What you should do

Since this will be your first written contact with most of your guests, it’s important that they make a good first impression. Make sure that you spell each guest’s name correctly. If you are unsure about spelling of someone’s name, look it up or contact someone reliable.

In your save-the-date, include date, time, and place of ceremony along with any other information that your guests will need.

Here is a sample of how your notice might read:

"Please save date of Saturday, June 25, 2005, 2 PM, for wedding of Karen Hinkley and Brian Nelson in Minneapolis, MN. Invitation and directions to follow."

Always follow up with expected wedding invitation, which should be mailed about six weeks before your wedding date.

A nice touch that can truly be helpful to your guests is to list your web site address—assuming you will be updating it with more details.

What you should not do

Keep in mind purpose of these cards. Don’t include unnecessary or inappropriate information such as directions, rehearsal dinner location and time, or registry information. (Incidentally, if you do list your name with a bridal registry, only place that information can be included is in a shower invitation. Generally, good etiquette demands that you rely upon friends and relatives to circulate such details by word of mouth and only if asked.)

Since you are not trying to elicit a response, do not include a reply card. And last but not least, you should not e-mail your save-the-date information. Of course, there is always an exception to every rule, but try not to break this one.

© Copyright 2005 Bachcroft.com. Permission to reprint this article, as is, is granted as long as proper attribution (author's biography) is given and all active hyperlinks remain intact.

Saying It with Words

Today, there are so many different kinds of families—traditional, blended, divorced, etc.—that it’s no wonder brides are often concerned about how to word their invitations without breaching any rules of etiquette. The stationer you will likely be visiting soon will have more samples of wording than you will want to see. For now though, I’ll let you glance at a few of more commonly used forms. These all fall under category "traditional."

(Bride’s parents are hosting) Mr. And Mrs. David Hennesse Request honor of your presence At marriage of their daughter Miss Ellen Marie Hennesse To Mr. Mark Peter Bruster On Saturday, ninth of June Two thousand and five At three o’clock in afternoon St. Mary’s Church Duluth, Minnesota

(Both bride’s and groom’s parents are hosting) Mr. And Mrs. David Hennesse And Mr. And Mrs. Clark Bruster Request honor of your presence At marriage of their children Ellen Marie Hennesse And Mark Peter Bruster On Saturday, ninth of June Two thousand and five At three o’clock in afternoon St. Mary’s Church Duluth, Minnesota

(When bride and groom host wedding) Miss Ellen Marie Hennesse And Mr. Mark Peter Bruster Request honor of your presence At their marriage On Saturday, ninth of June Two thousand and five At three o’clock in afternoon St. Mary’s Church Duluth, Minnesota

The old rule was that word "honor" should always be spelled "honour." This rule is no longer firmly held. However, you should always spell everything out—names, date, time and location.

There are definite rules regarding use of initials. "Doctor" (medical only, otherwise professional title is not used) is written in full, unless name to follow is long. "Mr." is never written "Mister," but "Jr." may also be written as "junior," although first is preferred.

It is acceptable to use numbers when writing address of church or synagogue, but avoid doing so. Generally, address (including street name) of location where wedding will be held is omitted. You may want to include it if not doing so would be likely to cause your guest frustration—when, for example, you are getting married in a large city and guests would have to guess which of several churches with same name you mean.

If you do include address and you are using a formal style of wording, spell out numbers under 100. Never abbreviate words such as "Street," "Avenue," and "Road," and do not include zip code.

Saving Time and Money

If you are pressed for time, ask stationer if you can have envelopes early. This way, while you are waiting for your invitations to be printed you can address envelopes.

When it comes to deciding how many invitations to order, you should definitely order slightly more than you think you will need. Chances are you are going to need more than you thought. It’s a lot more expensive to place a second order than it is to order extras.

© Copyright 2005 Bachcroft.com. Permission to reprint this article, as is, is granted as long as proper attribution (author's biography) is given and all active hyperlinks remain intact.