WEDDING NOTES™ – Paper Notes

Experienced wedding planners have shared some thoughts on assembling the guest list and selecting invitations that reflect the theme and focus of your wedding day. 

•  They remind brides that a formal wedding should be reflected in a traditional formal invitation.  Ten to twelve lines of copy using traditional format and wording is still considered correct.  This copy is formally correct, uses full names for all persons listed and follows the formal layout.  An invitation expert can help with any unusual wording situations.

• When guest lists are being assembled, be aware of the number of single guests on the list who have significant others (known in the invitation field as “plus ones”).  It is not considered mandatory to invite the significant other of a close friend, however if there are only a few invited guests to whom this applies, you may wish to consider including those individuals.  If there are a number of single guests being invited, you’ll need to see what doubling that number will do to your budget.

• Consider creating a wedding website and posting it   4- 6 months prior to the wedding.  This is done for the convenience of your guests.  It does not take the place of the invitations but does provide a way to distribute directions, a list of restaurants, hotels and places of interest for out of town guests, and other wedding related information for all guests.  It is also a place to list gift registries and receive some guest RSVPs to the ceremony and/or reception.

• RSVP cards are still in use by most brides.  Assuming you have the time (invitations went out at least 6 weeks prior to the event) it is a good idea to ask for RSVP cards to be returned to you 3 weeks before the event.  This gives you a closer count for the caterer plus gives you time to seek out stragglers and include them in the final count.  You probably can manage it with only a two-week window prior to the event, but three is better.