typo. The printer will likely make sure you’ve looked over the invitations several times, but it’s up to you to know how a person’s name is spelled, so make sure you’ve got every single detail correct before sending everything to the printer.
Choose a Great Printing Company
Last but not least, choose a printing company that is ready to work with you to get exactly what you want out of your save the dates and wedding invitations. While there are large online companies who can get the job done for you, consider using a local printing company, such as Harvest Printing, who will work with you personally to make sure you are perfectly satisfied with the results.