Handmade Wedding Invitations - Add a Personalized Touch to Your Invitations
Custom handmade wedding invitations offer your wedding guests the impression that the bride and groom has worked very hard to make your wedding invitations special and this as a result make the guests excited about the upcoming wedding day!
A handmade invitation adds a personalized touch and allows more customization with the choice of decorations that are added (such as belts, buckles, lace, feathers, etc.), which cannot be achieved simply by ordering ready-made printed wedding invitation. Custom wedding invitations can be made by the couple or by hiring a professional. With do it yourself wedding invitations (DIY), the couple has the opportunity to explore their creative side but DIY invitations involve a lot of time and may require the help of family and friends to complete.
The most common option is that the invitations are designed, handmade and printed by a professional. This involves the selection of a qualified designer to meet all your stationery needs from start to finish, giving the couple more time to deal with other aspects of the wedding.
Hiring a professional to do the wedding invitations is often the best choice for modern couples who are juggling work and planning an entire wedding issue. Hiring a professional still allows couples to have creative control over what the invitations should look like, without spending a lot of time or resources to manufacture them. A good professional desktop can also help couples to put their ideas.
Ideas for Different Wedding Invitations
The presentation these days of a couples marriage happens with the delivery of invitations .
For a moment, the main focus is on the wedding invitation that you will get, so if you want your wedding to be described as unique and different from the others, you must start with a choice of original wedding invitations
Ideas for an Original Wedding Invitation
If you want to surprise your wedding guests it must start from the moment they touch your wedding invitation.
Choose a wedding invitation that is rarely seen, an invitation that is completely different from the usual we are accustomed to received and read.
Common wedding invitations generally has the usual overuse design, which makes most people read only the important data of the wedding, and keep the invitation in a forgotten drawer, or ultimately end up in the trash.
It's your wedding, the most memorable special occasion of your life that's why you need to take care of every detail to make it unique and original.
Different Styles of Invitations:
Below you will find the latest trends in creative wedding invitations.
- Puzzle invitations
- Fans announcing your wedding
- Magazine cover with your photo
- Decorated boxes that include the invitation
- Invitations petal-shaped or clover
- Deluxe invitations scroll-shaped
In addition to the format chosen, there are other details on the card that invites the imagination to produce a unique wedding invitation:
- Type of paper or material used
- Color and font
- Text of the invitation
- Position of the major elements in the invitation
Wedding Invitation Wording Tips
A wedding is a wonderful occasion that symbolizes the union of two souls in love in the presence of the beloved family and precious friends.
Before you start writing your wedding invitation wording, you should consider some important aspects, and then take appropriate decisions.
If your wedding, for instance, is a more conventional ceremony, a formal tone is appropriate to satisfy the expectations of guests. On the other hand, it can be written in a more casual style, if the bride and groom are planning a ceremony that is a bit more unconventional.
No matter the type of wedding you decide to do, it's important to take the needed approach when working on the wording of the wedding invitation.
Try to Avoid abbreviations, keep in mind that wedding invitations are not sent via instant messaging services.
It is also important to take care of the spelling of names and other pieces of details that can establish a certain level of expectation and excitement.
Short and simple is the recommended way for writing the wedding invitation wording. When people receive a wedding invitation, his eyes usually focus on the main section. His eyes follow the details of the date, time and place. For that reason, it is important to make sure that all important information is clear and easy to understand.
Select the appropriate fonts for easy reading, do not make sophisticated letters that can be hard to read.
Add important information like the address of the wedding ceremony and reception or you can even place a small map indicating how to get to the place, which can be printed on the back of the card.
Since it is recommended for the bride and groom to assign part of the wedding planning work to the family, trusted friends or a wedding planner, it is important to make sure that all parties are aware of relevant details. There is nothing more devastating than distributing wrong information about the wedding ceremony. Finally, it is very important that the soon to be married couple give their approval before signing the consent form for printing.
How and When to Send Your Wedding Invitations
Here you will find the three questions about wedding invitations that you must consider: how many?, when?, and how?
How many?
No need to do the same number of invitations to guests, usually make 20% more than half the number of people attending the wedding , that is, if the wedding will have 100 people attending, then you need to make a little more than half, in this case 10 extra, which is 20% of 50.
In total 60 wedding invitations to a list of 100 guests, and to bear in mind that an invite is often given by family or partner.
When?
Wedding Invitations are usually delivered between three months and one month and a half earlier if the guests live in a city different from the celebration and one month ahead of time if they reside in the same city.
You must consider giving time for them to confirm their attendance.It is extremely important that the wedding invitation is clear of all the information about the wedding: the date, location, time, and if it is hard to find the site, adding a little explanation map or driving directions would be helpful.
How?
At the time of delivery, it's always so much more personal to hand deliver if possible. A coffee to break the news to your friends and guests would be awesome.
But if you can't, by distance or any other case, send by certified mail to ensure they arrive and get the invites.You will not miss anyone!
Creative and Original Wedding Invitation Ideas
These days we get in touch with our friends and family mainly using telephone and the internet. Still, the classic wedding invitation simply cannot be overlook, it serves as a clear reminder of all the details of the wedding to ensure that no guest will have a mistake regarding the date and place of the event.
Every wedding invitation should include the name of the bride and groom. The name of the parents is optional, as well as telling your invited guests what to wear. It should state clearly the date, time and place of the event, the addresses of the ceremony, and the party later. At the end of the wedding invitation should also contain a phone number or email address so that guests can confirm their attendance. Aside from the wedding invitation itself,it can be complemented with a map to the venues.
Wedding invitations must be consistent with the wedding in general. So if the wedding has a traditional theme, the invitation should be too.
However, if the wedding is casual, the invitation can be more open and varied.
.
Here are some wedding invitation ideas:
- Paper made from flower petals and calligraphy letters can create a beautiful effect, but can be somewhat expensive.
- Using classic white or cream paper with classical italic font type with a lot of space unfilled and traditional symbols usually offers a good result.
- Create a watermark using the initials of the bride and groom on the card using a unique color.
- If you want a more intimate and personal invitation, you can include romantic photos of the couple in it.
- And if you want an invitation that is interesting, you can put cartoons or caricatures of the bride and groom.
In wedding invitations, there are many untouched aspects. At present, technology is very helpful for any event you can use it as a way to inform guests, for example a few days before the wedding you can send an email or text message to all the guests to remind them of the date and time. Another option is to create a website with all the relevant data of the wedding.
The originality of the invitations offers a strong point. Aside from the paper wedding invitations, you can also produce a complimentary DVD with picture slideshows of the bride and groom containing words from the wedding invitation, with plans for the church and the place of the reception, and so on.
How to Make a Wedding Program
Wedding programs not only keep track of the ceremony order but also announce the wedding party. Wedding programs are wonderful keepsakes of your wedding day.
Here are example ideas on how to make a wedding program.
1. Determine the style.
Tip: Mock up your design and layout with cheap paper to get the basic design down.
2. Gather your program copy.
Check with your church or where the ceremony and reception is taking place for if you need to follow a certain format.
The wedding program wording is usually divided into several areas:
1. The announcement which introduces the bride and groom, the time and place of the ceremony.
2. The ceremony information such as readings, songs, the exchange of rings, etc.
3. The wedding party which lists the parents, grandparents, bridesmaids, groomsmen, flowergirls, ring bearers, organist, pastor, priest or anyone involved in the wedding.
3. Typeset your copy.
Use Microsoft Word or Open Office Writer to type your copy.
- The font should coordinate with the invitation. If the font is a script, use sparingly as in the headings and on the cover. Use an easy-to-ready font for the remaining information.
- Double check spelling.
- For a two-fold or tri-fold program, use a text weight paper that coordinates with the invitation ensemble.
- For a single sheet program, use either text weight or heavy stock that coordinates with the invitation ensemble.
- For two-fold or tri-fold, print on 11"x 8.5" paper.
- For single sheets, print 2-up on 11"x 8.5" paper if you are using the 5.5"x 8.5" size.
- Use back side for additional space.
- Your local copy shop or printers can trim and fold your programs.
6. Add special touches (if any) to the trimmed/folded programs.
How to Make a Map for Wedding Invitations
How do you get to the church? The reception? The dance? Not all guests will be familiar with the location of your events so be sure to include map sheets with your wedding invitation.
Designing the Map
Determine the style
- A verbal map
- A visual map
Producing the Map
1. Determine the size.
I recommend 5.5" x 4.25". Occasionally, there may be a need for a larger size. If so, make it no larger than 5"x 7" (or folded to that size) so if fits neatly with the wedding ensemble.
2. Typeset your copy.
Use your word processing software to type your copy. There are many styles for writing your map directions such as:
Heading North on 35W: Follow 35W North to the downtown exits. Take the 5th Ave. exit. Go straight. The inn is on the left.
Heading South on 35W: Follow 35W South to Washington Ave. Exit on Washington and turn right. Take that to Hennepin and turn right. Cross over the suspension bridge and take an immediate right on Wilder. The inn is on the left.
OR
1. Follow 35W North to the downtown exits.
2. Take the 5th Ave. exit and go straight.
3. The inn is on the left.
Helpful tips:
- Before printing all copies, test on cheap paper.
- To save paper, set your maps 4-up to fit on 11"x 8.5" paper. Each map will be 5.5" x 4.25".
- Use a light weight paper that coordinates with your invitation.
- If you have a lot of information, print on the back. This is a great place to add information regarding guest hotel reservations.
- If your invitation uses a script font or a decorative font, DON'T use this for your map information. The readability will be poor. Perhaps use it in the header of the map (example: The Wedding of John and Mary Anderson). For the rest of the map, use a easy-to-read font.
- Double check spelling, dates, and addresses prior to printing.
- After printing your maps for wedding invitation, bring to a copy center for trimming.
Wedding Invitation Envelopes
Years ago, it was only proper to address envelopes using the traditional inner and outer envelopes. Today it is acceptable to use just one envelope. If your wedding is less formal, you may want to use the single envelope to save money.
Tips for using single envelopes
- Address the envelope with the full names and formal titles. Do not abbreviate (except for Mr. Mrs. and Ms.).
- Print or hand address the return address on back flap.
- When addressing envelope for single person, I recommend using guest.
- You may need to order your matching inner and outer envelopes from a printer or wedding shop.
- Shop around for prices.
- Using an inner envelope may increase overall postage. Bring a complete invitation ensemble to post office to weigh for correct postage rate.
- Address the inner envelope such as: Miss Sue Anderson and Guest.
- Address the envelope with the full names and formal titles. Do not abbreviate (except for Mr. Mrs. and Ms.).
- Print or hand address the return address on back flap.
Wedding Invitation Affiliate Business
I'd like to offer you some information on how to start your own wedding invitation affiliate business. An affiliate is basically the same thing as a manufacturer's agent, with one difference. Whereas the manufacturer's agent sells the wedding invitations from her home or bridal shop or fairs, the term “affiliate” also may include someone who promotes products off a website.
The World Wide Web today offers an excellent way to show someone’s products or services. Almost everyone these days has a website. You might even have your own personal website called a blog. If you do, congratulations! You're already a step or two ahead especially if a lot of people visit and read your blog.
These manufacturers who offer an affiliate program work exactly the same as the agents; they offer you samples and full product catalog you might use for promotion. They also give you a specific identification number for you to use on your website. This is called your affiliate identification number and it's what the manufacturer use to track how much commission to pay you every month. Carlson Craft, Vista Print, Party Pop, and Impress in Print are a few of those manufacturers who offer an affiliate program.
Now, being an affiliate, will earn you less commission than any of the other wedding invitation business models, however, you also have the added benefit of never having to leave your home to work. And your sales territory is no longer restricted to you little city or town. Now you can sell to everybody on the internet.
It's not as easy though, it’s not just about setting up a blog or a website and waiting for the sales to come rolling in. But here, let me tell you a little bit about how it works. It does take quite a bit of marketing effort to get people to visit your website. For one thing, there are hundreds of other people out there trying to get people to come to their wedding invitation business websites.
But once you do get people to come in for a visit, you'll have all kinds of information for them to look at, and plenty of pictures of all of the pretty wedding invitations. A lot of these images and information are provided for you to be able to make and attractive website that will encourage people to buy their invitations from you.
As these online shoppers browse through your online samples, when they're ready to buy, they just click on a link or an image, and the item is added to their shopping cart. Of course, that link that they clicked on just happened to be coded with your affiliate ID and now, no matter what they buy, no matter how long they shop, you will earn commission from everything!
Free Wedding Invitation Templates
If you want to save some money on your wedding invites, you might think about creating them yourself. Even though you decided to create your own invitations, you may find it difficult to make one. It is true that not all people are graphic artists and it will be hard for an ordinary person to create wedding invitations without acquiring the necessary graphic designing skills.
Free wedding invitation templates can be the answer to solve the above mentioned issues. Even if you don’t know anything about graphic design, you can still create wedding invites using templates. There are several of these downloadable pre-made template designs you can find online. Wedding invitation templates can save you a lot of time but still you need to know the basics of word processing and using graphic software otherwise it would be hard for you to create wedding invitations.
In order to find the free downloadable wedding invitation templates on the internet you need to use the search engines like Google and Yahoo. Just type "free wedding invitation templates" and hit search, you’ll then find links to websites where you can download the templates. If you have a small budget to purchase templates, you can also buy wedding invitation templates for a few dollars at Ebay.com. After you have downloaded these templates, you can start customizing them. In most cases you will need to make use of software program such as Microsoft Word, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator to change the actual templates.
Here are 5 free wedding invitation psd templates you can use to create your invites.
How You Can Run a Wedding Invitation Business From Your Own Home
If you wish to learn how to run a wedding invitation business from home, relax knowing, there really are no secrets or magical formulas. All it requires is some creativity and a little hard work.
When I graduated from Stay-At-Home-Mom to Work-At-Home-Mom, I had two little ones at home and my hubby worked 6 days a week. So you can see why it turned out hard for me to find a job outside the home. In today's economy and employment situation, I would have been fortunate to get even a part-time job and the baby sitter salary alone would have consumed every cent I would have taken home. And with the strange working hours you get scheduled when you're just a part time worker, I knew my husband would never be home to babysit and if he was, he'd be too fatigued anyway.
After a little research into the Work-At-Home-Mom concepts that are everywhere online, I made the decision to try to run a wedding invitation business from home. It didn't seem that hard. The invitation supplier would provide me with all of the samples. And they also supplied business cards and order forms. And even a training DVD.
The entire process was pretty simple. I would speak with the customer, show her the samples and guide her to figure out the proper wording for her wedding invitations. Then all I had to do was collect an initial deposit and submit her order. The supplier even took care of packaging her wedding invitations with a nice box and a pretty bow. All I had to do was either deliver it or contact the bride so she could come to the house and pick it up. Even the paperwork was minimal since the supplier took care of the primary portion of it. I knew just how much to collect for the deposit and how much to get on delivery since the supplier had already set all of the prices.
My only problem, though, was, how was I going to be able to make time to go out and meet brides? When would I be able to sell?
Well, I'm pretty active in my church. And I knew my church was looking for someone who had a computer who could set up the weekly bulletins. So I contacted my pastor and volunteered my services if he would let me place an ad for my wedding invitation business in the bulletin every week. He was fine with that! He thought it was a great idea. He didn't have to pay me anything and I didn't have to pay him.
My neighbor has a limousine service and he's busy nearly every weekend with weddings. I was talking to him out in the yard one day and I told him I was getting my new little business all set up and he offered to promote my wedding invitations to the people who came to talk to him about his limo service. In exchange, I tell my clients about him.
I've made this arrangement all over town, with just about anyone that has something to do with weddings. This way, my name is passed around and I don't have to worry about leaving home to attend bridal fairs and other events. This is how to run a wedding invitation business from your own home and never have to worry about a babysitter again.
Your Wedding Invitation Designs
It's extremely important that your wedding invitations are easily readable by the reader's eye. Always keep in mind that great design emphasizes clarity. Though one thing may look fantastic and decorative, it may well be difficult to read. Wedding invitations normally contain sophisticated to read design print styles printed on decorative material. This can make things complex for the guests, and may deter from the look and feel of the wedding invitations.
Instead, try to look for methods to make simpler wedding invitations while still keeping them unique. One well-liked technique is to use an overlay. Print the text of the invitation on a single item of paper that's cream or neutral in color. Then, overlay a decorative item of paper on top. This item of paper is often marbled, or embossed, or may well include a cutout. This way, you'll even now get to keep the creativity and beauty of one's design and style, but it will on the other hand be easy for your guests to read.
A distinct choice for those who want to avoid using overlays is usually to maximize one's border. Keep the text within your wedding invitation extremely clean and simple, after which use embossing or decoration on the margins of the invitation. You may also tie ribbons or any other tiny decorations on for the invitation without having interrupting the written text.
Another option to your wedding invitation designs would be to print out your text on a white item of card, soon after glue this item of card on to an attractive background. This results in a lovely two-tone effect that appears unique and simple to read. This is a very good alternative and can look pretty when done nicely. Go for pieces of card that either contrast strongly, or that are very similar in theme. For example, white on yellow can show up lovely, as can white on a shimmering mother of pearl colored background.
Wedding invitation stationery is usually designed for you, or also can be purchased from professional invitations stores. Generally the people in these shops are experts on how unique papers and designs work together. They will be capable to offer you some recommendations about efficient and attractive styles and fonts. You possibly can also ask them about a successful method to format your wedding invitation design as well as ink and color suggestions.
When designing your wedding invitations, do not forget RSVP slips and envelopes that your guests can use to return these.When talking about wedding invitation designs, the two major points to think about is the theme of the wedding, and the clarity of the design. You want your wedding invitations to reflect your ideas for your lovely wedding.
The Wedding Invitations and Wedding Announcements
Wedding announcements and wedding invitations provide distinct purposes and a few thought should go into figuring out who receives which. There is a great deal to undertake when preparing a wedding and here are a few useful suggestions to use when determining who to include on each of your mailing lists.
Wedding Invitations are mailed to friends and family members you wish to invite to go to the actual wedding ceremony. When planning your wedding ceremony, it is a good plan to at first determine a list of those friends, family members and business associates you want at the wedding ceremony itself. Make sure you remember to include your wedding reception party as well in your head count. This number will allow you to determine the venue for your ceremony. Perhaps the chapel is a more sensible choice than the huge main sanctuary, for instance, should you be considering a church wedding. Or, maybe the main ballroom is not required if a more compact room will do.
When making the order for those wedding invitations, make sure to add a few additional for unexpected inclusions in your list or in case you mistakenly address a few.
Wedding Announcements are sent to tell family and friends of your marriage if they did not get wedding invitations. Announcements don't include the details of the wedding ceremony itself and are generally mailed on the day of the occasion. They are used for announcing your wedding to people you may not know very well to invite to the wedding ceremony or who may live very far away to be present at the wedding. They are ideal for work associates or to let people be aware of your name change. They can also be sent to announce a wedding if you have eloped or if only an extremely small group was included in a destination wedding.
Just like formal as wedding invitations, wedding announcements enable those important people to you, to realize that you have made it official and are usually ordered at the same time as your wedding invitations, and are printed in similar fashion. As with wedding invitations, ordering a few extra is a must.
Wedding Reception Invitations offer a 3rd option for celebrating your wedding and usually demand separate forms of notification. Reception cards are more popular to invite guests and share information of the reception and are part of the wedding invitation. Normally all attendees invited to the wedding ceremony are also invited to the following wedding reception. However, for more intimate events, it is possible that a bigger group is invited to the reception separately. For this, a formal wedding reception invitation is suitable. These too are printed and ordered at the same time as the wedding invitations and announcements.
Regardless of whether someone is on your wedding invitation, wedding announcement or wedding reception list, make sure to keep all 3 lists updated. Avoid total embarrassment by failing to include a person or by sending them an incorrect invitation. And, keep a number of each on hand for memory books.
Wedding Invitation Frequently Asked Questions
The etiquette concerning wedding invitations is very precise. Every phrase expresses a certain meaning, which is why it is extremely essential to get the wording correctly. These are the FAQ’s about wedding invitations.
Question: What is the Difference Between "The Pleasure of Your Company" and "The Honour of Your Presence"?
Answer: This is actually a very easy one: use the phrase "The honour of your presence" on an invitation to a wedding in a house of worship, and use "The pleasure of your company" for a wedding ceremony held anywhere else. It is customary to use the British spelling of the word "honour", particularly for a formal wedding. Be sure to be consistent, so if you spell honor as "honour", also use the British spelling "favour" for favor, as in "The favour of a reply is requested".
Question: When Should Invitations Be Mailed?
Answer: You need to give your guests adequate notice, so that they have sufficient time to buy plane tickets, find the perfect dress and wedding jewelry, and schedule time off from work. Six to eight weeks before the wedding is the usual time frame for mailing out invitations. That also allows guests enough time to send in their R.S.V.P. so that you can get an accurate head count. If you feel the need to notify guests about your upcoming nuptials more than two months in advance, do so with a save the date card.
Question: What is the Difference between Engraving and Thermography?
Answer: Engraving is the most conventional form of printing a wedding invitation. A copper plate is etched with the invitation wording, and then the paper is run through a press over the copper plate. The result is that the words are raised on the surface of the paper in a very elegant fashion. Thermography is a far less expensive method in which powder is combined with ink to print letters which are slightly raised. The easiest way to tell the two apart is that when an invitation has been engraved, the paper will be slightly indented on the back. The ink will also be less shiny than in the case of thermography. While thermography is popular because of its lower price point, there are some who find it to be in poor taste; it is often called "fake engraving". If the wedding is to be formal, either in terms of a fancy venue or an opulent bridal gown and wedding jewelry, stick with traditional engraving.
Question: How Should the Invitation Be Worded When the Bride's Parents Are Divorced?
Answer: The one thing that should be avoided is giving the appearance that the parents of the bride and groom are still a couple, no matter how much the bride wishes for a "perfect" family for her wedding. The names of the bride's parents should be on two separate lines, starting with her mother's name. Step-parents are sometimes, but not always, included on the invitation, depending on family dynamics. If the parents' names are to appear alone, the invitation would be worded: Mrs. Margaret Smith Green / Mr. Richard John Green. The format for the bride's mother's name is: First, Maiden, Last (assuming she still uses her former married name; if she has reverted to her maiden name, the format would be Mrs. First, Middle, Maiden). Note that the correct title for a divorced mother of the bride is still "Mrs.". The form "Ms." is not used on formal social occasions, and once married, a woman can never revert to being a "Miss".
An elegant wedding invitation helps to set the tone for a wedding, so it is worth the effort to get it right. This will establish positive mood, when your wedding invitations arrive in the mail, your guests will truly understand the message you are trying to send, and they will be excited to attend your wedding.
Custom Wedding Invitation Business
If you are very creative or artistically talented, you'll want to consider selling custom invitations. These are invitations that you design and create yourself and it's a very profitable business because you can basically set your own prices.
Creating your own invitations will really set your business apart from the rest, too, because not many people can do this. Imagine how happy that bride would be if, instead of some wholesale wedding invitation that she could get anywhere, you where able to create for her one that matched the colors of the bridesmaids' dresses and had the exact same ribbons or flowers that she was using throughout the wedding. Why, she'd be willing to pay anything for that!
If your designs are good, try to include some special feature to your invitations that will make them unique to you. This will allow you to charge a higher price, especially once people start recognizing your special brand.
The biggest problem that most people have with Custom Invitations is not so much the design but finding the supplies, and at a reasonable price. This is where the custom wedding invitation business gets tricky.
Make sure you create your fabulous invitations with supplies that are readily available, especially the ones you use for samples. If a client wants to order one of your sample designs that you created a year ago, you want to make sure you can still get the supplies to make it for them, and at the same price.
Fortunately, with these types of invitations, you are the one who decides the price. So if the cost of a particular embellishment rises, you can adjust your prices accordingly.
How to Create A Wedding Program
A wedding program is created in almost the same way as the invitation, except that the insert papers are cut to the same size as the cover to make them easier to stack neatly and staple together.
Once you've received all of the details about the service from the church or the bride or the wedding planner simply lay out your pages again in Microsoft Word.
Only this time, you'll want to lay it out in 4 pages instead of one. You want your program to read like a book. So fold your insert paper in half down the middle again, and take the measurement of one “page” or one half of the paper. By folding it in half, you've created 4 pages on which to enter text. So you need to set up 4 different pages on your computer and also configure your printer accordingly.
Again, don't forget to configure your printer. Once you get this set up, practice on some cheap printer paper to make sure the pages line up properly. Different printers print pages like this in different sequences.
Wedding Stationery Etiquette
Let's take a look at the rules of etiquette for some of the other traditional wedding stationery you may chose to provide.
Save The Date Card – This card can be as formal or light and breezy as your client wants. There are no particular rules of etiquette here.
Order Of The Day Card - An order of the day is for civil ceremonies where guests will not be singing hymns or sitting through a long ceremony. This is a brief itinerary of the day's events, such as the time the groom will arrive, the time the bride will arrive, the time and place of the ceremony, the time and place of the reception, etc. Order of the day cards are used in place of the more formal wedding program.
Response Card – More traditional wedding invitations often include a response card, in the same size and design as the invitation, along with an envelope. Your text here is optional, you just need to provide a place for them to let the bride know if they'll be attending.
Wedding Programs – Again, there is no traditional format for this, but most wedding programs include:
- The full names of the bride and groom
- The wedding date
- The city and state
- The order of the wedding ceremony, inluding musical selections, the composers, the performer, as well as readings, the author and the reader.
- A brief description of each attendant's relationship to the bride or groom
- An explanation of any ethnic customs or rituals used during the ceremony.
- A brief Thank You to everyone for attending
Place Cards – Place cards help your guests know where to sit and can be a simple as a hand written card or you can get as elaborate as you like.
Thank You Cards – Thank You cards should be in the same design as the invitation and are usually left blank inside as each will have a different, unique message written by the clients.
Most of the suppliers that you contact for your wedding invitation blanks will also carry a full line of stationery products to go along with each card design.
Now that you know the basics of wedding stationery etiquette, you can now start creating wedding invitations.
How to Choose Paper for your Wedding Invitations
If you're creating wedding invitations for your clients or you're making a wedding invitation for your own wedding, you know that a wedding is one of the most memorable events of everyone's life. Thus it is essential to use a high quality paper for your wedding invitations to make it the best. Go to an art store, craft store, Paper Company, or copy stores to begin your search. With the use of personal computers and e-commerce, specialty paper can be found in many online stores today.
Here are some useful tips:
- Select a paper based on your theme of wedding. Example: for a fall wedding, use a leaf theme.
- Keep within your budget. Some papers are very expensive, so shop around to find the best deals.
- Purchase extra paper for mistakes and last minute invitees.
- Make sure the line of paper is in stock and not on clearance.
- If available, coordinate matching envelopes with paper selection.
- Always use a heavy stock for the single layer invitation or for the bottom sheet of any layered invitation.
- Shop in bulk for discount prices.
- Use a light weight paper for the top layers, belly bands or wraps.
- Look for paper that comes in 8.5" x 11" size. This is a standard size paper that you can feed through your personal printer.
How to Name Your Wedding Invitation Business
Even though you're probably going to be working from home, it's a good idea to start off by choosing a name for your business. Whether you decide to be a manufacturer's agent or create bespoke, you're going to be dealing with other business people. And having a name for your business will make you look much more professional to your clients, as well.
You don't have to decide immediately. In fact, it's better to think about it for awhile. It's very difficult to change a business name at a later date, especially if you've gotten a lot of name recognition. So you want to be sure that, whatever name you chose, you're going to be able to live with it for a very long time.
Of course, the easiest way to chose a name is to use your own name. Michelle's Wedding Invitations or Wedding Invitations By Michelle.
It's also best to use words that will let people know, at a glance, what it is you sell. If you only said Michelle's Stationery, then people might not realize that you do Wedding Invitations.
One young woman I know started out in the business as Cheryl's Wedding Invitations and then added And Wedding Stationery to compliment the invitations. As her business picked up, she found herself having to hire some help. And since she had this extra help, she also decided to add in Bridal Shower and Baby Shower Invitations. Her business name now is, Cheryl's Wedding Invitations and Stationery For All Occasions.
If you can envision this same scenario for YOUR Wedding Invitation Business, you could start off by naming your business Michelle's Wedding Invitations, and then, as your business grows, you can tack on And Stationery, or And Baby Showers, too, etc.
Maybe you don't want to use your name. Maybe you'd like to give your business a little more definition. Handcrafted Wedding Invitations, or Invitations With A Flair.
Try not to limit your business with your name too much, though. If you name your business Country Wedding Invitations by Michelle, then someone who's looking for an art deco style invitation may not contact you.
If you're planning to set up a website in the future, which you really should do, then try to get the words Wedding Invitations into your business name. This will help people be able to more easily find your website.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
