Creating your first impression with wedding invitations

After you've decided who you want to invite, you should decide how you are going to invite them. Your invitations should fit in with the overall theme and mood of your wedding celebration. These little notes are your guests' first impression of your wedding. Invitations can be pricey, but you don't necessarily need to pay an excessive amount of money to craft the style and tone of your special day.

There are thousands of invitations available in stationary stores, on-line and from catalogs. You could also opt to craft your own � an increasing trend for today's wedding couples. Think about all these options and choose the one that best fits your style and budget. If you can, use the same kind of stationary for everything in your wedding. Order all stationary material you need at one time and order more than the number of guests you plan to invite. Invitations are typically purchased in increments of twenty-five or fifty. If you're making your own invitations, order extra paper, velum, envelopes and anything else you would like to create them. It's less expensive to order more than you need the first purchase than to have to order more later because you ran out.

There are many things you should be aware of when deciding on your invitations or researching about how to make your own invitations. Evaluate the weight of the paper, the color tint, font and size of wording, size of invitation and envelopes, general look and postage restrictions and costs.

Think about buying your invitations on-line. You can frequently find the same invitations on-line for a fraction of the price you'll pay at your local stationary stores. Regardless of whether you plan on buying your invitations online, look at websites for ideas and price comparisons. It's a convenient place to research ideas without leaving your home.

Choose exactly what you will be ordering and including with your invitation. There is no "wrong" or "right", but normally most brides order invitations, inner and outer envelopes, a reception card, response cards and response card envelopes. Other options include: pew cards, place cards, and accommodation information cards � even bridal registry cards.

Invitations should be mailed six to eight weeks before the wedding. It's customary to all invitations by hand. If your handwriting isn't up to standards, ask some family members with nice penmanship to to assist you. You could also opt to have your invitations written by a calligrapher.

Your invitations will need to include everything your guests should have to get to your ceremony and reception: date, time, address, exact name of site and reception room along with directions.

Customs have changed as far as whose names should be mentioned on the invitation. It once was appropriate that invitations were given in the name of the bride's parents, even if she lived away from home or had been married before. If the bride's parents were divorced, the name of only one parent appeared on the invitation. If the parent remarried, the step-parent's name was listed on the first line followed by the daughter's to indicate relationship. These are still appropriate rules to follow but they are surely no longer considered the only way to write your invitations.