Wedding Invitation Do’s and Don’ts

Do give your guests time to make travel arrangements by sending out your invitations six to eight weeks before the wedding. If it’s a destination wedding, send invitations out three months ahead of time.—Stephanie Weiss, Ella Weiss Wedding Design 

Do put a stamp on the enclosed response envelope that is supposed to be mailed back to you.—Andrea Longwell, Gracie’s Bridal

Don’t include registry information on your wedding invitation. Include it on the wedding shower invitation or on the wedding website.—Joyce Criswell, The Bride’s Maid

Do include a blank line on the RSVP cards for your guests’ names (rather than a “Mr.” or “Mrs.” followed by a blank line). Sometimes guests have names that require different prefixes.—Lenette Kujawa, Aflair Events

Don’t specify “no children” on invitations. Address them to each guest by name. If someone replies with their kids’ names added, call and explain you’re having an adults-only wedding. Consider offering a babysitter if there are a lot of kids in your family. It’s a nice gesture.—Stephanie Weiss, Ella Weiss Wedding Design 

Do make sure the return address on your RSVP cards is for the city where your wedding will be hosted. If you live in Kansas City but the wedding is in Springfield and your parents live in Springfield, have them sent to your parents.—Lenette Kujawa, Aflair Events

Don’t try to make invitations yourself at home. We have great local businesses in 417-land that will help you find the perfect invitations for your special day. You will probably be surprised that making your own won’t save you much (if any) money, but it will likely cost you a lot of time and stress.—Andrea Longwell, Gracie’s Bridal

Do make invitations consistent with the formality of the event. If your wedding is more formal, choose a formal invitation and write out all numbers, including dates, times and years.—Joyce Criswell, The Bride’s Maid

Do include your parent’s friends on your guest list. If your parents are helping you pay for your wedding, then they should be able to invite who they want as well.—Andrea Longwell, Gracie’s Bridal  

Do number your response cards to correspond with your address list. You will be shocked at how many people forget to put their names on the response card.—Andrea Longwell, Gracie’s Bridal  

Do include a separate reception card if the reception is at a different location than the ceremony. If the ceremony and reception are at the same place, include a line on the invitation that says “reception to follow.”—Joyce Criswell, The Bride’s Maid

Do give credit to the host(s). When the bride’s parents used to pay for all wedding expenses, invitations read “Mr. and Mrs. (Father’s last name) request the honor of your presence.” Today we see the groom’s family, or the bride and groom, either contributing to or paying for the entire wedding themselves. The wording on the invitation should reflect this.—Stephanie Weiss, Ella Weiss Wedding Design

Don’t send a generic thank you card. Take the time and write a handwritten thank you to the gift givers for their generosity.—Andrea Longwell, Gracie’s Bridal  

Don’t include too many options on the menu card (mailed with the invitation). If you have choices, try to limit it to two options.—Lenette Kujawa, Aflair Events