With a ring on your finger, a heart full of love and a mood-board filled to the brim – no one is more excited than a newly engaged couple planning their wedding. Understandably, a wedding is meant to be a celebration of love. A day where everyone you love and cherish will gather together to witness you starting a new life with your partner.
From start to finish, you want such a day to be memorable (for all the right reasons!). ‘Start’ over here does not imply the start of the actual event. Instead, it refers to an integral part of the wedding, perhaps equally as important as the veil – the wedding invitations.
The wedding invitations are your guest’s first look at the actual event. While e-invites are common, nothing beats a classic and intricate wedding invite. There are several wedding card designs to choose from and an equal number of factors to consider before settling on anything.
Here’s a list of ten tips you need to keep in mind when selecting your wedding invite:
1. Showcase Your Wedding Style
Your wedding card showcases important information about the wedding; time, location and date. However, another thing that your wedding card can showcase is the style of it. Weddings are not meant to follow a monotonous style. Your big day does not have to be exactly like the next couple.
Weddings can be casual, formal, classic or elegant – some are a combination of many styles merged into one.
Weddings are supposed to be a day where you get to share in your love with everyone you hold near and dear. When such an occasion arises, your priority should be making sure that everyone feels welcomed and comfortable.
2. Think of It As A Prelude
Your wedding invite is the first thing your guests will come across. Think of it as the prelude to the event in itself. The prelude holds immense significance. It’s what makes the reader want to read on. Your wedding card is no different.
By making your wedding card stand out; either by being colorful or plain, you’re inviting people to a joyous occasion. One of the most (if not the most) joyous occasions of your life.
3. Make The main Information stand out
Some people like wedding cards with a bang; figurines, patterns and all sorts of designs. Others like a wedding invite that lean a bit more towards a minimalistic approach. At the end of the day, both parties are asking people to come to the wedding. I mean, that is the basic designation of a wedding card after all. However, somewhere in designing the perfect card, people often forget the main part – specifications.
4. Specify Location
Guests often get confused over timings and locations. This might be a particular problem for destination weddings or even weddings away from home. To avoid having people call over and over to ask about the location, print a map in the cards. Better yet, have a QR code to a Google map location.
5. Avoid Crowding
When planning a wedding, most newlyweds tend to get carried away in the entire design process. In wanting everything to be perfect, they often go overboard. A classic example of this would be crowding too many things on one card. For example; a long-ish RSVP list is unnecessary.
6. There’s No Need To Be Extra
Your wedding invitation should include the main details of the actual wedding. It should not include fancy texts and quotes from poets and philosophers. I can guarantee that no guest will read it twice. All they are interested in is the location, the time and whether there’s a dress code or not.
7. Think About The Prices
Wedding invites by different companies and designers can vary widely. Some may start at a dollar or less, and some might go far beyond a hundred dollars apiece. It all depends on the style, the ink, typeface, type of paper and the bulk order.
Further decorative elements such as calligraphy and such would cost more. Understand that while a card is customary and should be beautiful, it should not exceed your budget.
8. Go Through Everything With The Designer
Just as a bride-to-be goes through countless fittings and trials before finalizing on a wedding dress, you need to go through proofreadings with your designers. Your designer will send you a soft copy of the design or a sample.
Make sure you go through it for any errors. Once they’re printed, you will be charged.
9. Have A Few Extra Cards On Hand
While printing cards does cost money, it costs a whole lot less when you’re ordering in bulk quantities. What would cost more is having to go back to the designer and ordering more cards after they have been printed. Always make sure you have a few extras with you on hand just in case you forgot a person or two.
10. Count All The RSVPs
Manage your invites as you do your guest list. Install a guest list manager tool or a spreadsheet to keep track of your RSVPs. Customize your spreadsheet with columns and notes keeping track of thank you notes that you would have to send out eventually. For any presents received before the wedding, you should send a thank-you note within two weeks. Give yourself a month for those given on or after the wedding day.
Conclusion:
To conclude, wedding cards have a significant role in the entire wedding process. It’s the first sign at the start of the wedding. Have you heard the expression, ‘first impressions matter?’ Well, this is the literal embodiment of the expression.
Designing the perfect wedding card comes secondary to the entire thought process that comes with it. Putting out the perfect wedding invitations is a feat that comes with a checklist of its own. Do not be overwhelmed by the process. Instead, try to have fun with it. It’s your wedding after all.
