The wedding announcement

The annoucement or invitation card is used to communicate the necessary informations like the day of your wedding. It should include both names, the place, the date and the time of the religious ceremony (normally only the religious ceremony should appear).
Sometimes it is hard to find how we want to present this card (in one page, 2 pages, inside an envelope…). Traditionally, it should be in 4 pages and it should be done by the grandparents, the parents of the future husband and the parents of the future wife who announce the wedding of their children. Nowadays, it is more and more common that this card is done by the newlyweds who announce their own wedding.
Or something more original, create your announcement in 2 parts, a classic one for your parents and familly and a funny one for you and your friends.

Personalize your invites

Make a theme to make your wedding easy to organize. It’s like matching the right stuff as particular to your theme. It can be a color or a genre thing. In order to save, you can be creative to personalize your invitations. You can create your own with a personal touch. If you have time, you can do all the work. If not, ask somebody for help. You can buy raw materials at cheaper price and transform it into a unique invites. Spare material can be used for your “Thank you cards”. Invitations should be sent to your guest a month before the event. So, you will need a much time in making personalized invites. It is time consuming but the amount you are saving is a big help.

Save the Date Cards

Save the date cards have become very popular in recent years. These are basically invitations sent out before the invitations. They give basic information such as the name of the bride and groom, the date and the location. Save the date cards are meant to give your guests advanced notice of your wedding day so that they can go ahead and put you on their calendars. Save the date cards should be sent out at least 6 months prior to the wedding, even farther ahead of time if you are having a wedding in another country or if people will have to travel far in order to give them the chance to not only plan but save up the money to attend.

Save the date cards are not as formal as the actual wedding invitations. Because save the date cards are not as formal as wedding invitations you can make them a little fun or they could be as simple as a postcard. Save the date cards do not even have to be in the wedding colors though it would help to tie everything together.

It is also important to add that the actual wedding invitation will be sent in the future with more details. Some people may misunderstand and think that the save the date card is the invitation and then call and ask for more details. You may also want to put hotel and resort information on the save the date cards so that your guests can reserve their rooms early.

Save the date cards may be a new addition to the wedding event but it is sure to become a tradition at all weddings.

Now & Forever Invitations

Invitation site Now&Forever is offering
Free Wedding Invitation Samples. I requested some, and I was pleased with their Loving Silver Hearts design. The hearts are metallic, much nicer than they seem in the photo. Very classy without being overdone.

I also ordered the Burst Of Colors invitation, but they looked more like an invite to a junior-high sleepover than a wedding.

Anyway, if you are picking invitations, don’t forget to look at Now & Forever.

Wedding Invitations

Stressing over wedding invitations and in-laws? Here’s a giggle from Bridezilla!

We can all be thankful this isn’t our invitation!

Wedding Invitation Tips

How far are you in your wedding planning? Have you found yourself completely caught up in this wedding “stuff” yet? If so, you are not alone. Wedding planning is so easy to get consumed by. It is one of the only times in your life when you get to plan a big party for yourself - you get to throw the celebration of your dreams! And it is so easy to get carried away trying to make the day perfect.

So why when we want the day to be perfect, do we stress out about all sorts of things that happen before the day even occurs? For example, the wedding invitations. How many of you have spent hours upon hours searching for the perfect wedding invitations? - only to find out when you found the perfect ones that they were too expensive? Well, I have a few tips for you to think about before you even go out looking.

First of all, for those of you who are still making your guest list, consider this - the less people you invite, the less your cost will be. Seems logical right? But, not only will your food and beverage costs be significantly lower, but the number of invitations needed will be smaller. This is often easier said than done, but just remember as your guest list starts to get up there that each addition can equal a significant amount of money.

Second, especially if you are having a large wedding you may want to consider choosing an invitation with postcards as the reply card. Why? Well, less paper equals less cost to you, but also a postcard can be sent (currently) for 21 cents, whereas an envelope requires a 34 cent stamp. For every 100 guests you invite that is a savings of $13.00. Okay, so that may not seem like a lot, but I am of the opinion that every little bit counts. Not to mention, the less paper in the original invitation that you send, the less the weight will be and the less the cost to send the invitations. Most wedding invitations take 2 stamps to send - if you can reduce that to one stamp, you will save another $34.00 per 100 guests invited. If you are inviting 300 guests that is a total savings of $141!

Speaking of postage, I highly recommend that you take an example of one of your invitations - with an address, stamp, and everything inside and all ready - to the post office and have them weigh it. They can tell you the exact price that it will be to send your invitations and you will not have to deal with returned invitations or even over-paying for them.
Third, if you are having a smaller wedding, I would consider making your own invitations. Ordering invitations becomes more cost-effective the more you order, so if you do not need to order a lot, you will essentially be paying more per invitation. There are many computer programs out there that will help you make your invitations, but if you know your way around a computer, you could probably do this yourself. Most office supply stores will also sell stationary kits that would be perfect for weddings. These kits often contain cards that are printer-ready and easy to fold. They will also have matching envelopes and many will even have response cards for you to print on also.

The benefit to making your invitations is that you can also make them look and say whatever you would like them to. And, you can be creative. If you are into stamping, or calligraphy, you could get pretty fancy with your invitations. You could also buy vellum (that translucent plastic-feeling paper) instead of card stock and print a very elegant and modern-looking invitation.

Last, don’t forget to put the address of your wedding website on your invitations. Instead of sending directions in the invitation, your guests can get directions from your website. And, they can find out where you are registered, how you met, who is standing up in your wedding, and they can play your quiz. Sending the address to your site in your invitations is a great way to ensure that they know about your site and can find it easily. Plus, it will bring your guests tons of enjoyment to share in your love story.
I hope that these tips will help you with the stress of picking out wedding invitations. Don’t forget that nothing is as important as your relationship and the love that you share with each other. Have fun!

Shades of Green: RSVPs

Years ago, I remember a bridal consultant telling us potential new brides to save money in various ways. One was to Not include stamps on RSVP cards (as most people don’t bother to send them back, regardless). This represents one small way you can lessen the environmental impact of your wedding … without really diminshing its quality.

Traditional wedding invitations have (1) an outer envelope, (2) an invitation card, (3) a reception card, and (4) a response card. These four parts could easily, and without much of an impact, have only three … maybe two.

Instead of including a response card, couples have a few options to consider. You can request on the reception card, or invitation, that people RSVP by phone. You can also enlist a friend or relative to start calling your guests on your behalf. For that matter, you can do it all online. Joyce posted earlier about keeping traditional invitations but using recycled products, as well.

Big days often come with big celebrations, but they can trip up couples who are environmentally minded. Cutting down on paper waste is one small way of making a difference without making a huge impact on your festivities.

Going Green with Invitations

Wedding invitations are one of the most important part of the wedding. But have you ever stopped to think about how much paper is used? Papers are made from trees that are a valuable resource to our environment. Many couples are turning to green invitations.

Make certain that your invitations are printed on recycled paper instead of traditional paper. You can even go organic cotton paper that is recycled. It is a little bit higher but in the long run your are reducing your effect on the environment with your wedding invitations.

Encourage others to use recycled paper as well. Send out your thank you notes and acknowledgments with recycled paper as well.

Make Your Own Personalized Wedding Stamps

What a fun idea for your wedding invitations! Zazzle.com has partnered with the United States Post Office to provide stamps to people who are interested in designing them for special occasions or to just add a little bit of fun to a letter.

Simply upload a photo, add text, and then click and drag the image or text until you have it perfectly placed. You can choose between a wide range of font sizes and styles, and also choose the size of your stamp. Stamps are also available in a number of postal rates, from Postcard to Priority.

Now it will cost you a bit more for postage to personalize your stamps, but it such a fun idea that it might be worth it! A sheet of 20 first-class stamps in the small size on Zazzle is $14.95, while a sheet of 20 at the post office would only run you $8.40. And if you order more than one sheet, you get $2 taken off each order.

To get started making your very own unique postage stamps for your wedding Invitations ( or Bridal Shower, Engagement Party, Rehearsal Dinner, Wedding Favors, etc.), just visit the Zazzle website and have fun!

Electronic Invitations

Electronic wedding invitations are a great solution for wedding planning since there is so much attention on helping the environment. There are several ways to handle electronic invitations.

One option is to create a personal website with all of your wedding information. You can have your engagement picture, your registry listing and link, directions and maps and even some great music. You can send friends and relatives a message inviting them to your wedding with a link to the website.

Another option for electronic invitations is to send out all the announcement and invitation information via email to all of your guests. You can ask for an email RSVP from everyone. There are some great stationary pieces that you can use electronically to give the email a wedding feel and theme.

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