Have you ever opened a wedding invitation and thought What the heck is all of this stuff? Why are there so many pieces? How many forests were destroyed to print all of this junk? Maybe you're planning your own wedding and wondering what you should put in your invite. If so, this simple guide is just for you.
Last time I opened a wedding invitation, it looked like this:
Jeez Louise, that's a lot of stuff. These are just some of the classic items typically found in a wedding invitation. In this post, you'll learn what each part is for so that you can decide what works for you. It's your wedding, girlfriend. You make the call. I'm just here to give you the knowledge to make it happen.
This is clearly the most essential piece. Every wedding invitation, whether it's an email or an elegantly designed stationery suite includes some basic information:
There are about a million and five (yes, that's 1,000,005) ways to word your invitation. That's not a real statistic so please don't quote me on it. The point is that information in your wedding invitation can be expressed in an extremely formal or extremely casual way. I have another post about that coming soon to help you decide how to word your invites. For now, let's move on...
The bottom line: you need an invitation if you're a human and you're having a wedding.
This could be one card, or several cards. It all depends on how complex your wedding is (and how much money is in your father's bank account. Kidding, kind of...)
Listen, the best thing you can do for your guests is make sure they're well-informed about your day. Information cards typically contain information such as:
Now, take a deep breath. You don't actually need to put all of that in your invitation. Pick and choose the helpful bits that apply to your day. Lastly, remember that it doesn't need to all be on separate cards! Most of my clients have asked for at least one information card. Some weddings include several cards (especially destination weddings. Those are another level entirely.)
The bottom line: you need this if you want to help provide clarity for guests about how they need to prepare for your big day and what to expect on the wedding day. You are stealing their Saturday, after all.
This is a note guests return to you in order to let you know if they can make it or not. There are a few different types:
RVSPs can contain:
The bottom line: you definitely need this if you want to know how many guests will attend your wedding, but you can totally go digital instead of mailing an RSVP
This is a history lesson for those who have wondered why wedding invitations sometimes include two envelopes. In the past, part of the purpose was to keep the beautiful invitations perfect and clean, because mail carried in an actual carriage (Ye Olde Fashioned Way) could get dirty. So partly, for looks. But there is also another purpose. The outer envelope traditionally is addressed to the adults (ex: Mr. and Mrs. Jay Pritchett.) Meanwhile, the inner envelope would indicate specifically which members of the Pritchett family might be invited. For example: Jay and Gloria Pritchett | Manny and Joe. This would indicate that the children are invited to the wedding. If the inner envelope only states Jay and Gloria Pritchett, this is a polite way of indicating that the children are not invited. Lastly, if you are inviting an unmarried friend, the inner envelope is typically used to indicate whether or not this unmarried friend should bring a date or not. (Mr. Manny Pritchett would indicate that a guest is not welcome. Mr. Manny Pritchett and guest would indicate that you have reserved a seat for a date also.)
*Thank you to those who noticed my Modern Family reference in this paragraph. I only get local TV channels, people. I don't do Netflix. I don't know what the kids are watching these days.
The bottom line: You need two envelopes if you want a polite way of indicating which children and "plus ones" are welcome or unwelcome. Or, if you are sending your mail by pigeon carrier.
(*See the previous photo of the envelopes for an example!) An envelope liner is purely for decorative purposes. Usually the liner is not, in fact, brown paper (as pictured above.) They may contain a graphic or pattern that matches the rest of the invitation suite and the mood of the wedding day. One current trend is to include an original illustration of the location of the wedding. The liner is purely for adding an "Oooh" effect when your guests open your invitation. Click here to see a few examples of floral themed liners from Grayberry Design.
The bottom line: you need this if you have a little extra cash to spare on super-gorgeous special extras and you really want to wow your guests.
A belly band is just a piece of ribbon, lace, fabric, or paper used to hold your invitation together when guests remove it from the envelope. Belly bands, like liners, are purely for adding a "wow" experience to your invitation. Some liners are stamped or sealed with wax, custom monograms, small illustrations and other artistic elements. Click here to see a gorgeous floral belly band by Ruby and Willow in New Zealand.
The bottom line: you need this if you have a little extra cash to spare on super-gorgeous special extras and you really want to wow your guests.
So there you have it. The typical components of the American wedding invitation. There are definitely many decisions to make about what to put in your invitation. That's why professionals like me are here to help guide you through the process! If you want to get in touch with me or learn about my custom wedding invitation process, click here. And if you're forging the waters on your own, feel free to leave a question in the comments and I will do my best to help you!