Anatomy of a Wedding Invitation

what to include in wedding invitations. Pieces of wedding invites: venue, etiquette, RSVP response card, guest information, hotel, photo. | bexbernard.com

Wedding invitations are one of the first impressions your guests will have about your wedding. It will set the tone for the degree of casual/fancy, the decorations, and theme. These ‘pieces of paper’ can get expensive though. We bought our magnet Save the Dates from Wedding Paper Divas, so I’ll use them as an example. Right now they are selling 100 invitations as low as $179, but these are really basic. If you want some personalization and pizazz you may pay $489 for 100. Making cards is really simple, especially if you have a paper cutter (like this one I use) and roller tape. However, if you don’t have time, aren’t feeling creative, or have money in your budget, you can buy really pretty cards for the $1.79.

Wedding Invitations 3Since I love making things and had a Maid of Honor willing to help (see this post of us making the cards), I made my fairly simple cards. The most time consuming part was designing the card, including choosing the font and wording. Today’s blog post is to help make the process easier for you.

1) Find an Example

I found some designs I liked on Pinterest and used those as templates for my design and wording. Each draft changed a little, but it helped me get on a good track. I added a lot of invitations to my wedding board below. I love followers so I can follow you and get more ideas!

Follow Becca Krzmarzick’s board Wedding on Pinterest.

2) Choose and Download Fonts

These invitations used three fonts: Acknowledgement, Alex Brush, and Cambria (which I only used for the website so it was easy to read). I downloaded Acknowledgement and Alex Brush from Font Squirrel.

what to include in wedding invitations. Pieces of wedding invites: venue, etiquette, RSVP response card, guest information, hotel, photo. | bexbernard.com

3) Write the Invitation

Whether you are making your own or purchasing wedding invitations, you must have the basic elements written on it. These include:

  • Your names
  • Where the ceremony will be conducted
  • Where the reception will occur
  • When the ceremony starts
  • Who is hosting the wedding (often parents with the bride and groom)
  • Website address

Inevitably, something always goes wrong with wedding crafts. For me, I put my parents and Tyler’s parents as hosts. Since my parents are divorced and remarried, I had four names to write. Only 3 of them came to the wedding. Awkward.

what to include in wedding invitations. Pieces of wedding invites: venue, etiquette, RSVP response card, guest information, hotel, photo. | bexbernard.com

4) Create Enclosures

You have to send more than just the invite with the Who, What, Where, When, and Why. Here are some options:

  • Accommodation cards: hotels where you have blocked off rooms or ones you suggest. Since our wedding was 1.5 hours from our hometown, we figured many people would just drive home. We didn’t block off rooms because we didn’t want to be stuck paying for unused rooms. Also, these days, people shop online for deals and don’t always stay in the block of rooms.

what to include in wedding invitations. Pieces of wedding invites: venue, etiquette, RSVP response card, guest information, hotel, photo. | bexbernard.com

  • Transportation cards: We didn’t do this, but include information if you plan on providing a shuttle.
  • Rain cards: Especially in the PNW, it’s important to have a back up rain plan. Our back up was on-site, so we did not send this.
  • Pew cards: Let relatives and close friends know they have reserved seating. This is another thing we did not do, but I found out later we should have reserved some seats. I thought it was obvious who sat in the first few rows, but I was wrong.
  • Ceremony card: Send this if you are having a small ceremony, but then inviting a lot more people to the reception.
  • At-home cards: Only use if you are moving or want to advertise your name change. We were already living together and I didn’t think it was necessary to announce my new last name so we didn’t send this.
  • Photo: Optional, but I think few people send actual photos these days and it adds an easy personal touch. Printed photos are very cheap, especially if you choose a wallet size. We mailed a 4″x6″ engagement photo with each invitation.what to include in wedding invitations. Pieces of wedding invites: venue, etiquette, RSVP response card, guest information, hotel, photo. | bexbernard.com
  • RSVP cards: We had fun with our response card. Some people didn’t get it and wondered if we were actually asking them to wear bells. The responses you get are pretty funny! Make sure to also include a pre-stamped envelope with your address to make it really easy for them to RSVP.

what to include in wedding invitations. Pieces of wedding invites: venue, etiquette, RSVP response card, guest information, hotel, photo. | bexbernard.com

Do you have a link to or photo of your invitations? Let me know in the comments!

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