2013年6月4日星期二

Wedding invitation etiquette 2013

Wording complications, inner envelopes and deciding whether to invite your cousin's on-again-off-again boyfriend that's just a sampling of some of the etiquette questions that can arise when dealing with wedding invitations.
Planning a wedding can be complicated because there are so many etiquette guidelines that you may not be familiar with. And even if you're not worried about offending Miss Manners, you also have to consider your guests and you don't want to inadvertently offend your friends or family.


Traditional wedding invitations are ivory (or white) with black lettering. Decades ago, that was the only option and the only acceptable type of invitation. Today there are lots of types of invitations, instead of strictly following etiquette, invitations reflect the bride and groom's personal style and taste and give guests and idea of the feel of the wedding. Now, invitations are all different colors, sizes, types of paper and print. Some couples are even doing post cards or even electronic invitations.
Pay close attention to addressing the invitations. The only people invited to the wedding are the people listed on the envelope, so don't address the card to your Aunt Mary and Uncle Billy and assume they'll bring your cousin Timmy as well. Doing so is bad etiquette on their part, so make sure to address carefully so no one gets left out inadvertently.
Under no circumstances should the invitation list the places you're registered. The purpose of the invitation is to let your friends and family know that you want them to be present on this important day, not to tell them that you expect a gift from them. The proper way for guests to find out where you are registered is by word of mouth or on your wedding website.
Timing of invitations is important, especially if guests will have to travel. Send invitations out no later than eight weeks before the wedding. This will give guests plenty of time to make arrangements and plan for the wedding, and it gives the bride and groom time to make preparations for their guests and coordinate the caterer and accommodations.
Make sure you send thank you notes right away, and hand-write them. When your guests are thoughtful enough to spend a day with you and bring a gift (and in many cases, travel and days off work are involved), you owe it to them to send a personal thank-you note that is hand written and describes their gift and how much you appreciate it. Mass thank you notes are a major no-no.
Your invitation is the first impression guests will have of your wedding, so start off on the right foot with thoughtful, polite invitations that reflect your joy and how excited you are to have them with you on your wedding day.

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