Wedding invitations/stationary can be so confusing and time consuming, but they don't have to be.  Obviously with a background in Graphic Design I was so excited to design my own wedding stationary.  I felt the wedding theme and decorations really started to develop and grow when I started designing my stationary.  So below is some helpful advice to get you started on wedding invitations (or you can just give me a call and I can start designing them for you)! 

Save-The-Dates

These are defiantly not required to send out, but if they are within your budget and you want to give extended family and out-of-state guests a heads up on the date and accommodations, they are a great idea.  Most commonly Save-The-Dates are sent out 6-8 months prior to your wedding date, but if its a destination wedding make sure to send out 8-10 months in advance.  However, I sent mine out 4 months in advance ;) 

Save-The-Dates can be much less formal than wedding invitations, so take the chance to show off your personalities.  They can be anything from magnets to post cards to 5x7 cards. 

Do Include

• Bride & Groom's Names
• Wedding Date
• Location (City & State)
• Accommodations 
• Wedding Website
• 'Formal Invitation to Follow

Do Not Include

• Registry Details
• RSVP Card

Wedding Invitations

The formal invitations have a lot more rules and regulations.  No matter how beautiful they are you need to convey some basic information.  Remember in school when you learned the 5 W's: Who, What, Why, When, Where?  Yep, thats exactly what you need to put into your invite. 

THE HOST LINE: Who is hosting the wedding?  In the past it was the bride's family that hosted the wedding. But times have changed, weddings can be hosted by sets/singles of parents, bride/groom, or entire families.  A more general line, (like we used above) "Together with their families"

THE NAMES: This line pretty much explains itself, yet I found it difficult.  Whose name goes first? (Traditionally that honor belongs to the bride) Will you list middle names, wait what is your middle name?  All joking aside there are no right or wrong answers. 

THE ACTION LINE:  There are probably a million different ways you could go here.  "At the celebration of their marriage," "As they exchange vows of love and commitment," or "As they finally tie the knot."

THE INFORMATION: Time, date, and location (with address) should all be listed.  You want to keep this short & sweet to get the information across. 

THE PARTY LINE: Whoop, Whoop! It's time to celebrate and you want to let your guest know what is going down after the exchange of vows.  You can keep it short or go into greater detail.  I choose to go short and then added a detailed timeline card to the invites.  I felt that a detailed timeline was important for my guests to be informed. 

Here is a group shot of (mostly) all of my wedding stationary that I designed for the big day. 

• Mint to be (Fold over labels on mints)
• Save-The-Dates
• Wedding Invitations
• Rehearsal Invitations
• Thank you card
• Drink Coaster

Good Luck & Happy Wedding Planning!!!