Wedding Etiquette by HelloLucky.co.uk

• How to Word Your Wedding Invitation
• How to Word Your Evening Wedding Invitation
• 3 Ways to Word a Reply Card
• 5 Ways to Word a Save the Date Card
• When to Order and Send Your Wedding Invitations
• Wording the Wedding Invitations-Sticky Situations
• Your Complete Wedding Stationery Checklist
• Q&A: Thank You Cards and Gift Registry Etiquette

Your Complete Wedding Stationery Checklist

The wedding invitation suite consists of dozens of complementary pieces, collectively known as a wardrobe. Which elements you choose for your nuptials depends on the formality, size, and budget you've outlined for your big day. To determine what you need, it helps to first understand all the paper parts comprising the wardrobe.

Save the Date Cards
The save the date card is the first official announcement of your wedding date. This card-sometimes sent as a postcard to reduce costs-can be casual. For consistency, it's nice to have it match the other items of your wardrobe, but it's not absolutely necessary if you haven't chosen your wedding colors or theme yet. You can tie in save the dates to your event in other ways. For example, an illustration of a coconut tree if you're planning a destination wedding in the Maldives, or a cheerful daisy for garden "I do's".

Here's what the save the date can include:

• Your names and the wedding date-these are musts
• The location, if you know it, so that out-of-town guests can begin making travel arrangements
• The words "invitation to follow," or a similar phrase
• The URL of your wedding website

Accommodations Cards
This piece is optional, but it's smart for destination weddings and if you're expecting lots of out-of-town guests. It's enclosed with save the date cards to assist your guests with booking travel and lodging.

What you may include:

• Hotels near the ceremony and reception sites
• Airfare, transportation information and/or timetables
• Maps of the area

If you're limiting invitation costs, include this information on your wedding website and direct guests there on the save the date.

Invitations
The invitation is the piéce de r&ecute;sistance in the wardrobe spread. Guests will carry it along to the wedding and use it as a guide for where to go and when.

Key information to have:

• The names of the hosts (often the parents)
• The names of the bride and groom
• The day of the week the ceremony occurs, as well as the date, time, and address.

The invitation may not travel alone. It can be accompanied by the following, all enclosed within the outer envelope:

• The response or RSVP card, with a self-addressed, stamped envelope
• A map or a directions card-spots to mark include nearby hotels, the sites of any events, and where the ceremony and reception will take place

Evening Invitation
If you’re inviting additional guests for an evening reception, then a separate invitation will need to be printed. These would typically be exactly the same format as the wedding invitation but worded as follows:

Mr and Mrs. Thomas Hudson
request the pleasure of your company
at an evening reception
following the marriage of their daughter

Jennifer Anne
to
Mr. William Fitzgerald

on Saturday 20th March 2008
at 7 o’clock
Sutton House
Bridgwater, Somerset

RSVP
Sutton House
Wembdon Rise
Bridgwater
Somerset TA6 7PN

Black tie
Dinner and dancing
Carriages at 1 o’clock

Careful wording can ensure that the same reply card can be used for either set of guests.

Events or Itinerary Card
If you're throwing a destination wedding or weekend-long celebration, consider an events card. It can detail planned activities, such as golfing or an afternoon tea, so that guests can pack accordingly. Events cards can be combined with response cards to save expense, with boxes guests can check off for activities they'd like to attend.

Orders of Service
Orders of service are very important as keepsakes. The traditional approach is a small, bound booklet with the couple's names on the front. But it can also be a single sheet of thick, textured paper if your ceremony is on the short-and-sweet side. Because of the order of service’s role as memento, many couples take a creative approach. For example, a fan-shaped order of service for outdoor or garden weddings in warm summer months.

Orders of service typically include:

• The date and venue of the wedding
• The order of events
• Titles of readings and songs
• Names of bridal party members and their relationship to the bride or groom

Menus
For a formal, seated dinner at a banquet table, place a menu at each setting. If your reception setup is an arrangement of small tables, it's acceptable to have just one menu at each table. Another option is to integrate the menu into the place card.

Menu details include:

• A description of what will be served
• If a dish holds special significance, you may wish to explain why
• Wine and beverage choices
• If your wedding features cocktails, a list of Martini options or the ingredients of your signature drink

Placement or Seating Cards, or Seating Plans (“You are seated at…” cards)

These tell guests where to sit. The simplest form of placement cards are either tented cards, or cards in small envelopes, laid out in alphabetical order on a table.

However, the creative options are virtually endless. Tie them to a tree with ribbons in your wedding colours, place them among a bed of flowers so that each guest can pick one upon entrance, or pin them to a decorated board. .

You may also use a seating plan, which consists of one sheet for each table, on which the guests’ names are listed in alphabetical order. This is typically displayed at the entrance to the reception all.

The only two musts on a seating card are the guest's name and his or her table number.

Table Cards
Designate each table with a name or number to help guests find their seats. Creative signs add to the festivity, such as clever names for tables or beautiful designs in your motif. Print the text in dark colors-reception lighting is often dim. Stand the table cards up in holders or tent them.

Place Cards
Place cards tell guests which chair is theirs. The traditional spot for these is at the head of each place setting, but they can also be hung with ribbons from the backs of chairs. Or, rather than tenting the cards, attach them to an object indicative of your wedding theme. For example, if the reception is at an orchard, tie each name to an apple's stem. For a garden wedding, entwine a silk flower around the card's edge.

Another idea is to coordinate the colors of the place cards to entrÈe options. For example, pale green for the veggie dish, pink for the salmon, and so on. That way, waiters have a subtle clue as to who requested which dish.

Other than that, all you need is the guest's name!

Signage
For a fully personalised or themed event, many couples custom order signage to display at the reception. These signs can indicate buffet selections, cocktail choices if not listed on the menu, men's and ladies' rooms-basically any spot you can think to customise.

Favour Tags and Cards
Many couples have favor baskets or bags at the reception or waiting for guests in their hotel rooms. The tags on these gifts typically say:

• A gracious message, such as "Thank you for celebrating with us!"
• The couple's name
• The wedding date

If you're giving a donation, the favor tag can instead be a small card explaining your choice of charitable action.

Thank You Cards
Order thank you cards with your invitations in anticipation of early gifts, and to thank bridesmaids and the host of your bridal shower. These notes should be handwritten, and they should repeat an element from your wedding motif for continuity.

Thank you cards:

• Thank guests for attending and for any gifts
• Traditionally have "thank you" on the front and a personal note inside
• Include your new address, if you're moving