Formal Wedding Invitation Etiquette: What You Need to Know

In this more relaxed era, a wedding invitation can be sent by telephone, conveyed verbally or even emailed. The main goal of the wedding invitation is to make sure that all your guests know the who, what, when and where of your wedding and reception.

Even though wedding invitations are like many other kinds of invitation, there is almost always more formality to them. Because of this association, wedding invitation etiquette has been established to help you navigate the ins and outs of inviting guests to your wedding. This etiquette exists because formal wedding invitations convey the formality and the tone of the event through the paper, font and style of the invitation. The more formal your wedding, the more formal the invitations need to be.

The Look And Feel of a Formal Wedding Invitation

Proper etiquette for a formal wedding invitation does not allow for inviting guests via email or phone since these methods are relatively new. It does require the time honored tradition of printed invitations. Formal wedding invitations usually have the following characteristics:

• They are printed on heavyweight ivory, cream or white paper
• They use a classic letter style such as Roman
• Formal invitations are usually engraved and most likely written in the third person style.
• Typically, there are two envelopes that form part of the invitation. The first evenlope is the outer one, which contains all the other components of the invitation. The other envelope is used by the guest to return the reply card.

Other Helpful Tips

There are other helpful rules of etiquette for formal wedding invitations which should be considered during the planning stage.

• The more formal and ceremonial the wedding, the less creativity is applied.
• If your guest is certain to bring a date or companion it is acceptable to write “and guest” on the invitation when you do not know their name. Generally, this will limit the number of unforeseen guests who tag along.
• Wedding ceremonies that take place in a house of worship call for a more solemn approach than those held in the home or outdoors, and therefore the invitations must convey this formality.
• Generally, formal wedding invitations are produced at a printing company, and the envelope is addressed by hand by members of the wedding party.

Wedding invitation etiquette is a must for the formal invitation. This implies the importance of the special occasion to those involved, unlike other invitations such as wedding shower invitations which are far less formal and more festive.