Archive for June, 2010
* Be forewarned: usually 7% to 10% of the guests who respond with a yes won’t actually show up at the wedding. In addition, 20% to 30% won’t make it to the reception. This can wreak havoc when budgeting for a sit-down dinner. You might want to consider a buffet-style dinner instead.
* In some cases, you’ll want to invite people to the ceremony, but not the reception — or vice versa. If so, then you will need two sets of invitations printed, one that includes reception information and one that doesn’t.
* If you don’t receive a reply from some guests by your reply date, don’t hesitate to call them. It’s important that you know how many are attending so you can budget accordingly.
* When ordering invitations, order at least 4 to 6 weeks before they’re scheduled to be mailed. If you plan on mailing your invitations around the 15th of March, order them between February 1st and 15th.
* Double and even triple-check everything before it gets printed. Borrow another pair of eyes. This includes invitations, response cards, envelopes, wedding programs, and so on, whether you’re doing them yourself or having them professionally printed. Search ruthlessly for spelling errors.
* Always order extra invitation envelopes and response card envelopes. There will inevitably be a few mistakes when addressing these and you’ll want to have a few extras on hand.
* Mail your invitations at least 6 weeks before the wedding date, and ask for a response at least three weeks before the wedding date. So if your wedding date is July 1st, mail your invitations by May 15th — and ask your guests to respond by June 7th. This will give guests time to reply by mail, which in turn, gives you time to firm up catering plans, seating arrangements, etc.
* If your wedding’s going to actually be held on a beach or outdoor area, be sure that you let your guests know, so they can dress appropriately.