The wedding invitation introduces your guests to your wedding and how the event is expected to be.  Upon receiving the invitation, guests would get an idea if your wedding is going to have a casual beach setting, a formal traditional motif, a romantic garden theme, or whatever your theme and style of wedding will be.  It is essential, therefore, to plan your stationery carefully so that it truly reflects the kind of event that you are going to have.

Gone are the days when invitations are almost restricted to being white and classic. In the recent years, wedding invitations have developed a lot more interesting appearances. The colours, materials, and fancy embellishments have certainly gone such a long way.  Now, you can have your invitations as stylish and creative as you want them to be, only limited by your imagination… or that of your stationery designer.

Colour
Weddings nowadays have become bolder when it comes to their colour schemes.  Long ago, the colour would often be composed of just one colour. At present times, it is not surprising to witness weddings with myriad of colours for their schemes.Metallic colours have become a usual sight, while brown has become the new black.You can now get inspiration from an existing floral design that you desire with beige, teal, lavender and old rose colours… or from your carnival theme with a burst of pinks, oranges and yellows. Of course, the black and white scheme will remain a classic combination that never goes out of style.

Theme
Theme weddings have become more popular too.  While old invitations have mostly just words and lines in theme, probably with a small embossed monochromatic dove or wedding rings or hearts or flowers, today’s invitations have as much freedom of design as you want. They can reflect the theme of your wedding by having all these coloured flowers, if you’re having a garden wedding; sand, seashells, and frangipani designs, if you’re after a tropical beach theme; laces and glitters for the luxurious events, and so on.

Embellishment
Wedding invitations no longer arrive just in slim envelopes.  Sometimes, they come in boxes, too. This is usually because of the three dimensional embellishments added to the invitations. You can add satin ribbons, silk flowers, rhinestone buckles, seashells, crystal beads, feathers, pearls, lace appliques, or tassels.

Paper
The ultra creative designs of invitations today have called for the availability of specialty papers. A vast amount of beautiful paper is available in the market, making any design of invitation you want absolutely possible. There are recycled, linen, vellum, metallic, handmade, printed, or paper with glitters.

Creating the Invite
Basically, you will have three options. First, for the brave and creative artists, you can do it yourself. This can be tricky, so better keep your design simple enough for you to handle. The advantage of this would be having an absolutely unique invitation at a lower price. Second, just as most brides do, you can easily order your invitations from wedding stationery suppliers. Naturally, the price would be higher, but you will have beautiful invitations made by professionals and all you have to do is to address the envelops. Lastly, there is also what we call half-and-half. In the market, there are DIY invitation kits available.  In these kits, invitations are partly done, and you can just assemble them yourself or with the help of your family, friends, or bridal party.

Finally, always remember that packaging your wedding invitation is important as well. Mailing your invitations means that they will possibly some rough handling. A few brides have been upset and dismayed at seeing their beautifully made invitations in a miserable appearance after being received by a family or friend through the mail. So it’s either you take extra care in packaging your invites, or hand deliver them personally.

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When you are planning a wedding, you certainly know how important your wedding invitations will be. They are your way of personally inviting family and friends to witness and celebrate one of the happiest days of your life.

Depending on your wedding scenario, there may be many more details to include for guests beyond the date and time of the ceremony and reception. That is where additional wedding invitation inserts may be required. Many times, these extra cards are available to match your invitation design.

The enclosures needed will vary by wedding depending on the circumstances but here are some of the available insert options:

• Accommodation Cards - If you will be inviting out-of-town guests and have reserved a block of rooms for overnight accommodations at a local hotel, they will appreciate receiving these cards which will list the hotel’s contact information.
• Direction or Map Cards - Any time guests may not know how to reach your ceremony and reception location, it is a good idea to include these cards as an added convenience providing detailed directions.
• Reception Cards - When your reception information does not comfortably fit on your wedding invitation, you can include this separate card with all the specific details.
• Response Cards - Including these cards for guests to let you know if they will be attending will assist you in accurately making your seating and food arrangements. Unless they are postcards, a mailing envelope needs to be included with the postage already affixed as a courtesy to your guests for quick and easy return.

Remember to keep in mind that the addition of wedding invitation inserts could increase your mailing postage since it is based on weight so it’s imperative to take one of your ready-to-mail invitations to the Post Office to be weighed for determining the proper postage amount. Then again, it is totally worth any extra costs if the addition of these insert cards will provide your guests with all the information they need to be part of your special day.

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Calling all couples out there who wish to cut the cost of their wedding.

A realistic budget and sticking with the budget plan is a great idea for couples. I hear you all say that it is easier said then done. If you don’t then costs could spiral out of control very quickly. Please remember that your wedding is for one day whereas marriage is for life.

The cost of printed invitations can be over 1500 dollars at most as most couples who know when planning a wedding. That is a large chunk of money out of your budget right away.

A fraction of the cost of wedding stationery invitations is for brides to select wedding invitation kits. Diy wedding invites can be designed with the kits. You will find out how talented you really are.

Diy wedding kits are great for sending out to family weddings. The front page showed a photograph of the happy couple on a recent trip overseas with a beautiful back drop. The bride and groom had inserted the wedding invite words onto the reverse of the wedding cards . The wedding invitations not only looked professional but had an added sparkly personal touch from the bride and groom .

Invitation kits come ready supplied with all the materials you require to make your invites. The only thing you need to purcahse is glue. An example of what is supplied if you have selected an ivory colored invite. You would receive envelopes, paper, card, buckle and ribbon directly to your house. When you are ready you can then begin to make your wedding card . The centre of your invite can have a buckle and ribbon can be glued to the card. You are ready to send the invitations when you insert the wedding wording.

Brides may select a heart shaped invite kit. You will receive a sash, ribbon, paper, card, and envelopes. Again once you are ready to begin. The card can have a sash glued to the side. You can secure a ribbon around the sash. Place your written wedding words on the inside of the wedding invite . Your wedding guests can receive the wedding card when it is complete .

Sparkly Wedding Invitation Kits

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Everyone one of us has a favourite flower. My favorite is Orchids in any color. Orchids are lovely rare and very expensive. I arranged a beautiful bouquet of lemon and white Orchid and Lilies for my wedding. Lemon and white orchids were used for table top flowers and church flowers. Our wedding cake had a Orchid theme.

An alternative to the Orchid could be the Calla Lily for your do it yourself wedding invites. There are a number of ways you can try to make your own handmade Calla Lily wedding invitations. A way to save money from your wedding budget would be by only using only one sheet of card. Around one of the edges of the top of a rectangle wedding invitation you can draw a couple of Cala Lilies. You will have plenty of space to write your wedding invitation words.

You can use only one sheet of card and save money. You can try taking a photograph of a Calla Lily. After you have chosen your favorite photograph. A great idea would be to take photos of the photograph and paste onto your wedding invitations. Add a white ribbon around the middle of the card. A beautiful wedding invitation and a lovely romantic wedding card.

A bouquet of Calla Lilies would look stunning on the front of your wedding invite. Another alternative would be to have a border of Calla Lilies going around the wedding invitation on one wedding card. A good shape for your invitation would be a square style card. On the front of your wedding invitation you could try pasting a photo of the flowers. An added touch would be to add the bride and grooms names underneath the wedding bouquet. Once your wedding guests open their invitations . A bouquet of Calla Lilies on the left hand side of your wedding invitation then place the wedding invitation words on the inside.

Calla Lily wedding invitations

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We are all used to getting or sending wedding invitations: it is part of the event tradition and in fact the best way to let people know that you’d be happy to have them by your side on the big day. Typically, wedding invitations are mailed at least six weeks before the ceremony, and they usually involve a confirmation from the recipient. The creation and design of the invitations is nevertheless one cornerstone of wedding planning, and many couples do complex searches before they come up with the right idea, format or style. You can order the wedding invitations, do them yourself or have an artist make them by hand.

According to tradition, two envelopes are used for mailing wedding invitations; thus, there is an inner one that is smaller-sized to fit an outer envelope. While You’ll write the address on the outer envelope while the interior one will serve for decorations and some etiquette formalities. If the wedding invitations come with engravings or some special decorations that could be easily blotted or smudged, there are special protections applied on the items. Plus, a viable variant to engraving and painting is the use of special printing techniques for decorative purposes.

If the wedding invitations are less formal they can be sent in just one envelope, and lots of people find it easier to do so in order to make some savings as well. You could also replace the inner envelope with a pocket in the form of pocket wedding invitations, and the look will be a lot more special. Other than design, there are all sorts of challenges that one faces when it comes to wording or address writing. There is a certain etiquette that needs to be followed, and many people strictly stick to it for fear of offending one of their guests.

Many other details related to wedding invitations can become troublesome if you are too picky or concerned to achieve perfection. Maybe you will not please everybody, but it is important to keep in mind that it’s your day and you have to be happy with everything that goes on. Don’t try the impossible, don’t waste all resources and try to enjoy every moment of the preparations. Rely on family and friends for collaboration and you will be surprised to discover that some very good ideas could come from their part.

Whatever your views on Wedding Invitations, weddings, stag and hen parties etc. you can learn a lot about wedding speeches by visiting the Wedding Speeches Website. If you need to get fit and ready for the big day then visit the health and exercise website. For those of you dreaming of finding your soulmate then visit the Internet Dating website for all the information you need.

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Here are some standard and alternative ways to word your wedding invitations.

If the wedding is being hosted by you:
“Jane Porter and David Broadbent request the pleasure of your company at their marriage…”

When the wedding is being hosted by the parents of the bride:
“Mr and Mrs Frederick Porter request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of their daughter Jane to Mr David Broadbent at St Michael’s Church, Wilburly, on Saturday, 26 th July 2010 at 3pm and afterwards at The White Swan Hotel, Wilbury…”

Invitation to a wedding where the bride’s parents are the hosts (alternative wording):
“Mr and Mrs Frederick Porter request the pleasure of the company of (name of guest(s) written by hand) at the marriage of their daughter Jane Frances to Mr David Broadbent at St Michael’s Church, Wilbury, on Saturday, 26th July 2003 at 3pm and afterwards at The White Swan Hotel, Wilbury…”

When the bride’s parents are divorced and the mother remarried:
“Mr Federick Porter and Mrs James Culver request the pleasure of…”
Begin like this if the mother is not remarried:
“Mr Frederick Porter and Mrs Judy  Porter…”

Invitation to a service of blessing:
“Mr and Mrs Federick Porter request the pleasure of your company at the blessing of the marriage of their daughter Jane…”

When inviting only for the wedding reception:
“Mr and Mrs Frederick Porter request the pleasure of your company at a reception following the marriage of their daughter Jane…”

Evening party only invitations:
“Mr and Mrs Frederick Porter request the pleasure of your company at an evening party following the marriage of their daughter Jane…”

If you are interested in more wedding invitations related articles and advice, please visit NZ Bride and check out the wedding invitations section. We also have a large collection of wedding planning advice articles relating to other subjects such as: wedding dresses, wedding flowers, wedding reception planning, etc. that you may be interested in.

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