Wedding Invitation
FAQs Emily Bartell Photography
By Holly Peters Your Save the Dates and Wedding Invitations are your guest’s first impression of your wedding and the primary way of informing them what they need to know for your celebration. Here are some frequently asked questions that stationers are asked when meeting with couples.
Do I have to send out a Save the Date? No, you don’t need to send out a Save the Date. This is a fairly new practice in the wedding industry over the last decade, but with the amount of time and expense that goes into a wedding, it is a great way to let your guests know the date and information ahead of time. Save the Dates are especially helpful for destination weddings since more planning is necessary. It’s always nice to give your guests extra time to make arrangements.
What information should be included on my Save the Date? The main points of the wedding day are what needs to be conveyed. The couple’s names and picture (optional), date, and city/ state. One of the most important pieces of information you can give your guests is your wedding website. Websites do not belong on the wedding invitation which makes the Save the Date the perfect place to give them this information. 170
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When should I send my Save the Dates and Invitations? Save the Dates can be sent out six months to a year in advance of the wedding. If your celebration is a destination wedding or during a busy time of the year, such as during summer vacation or a holiday weekend, you may want to send them at least six to eight months ahead of time so they can plan around these dates and arrange for time off work. For wedding invitations, we typically recommend six to eight weeks. If you did not send a Save the Date, consider sending them out around the eight-week mark. Sending them out three months or more ahead of time has become a trend, but unfortunately, it hasn’t ultimately helped with people sending back responses.
Should I order invitations online? There are a few reputable invitation sites, but the customer service is historically lacking and you have little recourse if there is a problem, misprint, or wrong information. There is usually no proofing with online companies so you are on your own for spelling and etiquette. Invitations are something that is best-chosen inperson by seeing and feeling the stock, the actual printing on the stock, and having a
professional to help you with etiquette. There are a lot of rules of etiquette that are involved in the designing and wording of invitations that you may not be privy to. You can avoid future embarrassment and hurt feelings by going to a professional. The assumption that online invitation sites offer cheaper pricing is debatable, as most are digitally printed and mass-produced. Unfortunately, once you make the upgrades to the paper, envelopes, etc., the cost is very comparable to a local stationer’s pricing, sometimes more. You indeed get what you pay for, and fortunately for local stationers, a cottage industry of “fixing” online invitation mistakes has emerged but that is an added expense that you could have avoided in the beginning.
What is the cost of an invitation? Invitation pricing is determined by different factors. The printing process plays a large part. If you are looking for letterpress or engraving, these tend to be the higher priced invitation choices. Thermography and flat or digital printing are typically less expensive options. Paper or stock can go from luxe, thick cotton papers to more cost-effective, thinner stocks. Another factor that will affect the price is the number of pieces you need in your invitation suite. Most people require an invitation with an envelope, a response
