Wording Your Invitations

If you intend for your invitations to be of a casual nature then the format can be anything you like. Nevertheless, the following traditional format can be used as a guide. The content of a formal wedding invitation is fairly straightforward, albeit slightly more complicated these days due to changes in social attitudes and family structures. Regardless of your particular situation, the lines of your formal invitation should be in the following order:

1. The host names
Formal invitations begin with the person or people involved with the hosting, using formal names and titles. For example:
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Wentworth
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter…
If the bride and groom are hosting their own wedding the first lines would read:
Jennifer Marie Wentworth
and
James Roger Hammond
request the honour of your presence
at their marriage.
2. Invite your guests
"request the honour of your presence"
Formal: use 'honour' when the wedding is taking place in a house of worship.
Casual: "use 'pleasure' when the wedding is more casual or not in a house of worship.
3. State the occasion and relationship to the bride
"at the wedding of our daughter"
4. The brides first and second names
"Jennifer Marie"
If the bride's last name is different from the host's, it should also be included on this line, e.g.: "Jennifer Marie Wentworth"
5. The connecting, "to"
This usually goes on its own line in a formal invitation.
6. The grooms full name
If the bride is using a professional title, such as "Doctor Jennifer Marie Wentworth," you should then also include the groom's personal title, "Mr.," "Dr.," or whatever the case may be.
7. The day and month
In a formal invitation, spell out completely the date, time, and location of your wedding. (Use your discretion based on available space) Thus, the date would be:
"Saturday, the twenty-second of January"
8. The year
"Two Thousand and two"
9. The time
"at one o'clock in the afternoon"
10. The location
"St. Patrick's Cathedral"
or
"The Botanical Gardens"
11. City and state
"Main Street, Weddingsville"
12. Reception line
If you are planning to have your reception at the same location as the wedding, the line "and afterward at the reception" or "reception immediately following ceremony" should follow the city and state. You then give the name of the venue and times etc. An alternative to this which is regaining popularity is to include a Reception Card which has all the necessary details. It saves space on the Invitation itself and solves the problem of how to invite guests to the Ceremony but not the Reception.

Addressing Your Invitation

General rules:
" Spell out all Avenues, Roads, Streets, Boulevards, etc.
" Use the complete name of guest: i.e., Richard, not Rich
" Write out numbers one to twenty; higher numbers write numerically
" Junior, Senior: should be stated on outside envelope, not inner
" A boy under age 13 is referred to as "Master"

The Reception Card
If you are holding your reception at a different location than that of your wedding, you may want to include a reception card with your invitation. This is helpful in a couple of ways: First, it will not crowd the text on your invitation. Secondly, if you are inviting only some guests to the reception, it is convenient to simply add a reception card to the wedding invitations of those guests.
The card should include the name and address of the establishment with
"Reception immediately following the ceremony" or "Reception to follow the ceremony at five o'clock"
at the top of the card.

The RSVP
The RSVP is definitely important and helps you to keep track of who has replied and who hasn't. Make them as easy as possible to fill out. Listing each guest from a particular family may not always be practical but it means you can place a check box next to each name. If you are not listing each individual you must ask how many people will be attending.
Another good idea is to number the back of each RSVP sent out - that way if your guests don't complete the RSVP correctly you can still match it back to a list of numbers.

Finally! The Mailing!
Before sending your invitations, take a sample to the post office with all pieces to confirm that you're applying the proper postage before mailing! If you have international addresses, it is important to ask for postage for each individual country to which an invitation is being sent. These measures will ensure prompt delivery of your invitations.
Once everything is properly stamped, you will want to adhere to the following timelines for mailing your invitations:
Four to six weeks before the event is the general rule for mailing your invitations to ensure your guests receive their invitations and are able to respond in sufficient time. If you have guests travelling from outside the regional area, it is courteous to mail their invitations 6-8 weeks ahead of your wedding date so that they can make travel arrangements. As well, if you are planning your wedding around a holiday weekend, it is a good idea to get your invitations out 6-8 weeks prior so that your guests are sure to make your wedding the focus of the holiday.
Regardless of when the invitations are sent, they should all be mailed at the same time.
Now, sit back and relax - and start thinking about other paper planning! Your wedding reception will allow you to further personalize your affair and carry the theme of your invitations right through the day of your wedding. These stationery pieces can include invitations to the rehearsal dinner, the wedding program, place cards or escort cards, menus, and table numbers.

Assembling Your Invitation
The double envelope, that courtly feature of the formal wedding invitation, has its origins in the days when footmen delivered invitations to the landed class. At delivery, the footman would remove the clean invitation from its well-travelled outer envelope. The custom has survived, although with modern postal service the outer envelope is now sealed, with the inner unsealed and placed with the guest's name face up so that it can be read immediately upon extracting it from the outer.
Tissues were originally conceived in the days when inks took a bit longer to dry. Printers placed a tissue over the ink so that it would not smear. Today ink is quick-drying so tissues are not imperative, but used out of tradition. If you choose to use a tissue, it is the first sheet of paper that covers the printed text of your invitation. The large sheet of tissue is for your invitation, the small for your reply card and other small enclosures.
Place items in inner envelope in relation to importance and size:
1. Invitation
2. RSVP card tucked under flap of reply envelope
3. Reception card
4. Other items, such as direction cards and accommodation cards, can be placed in order of size. If there are two cards that are of the same size, place them in order of importance.

The Thoughtful and the Tasteful
Other printed stationery that is both useful and appropriate:
The Ceremony Card
If you are planning an intimate wedding with a small group of family and friends, but are then going to have a bash to celebrate, enclose a ceremony card along with the reception card.
Wedding Announcements
Send these out the day of your wedding to friends who you did not invite to your wedding, but to whom you would like to announce your marriage! The traditional announcement would look like your invitation, in ecru or white paper with black ink - engraved or thermographed in the style of your wedding invitations. Mail in double envelopes.
Gift Received Cards
A gift received card is a helpful and tactful way of acknowledging the gift of your guest without delay, especially if you are having a large wedding or an extended honeymoon. The card acknowledges a gift and notes that a personal thank-you will soon follow.
Personalized Stationery
Traditionally, the bride took on the role of thanking the couple's guests for wedding gifts. Nowadays, however, the groom is more likely to lend a hand or shoulder the burden. When he does, his monogram should be on cards he is writing, hers on the notes she will write.
Note cards with the married couple's name, e.g., "Mr. and Mrs. Johnson," are used by husband and wife for replying to formal invitations, sending thank-you's, personal notes, or an invitation.