Burgundy Traditional Evening Wedding Invitations
Plenty More Designs & Themes On Offer!
We have hundreds of wedding invite designs at Bride and Groom Direct. View more ideas and themes for your perfect wedding invitations today.
Need Invites That Won't Blow Your Budget?
If you are counting the pennies in the run up to your big day, we have a fantastic range of wedding invites available. Catering for a wide range of tastes and wedding themes, take a look at our full range of wedding invitations.
Why Are Wedding Invitations Important? Are They Necessary?
Wedding invitations are strictly necessary. They give your guest all the information they need: who's getting married, where they're getting married, and where the reception is being held. You could tell guests one by one all these details over text, if you want, but it's far too easy to forget who you've told and who you haven't. Plus, they may miss your text altogether.
Also, your wedding should be a special day. Using formal means like printed wedding invitations makes the day more special, and a lot more special than texting your invite to somebody.
How Wedding Invitations Should Be Worded: What Should They Say?
The wording on a wedding invitation is guided by etiquette. The rules of etiquette tell you how to do things at weddings. In this context, they tell you how to formally announce your wedding through your invitation: the order things are said in, the words that are used, whose names are on the invite and where, and more. Here's an example:
Alexandra & John Smith
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of their son/daughter
Stephen
to
Ellen Clarkson
at the King's Arms
1 England Drive, London, SW1
on Sunday the tenth of September
at 3 o'clock
Reception to follow
You're free to deviate from this however you like, but this is how invites are normally written.
How Many Wedding Invitations Shall I Order?
First, you need to figure out the bare minimum you'll need. Go through your guest list and figure it out. Remember, you can send just one invitation to a couple, rather than two.
When you have this bare minimum number, add 10% to it. This is the number of invites you should order. You need to order more because:
– The guest list may slightly change between now and the time you send the invitations out
– Some of the invitations could be made unusable, e.g. if you write them incorrectly
– You may need to resend some invitations
If you buy from an online store, you can always order more soon after your first order.
How Long Before a Wedding Should You Send Invites?
Wedding invites are traditionally sent six to eight weeks before the wedding. Two months or so may seem like a long time, but bear in mind that your guests will need to take time off work to attend. This gives them enough time to arrange this, if they haven't already (e.g. if you sent them a Save the Date).
However, you should send out invites earlier if you're having a wedding at a destination abroad. This will allow people not only to take time off work, but arrange travel. The same applies if some of your guests will need to travel from another country to be at your wedding: they should be invited early.
What Should Be Included in a Wedding Invitation
The wedding invite includes lots of information. It tells the guest who is getting married, where the ceremony is being held, and where the reception is being held if there is one. This is the core function of the invite.
An invitation should also contain an RSVP. This is a separate piece of card that the guest is intended to send back, indicating whether they'll be attending or not. This helps you make a table plan, as you'll know who will and won't be there. Along with the RSVP is usually an envelope, addressed to your own address, which most couples affix with a stamp. The idea is that the guest can mail back their RSVP with the envelope.
Can Wedding Invitations Be Emailed?
You could email a wedding invitation, if you want. However, there are several issues with doing so that mean you should stick to a postal invitation:
– It's far less special to email an invitation to somebody than to post it
– People's email addresses change more frequently than their home addresses
– It's easy to miss an email, e.g. if it goes to the junk folder, which may happen if you aren't listed as a contact
– People take emails and texts less seriously than formal postal invites
All this combined means that it's a far better idea to send a physical wedding invite to your guests than an email or a text. Besides, personalised printed invites are far cheaper than you might expect.
How to Personalise a Wedding Invitation
If you want the perfect wedding invitation, it has to be personalised. It needs to tell the guest whose wedding they're attending (yours!) and where it's being held. You can get invites that you manually fill in yourself, but these don't look professional, and certainly nowhere near as professional as one you have especially printed.
The first thing you can personalise with the designs on this page is the colour of your invite. As you'll see, many of them come in several colours; you can pick the one that best suits your wedding day. Better still, you can pick the same colours for all your other wedding stationery, so everything will match!
You can also personalise the text on the invite itself. Of course, you'll need your names on there; you may also want to put the bride or groom's parents, and you'll definitely need to tell your guests about the ceremony and reception. The invite will also have an RSVP attached, pre-filled out with your address so that guests can easily send it back.
And, of course, there's the design. You can choose between hundreds of different products, all designed for different budgets, different tastes and different seasons. There's something for everyone. Combining the design with a unique colour and with all of your professionally printed details, you and your guests will be amazed!
Folded vs. Flat Wedding Invites
Something else you'll have complete control over is whether the card is a folded or flat one. These are exactly what they sound like. The flat cards look exactly like business cards, but with something different printed on them.
Folded cards have a fold down the middle, so that each side is the size of a business card in itself. The card is then left standing at the guest's place at the table.
Budget Wedding Invitations and RSVPs
All couples want to save on the costs of their wedding day. Between big-budget expenses like the dress and suit, the venue and the meal, there's big financial pressure to save as much as possible elsewhere. That's why more and more couples opt for budget wedding invites, or even handmade invitations.
But professional printing doesn't break the bank. In our online store for wedding invites, we have a range of hundreds to choose from: while some are luxurious and expensive, others are only 85p per invite. That price includes:
– Personalisation of all the details on your invite
– Choosing between the colours the invite is printed in
– Free samples if requested
– Free envelopes supplied with every order
We also have dozens upon dozens of designs at 99p per card. Whether you want a rustic floral chalkboard design, a striking and colourful card, or a cute photo with your invite on the back you'll find it all here.