Hints and Tips For Your Wedding Invitations

Choosing your wedding invitations is a joy for both of you as it can represent each of you in a classical, elegant or glamorous way or even in a plain traditional style. Think about it what do you do with a wedding invitation when you get it - comment on it - of course. We are all the same, so remember the wedding invitation for you can create a wow factor - so let that be the reaction to your wedding invitations. When posting your wedding invitations make it simple for you, yours friends and relatives that you are inviting, by placing a pre-printed card with a tick box for 'yes' - I will be there or "No" - sorry but can't make it, plus a stamp addressed envelope.

Hints and tips for your wedding invitations:-

1. Both to chose the wedding invitations you desire - let them reflect your romantic mood and who you are. Make sure you leave plenty of time for the wedding invitations to be printed and delivered to you, at least 8 weeks prior to your wedding date. Rule of thumb for sending out wedding invitations is 6 weeks prior to the wedding. This gives people the opportunity to keep tthat date free, get their new attire, and of course purchase that all important gift especially for you.

2. Who should the invitation come from? It is customary that the wedding invitation should appear to be sent from whoever is paying for the reception. e.g. Traditionally it has been the parents of the bride that provide the reception for their daughter, new husband, friends and relatives so if it is the brides parents that are paying, then the wedding invitation should state Jeff and Martha Jones invite you to the wedding of their daughter Frieda to Theodore Murphy on (date), at (time of ceremony and location) and afterwards in (Venue and Location) for a wonderful wedding reception - RSVP. if it is a joint effort where both parents and bride and groom are all chipping in for the reception then the invitations goes out from all, if it is the couple themselves then the invitations are sent out from both of you... etc..

3. Create an excel template with a list of all your friends and relatives that you wish to invite to your wedding. The suggested headings required for this list are, name address, divided into brides and grooms friends, brides friends and relatives, grooms friends, brides parents friends and relatives, groom friends etc.

4. Important decision to be made at this stage - will you be sending out evening invitations - if yes order separate evening invitations and for these there is no need for people to reply - ordering food for the evening guests is easy as the management at your reception venue will be able to let you know the quantities of food you will require that evening for all the invitees (this is a task that can be assigned to your best man so nothing for you to worry about). If "No" - then nothing further to be done on this.

5. Involve your parents in this list creation and give them a copy of your excel spreadsheet to add their selection of friends and relatives.

6. When asking your parents, to add to your list, be specific about the number of people they can invite and mention to them that they can have at least 6 people on a cancellation list, so that when and if any apologies come in from their list they then can send out replacement invitations for those people.

7. Keep control of this excel spreadsheet and at all times ensure that the number of people you are inviting fits in with the number of people you have quoted to your wedding reception location.

8. Ensure you inform your parents as to what date they need to have completed the excel list invitation and return it back to you. When you receive this list back you may like to walk through whom your parents wish to have at your wedding and the importance of these people to them - so that you can be all knowledgeable on the day when meeting and greeting your parents friends and their / your relatives.

9. As the acknowledgements are returned to you, place a tick beside the person's name on the excel spread sheet as either a yes or a no - set up a separate sheet for the Non acceptance people so that you can clearly see the exact numbers of people who have positively acknowledged your wedding invitation on the one sheet.

10. Where you have a standby list - match each non acceptance to a new invitation. Be sensitive about your stand by list nobody would like to hear that they are your seconds on your list of invites - so that is your secret. I love secrets.

11. Assign a follow up responsibility role to your bridesmaid (if bridesmaid not suitable aim for a close friend) to ensure that any invitation that you have not received an acknowledgment for, within two weeks, prior to your wedding date is followed up to a satisfactory conclusion.

12. Any disagreements over who to invite place those invitees to the end of your stand by list and if they come up then they should be there if they don't well you did your best.

13. Now you have all your invitations and acknowledgements on one sheet which makes managing your invites very easy.

14. Make life easy and simple for yourself by completing the necessary preparatory work well in advance of your wedding date. Life is for living right now so go on and enjoy every moment.