Friday, October 9, 2009

How to Get Your Wedding Guest List and Invites

When you make the huge decision to become married and officially become engaged, it marks not only one of the greatest times of your life, but also probably one of the busiest. With an engagement and a future wedding there is much need for celebration, but there is also a need to realize that you're in for some serious work now that you only have a set amount of time to get your wedding planned. It's nothing to be too stressed about and you need to have fun while doing it, but just know ahead of time that to properly plan a wedding it takes dedication from not only the couple that's walking down the aisle, but also from many other friends, family and co-workers that will be involved in the planning as well.

One thing that I would suggest right off the bat is to find a few friends or members of your family that you trust can be of a huge help to you during this time and get them involved as soon as possible wit your planning. This will be fun for them and it will take a lot of work of your plate, which is always a good thing.

As I continue to plan my wedding, one of the things that I have focused on due to its importance to me is the creation of the wedding guest list and deciding who I am going to invite to my wedding. For my particular wedding I am having 200 guests, so that is my limit when sifting through all of the potential invites that I could send out to my many, many family, friends and family. Getting a proper guest list together that I am happy with is very important to me, so it's something that I've spent a lot of time working on. I've learned a few things along the way while I've been doing this, so I'm hoping to pass on a few tips to you so that you can get a great guest list together, too. Here are some thoughts on how you can end up with that perfect wedding guest list that you'd love to see at your upcoming wedding.

The first thing that you need to figure out is how many guests you can invite to your wedding because this will set the overall limit of people who will be attending your wedding and dinner. After you come up with that number, you need to come up with the people that you definitely have to invite to your wedding. Here's how I went through the various family, friends and others who I was thinking about inviting to my wedding:

Wedding Party: You need to obviously make sure that your wedding party is invited to your wedding and that they are going to be taken care of once they show up for your big day.

Family: For some of us (like me), family will take up a substantial amount of your wedding seats, so be sure to figure out who you want to be there and whom you don't. Also, something to remember is that you should look at your family by layers and once you decide what layer you want to invite to you should stick with it. I ended up inviting my close family, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins and all of their kids. It adds up fast, but it's the layers of family that I chose.

Send Out Save The Dates: I'm pretty sure that most people do this already, but be sure to send out some fun save the dates about 4 months before your wedding so that your guests know that they're invited and can plan ahead.

Use Technology To Keep Track Of Who You're Inviting: This seems like a no-brainer, but using technology such as Google Docs so that you can share who you've invited to your wedding and keeping track of it as a couple will make your life much easier. Also, now that most of our friends were on Facebook, we have been able to use that technology to keep track of our invites as well.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Simple Methods For Personalizing Your Wedding Invitations

Since wedding invitations are the first intro your guests will get to the tempo and concept of your wedding, make certain that your invitations are as transparent and special as your wedding will be. Follow these easy steps for personalizing your invitations.

First, use invitation wording that mirrors you and your family's attitudes, beliefs, and personalities. People are sick and tired of reading the same old phrase on invitations. The popular phrase emblazoned across the annals of bridal magazines, and history in general, is the following: "Blank's parents request the honor of your presence at the marriage of their daughter, or son." Consider new and innovative ways of saying the same thing so people don't feel lukewarm about attending your wedding. Pull them in with invigorating, personal phrases that suggest warmth and kindness and a special call out to them especially. Here is a good example:

Because you have witnessed our beautiful child grow up along with us, Name and Name invite you to partake of the spiritual blessing of our wedding day.

Another good phrase might be the following:

Mr. Name and Mrs. Name lovingly and happily invite you to the marriage of their daughter, Name, to Name. There will be festivities, a reception, and a reception dinner to follow. Wedding favors are mandatory. Gotcha!

That last bit has a little humor because people read the word mandatory and think they have to do something. However, all they have to do is show up and accept the wedding favors. Humor and love can humanize and personalize your wedding invitations.

A second way of personalizing your wedding invitations is to designate the place where you live with some special importance. If your hometown or wedding location offers some sentimental boost to your heart, then make it known on the invitation. If you live in the Australian outback, use a kangaroo. If you're going to a beach destination for some fun in the sun, use images of seashells, the surf, or sand castles. For Western weddings, use cowboy boots and hats. If you're at a romantic spot for the wedding, especially if you're flying in guests to go there, use that scene's romantic architecture. You can't get more romantic than the beautiful canals of Amsterdam, Holland. You can also use your favorite paintings or movies if you're an artist or movie aficianado. Anything that evokes your personality or your partner's preferences are ideal. Your guests will get a real sense of who you and your spouse really are.

Ways to Save Money on Wedding Invitations

Inviting your possible guests on your wedding day can be costly. You have to give them traditional wedding cards to inform them of the date and venue, and possibly those cards are made of elegant or high quality papers and other materials that might cost a lot. If your goal is to save money, then you should think of cost – effective alternatives to send out cards to your guests. Here are some tips.

1. Make a list of possible guests first. Invite only your closest friends and relatives so you’ll know the number of cards to make. Sometimes cards are made in excess and are thrown away.

2. No RSVP, please. Who cares about RSVP cards? Chances are they’ll just tell you in person that they will attend, so don’t include RSVP cards. This is especially true when they are your closest friends and co – workers whom you see everyday.

3. Have a friend, relative or hobbyist make DIY cards. If you know someone talented in making cards, then have her come up with a design instead of hiring a company doing that for you.

4. Print them yourself. Just use a cheap ink and your own printer. No one will notice anyway, or they won’t care too much.

5. Send them ecards. Send your relatives living far away an ecard and add an audio to it. You will save on postage stamps and won’t take too long, too. Tell them to reply early.

6. Shop on cheap materials. Go to local bookstores and see those cheap papers and laces. Compare prices of these materials before making a decision.

Think of more ways to save more money on wedding invitations by being creative and delegating tasks to the people you know. Save on other things, too, like wedding cakes, music, photography and attire. You don't have to spend a lot to make your special day a success

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Anniversary Invitation For Your Wedding Anniversary

In order to throw a fabulous event for your loved ones to celebrate their marriage, you'll need to begin by sending anniversary invitation. Besides sending out those cards, you'll also need to make some other important planning decisions. Below are some ideas that are going to help you get started on those invitations and the rest of your party planning.

Many of the leading online invitations and announcements stores offer advantages to shopping with them, such as
· Instant Preview After Personalizing Your Anniversary Invitation!
· Your Proof Submitted Within ONE Hour, and You Should Be Able To Make Unlimited Revisions, FREE
· Same Day Printing and Shipping if Your Order
· Free Shipping and 10 Free Cards
· Exclusive Designs Available ONLY
· Add a Photo or Picture to Any Cards on Their Site
· Create a Design especially for you

Beginning Tips for Planning

When you start thinking about an anniversary party event, you should begin planning your budget first. Your budget will determine many of the other important factors surrounding your event, such as location and the size of the guest list. If you're going to be working with anyone else on the party, perhaps a sibling or another close family member, then you'll need to discuss the budget with them as well before finalizing any type of anniversary wedding invite.

Next you need to put together a guest list for the event. If you're trying to plan a more intimate, low-key event then consider keeping the number of guests small and limited to just close friends and family members. You could also opt for a larger event with all of the people the couple knows. Which type of event you choose could include a number of factors, including how much you can afford to spend and the preference of the couple.

Once you've chosen a guest list, the next job should be to select a location so you can prepare the cards. Make sure you choose a location that will be sufficient in size to hold all of your guests. Restaurant party rooms can be a good choice for smaller events. Party rooms and event rooms at hotels and other locations are a good choice for larger events. Be sure to place a deposit on the location so you can secure it for the date you want.

Completing the Anniversary Party Cards and Anniversary Announcements

Now that you've done most of the pre-planning, it's time to get those wedding anniversary invitations in the mail. If you've decided to choose a theme for the event, you'll want to select an that will match that theme. For example, the 50th Golden Wedding Anniversary theme or the 25th Silver Wedding Anniversary theme should have a gold or silver invitation, respectively. It's a good idea to choose the invite for the wedding anniversary early so you'll be ready to focus on the anniversary wordings and on the mailing of them once the details are set.

Make sure you give yourself enough time to prepare the Anniversary Invite so you can get them out in the mail within three weeks of the event. You want to make sure the guests receive them in plenty of time to make their preparations for attending. You should also make sure to request an RSVP for the event. That way you'll have a good idea of how many people will be attending and you can plan accordingly. Remember to include your contact information for the RSVP in the anniversary invitation so guests will be able to reach you with their response and questions regarding your special anniversaries!

Creative Wedding Invitations and Announcements

It is becoming more and more popular to create unique and creative wedding announcements and invitations. Announcing to your family and friends that you are going to get married is a special moment, and you can create some fun ways to let them know about your romance plans for your special day!

If you are a jokester, you might want to do something that will confuse them at first and then you can announce in person or on paper that you are going to get married. If you are more of a romantic, you might want to create a poem of your experience with your groom and how you imagine it will be as a wedded couple. If you are a busy person who travels a lot, you might want to send announcements out to your family and friends. If you like to save time and money, you can send wedding announcements and invitations in one easy and creative card!

Your wedding invitation or announcement is actually your first impression on your family and friends about your nuptials. It is the first step towards your wedding. You can capture the whole feel of your wedding day (if you already know what you are going to do) in your wedding announcements and invitations.

There are a wide variety of designs and styles to choose from when picking out your own wedding invitation and announcements if you want to do it the formal way with a nice card.

However, you and your groom are unique, even as a couple. If you want to show your individuality, you need to either find a place that can help you customize your wedding invitations or you can create your own. You can create something unique that no one would be able to find in any store – online or off. You can use vivid and bright colors, or earthy colors to help you invite family and friends to your wedding ceremony and reception.

Another great way to create your own wedding invitation or announcement is to visit a scrapbooking store whether online or offline. You can find all of the supplies you can think of to create your own unique and creative wedding invitations and announcements. You might have a hard time getting your groom to be involved in making them, though.

Have fun with finding the right wedding announcements and invitations for you and your groom. Keep it your own unique wedding invitation and announcements that you will cherish for years to come.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Modern Wedding Invitations

Your wedding day is possibly one of the most important days of your life. Your wedding invitations expresses a lot about your wedding and sets the tone and feel for your wedding day. Modern Wedding Invitations are what you should have and what you need in a modern age. Guests expect a high quality professionally printed card. Gone are the days when you could send out an invite that looks the same as a funeral card. The expectation is so much more today and you do not want to disappoint.

If you want your guests to fully enjoy themselves and you are to feature a theme to your Modern Wedding Invitations. It is always important to tell them on their invite. For example your could have a medieval theme, a Victorian theme by spelling it is easier to participate on the day. Cards have to be sent out well in advance if your guests are to be expected to find costumes etc.

The design of Modern Wedding Invitations is always important. There are many sites and many companies offering these style of cards. But as you will only select one it is vital that you have decided on your theme . Be it a colour theme, flowers simplicity or style theme. Many companies offer stock cards but some will actually create one -off designs just for you. Meaning no other bride will have the same invitations as you.

The benefits for choosing Modern Wedding Invitations are:

1) Hearts and logos, embossed and in different colours

2) Wacky designs to suit the couple

3) Modern art designs

4) Contemporary colours and styles

Modern wedding invitations allow you the couple to express themselves on their wedding day. Doing what they want and in the style they want. Modern wedding invitations are far from conventional invites and should be moving in your time zone and creating what you feel.

Simple Wedding Invitations

Weddings are grand social affairs with celebrations continuing for days before and after the wedding ceremony and reception. Before the beginning of this revelry, it is very important to send out the wedding invitation cards to the various guests who are to be invited to the ceremony and reception.

Wedding invitations are therefore very significant aspects of the whole occasion. The invitation cards are vital as they contain the details of the wedding ceremony, its location, and timings. This is apart from the usual reference regarding the bride and groom and their families.

Therefore, wedding cards are an integral part of organizing the wedding ceremony. Special care needs to be taken to ensure that the invites are pleasant and graceful and at the same time appealing and nice. However, the kind of the wedding invites depends fully on the couple and there are a variety of designs from where they get to choose the final outlay of the invite.

Wedding invitation cards may be simplistic as well as gorgeous and elaborate. Simply designed ones are usually pristine white adorned with silver or golden decorations and look very elegant and graceful. The inside of the invitation should be filled up by the written invitation and it should be addressed with respect to the invitees.

Often these invitations are decorated with flower motifs, at times colorful and vibrant, and sometimes simple. These decorative features add beauty to the invitations and are appealing to the guests. At the same time, wedding invitations are also symbolic of the host's power and wealth. Therefore, one can also come across very elaborately decorated invitations.

These invites are usually available in two colors, Black And White Wedding Invitations. They may be striped or printed with larger motifs which garner a lot of attention from the invited and are eye-catching. They appear to be a complete contrast compared to the all white simply designed cards.

Nonetheless, the kind of wedding invitations depends greatly upon the way of expression of the bride and groom and different individuals have different modes of expression. All invitations are accessorized with suitable envelopes and are often accompanied by 'Thank You' notes.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Contemporary Wedding Invitations

Marriage is a special occasion in any couple's life. It plays an important role in bringing the families and friends of the couple together to entertain the couple's decision to unite forever and the union of their families. It takes a lot of time for planning the marriage.

There are so many different areas of the event that need attention; therefore this could be a very expensive undertaking. There is planning the place of the event, what time it will be held and what food will be served. The bride and groom will also have a lot of things to get ready for. They need to select a DJ and decide on the type of ceremony they prefer.

Above all, they must remember to send invitations to family members and friends. The invitation is very important, as it is the first thing to give people an idea of what kind of style your wedding will be; in other words, it gives them a first impression of your important day.

It is important to remember this when you make your invitation selection. For example, a theme wedding will require invitations reflecting that same theme. If your wedding is planned to be more traditional, the invitation style should be a traditional one. However, if your wedding will be contemporary, your choice should be for contemporary wedding invitations.

There are a few things to consider when you are searching for either traditional or contemporary wedding invitations. The design of the invitation should reflect who you are. There are even funny wedding invitations if that's what you're in the market for. Many couples mail a 'save the date' card before they mail their invitations and these are often humorous in nature. If this suits your personality you might consider doing a search for 'funny wording for wedding invite'.

One way to spice up your wedding invitations is to use contemporary designs. Fun fonts and a variety of materials are combined to create a memorable effect. Pretty paper and ribbons can be incorporated into the invitation. Due to recent innovations in printing technology, you may find that it is less expensive than you might have thought to create invitations with your own personal touch. You can even design the invitations yourself.

Make Unique Wedding Invitations

Calligraphy is a beautiful and unique form of handwriting and would be absolutely wonderful for use with your unique wedding invitations. You can have your invitation's hand-written with this form of handwriting even though that would take a very long time in order to accomplish and because of this reason, many printing businesses that do wedding invitations for a living have special computer programs that will print in the Calligraphy style handwriting which would make the process a lot more efficient and a lot easier for the business that you are getting your invitations from.

There are a lot of people that think that if their unique wedding invitations are being printed on that it won't give off the same affect that hand-written calligraphy does and that their invitations will not be unique anymore but this is just not the case. There are many websites in which you can visit to see examples of printed wedding invitations that have printed calligraphy on them and with the type of printer that is used, the type of ink and paper that is used, you hardly can tell the difference and won't be able to guess if it is printed or hand-written without any doubt.

Calligraphy is a special art form that would only bring style and grace to your unique wedding invitations rather it is handwritten or printed because with the way technology has grown and is still growing, you can basically have your invitations as unique as you want them. With the software and equipment that most of these printing businesses use, you can pretty well depend on having the top notch type of wedding invitation for your special event that you have always dreamed of and the guests that you invite will be pretty impressed as well.

Having unique wedding invitations for the most special day in a woman's life is a very important aspect about the wedding and has to be just perfect. Calligraphy gives it that type of importance that you have in your heart but only put down on paper. Couples, today, will have no problems on finding the perfect printing business in order to get their perfect wedding invitations. You just have to make sure that you give them plenty of time in order to get them done and back to you so that you can have them mailed out in plenty of time for the actual date of your wedding.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Wedding Invitations Tips

It’s your wedding day. You want everything to go as smoothly as possible. And for that to happen, you should be courteous and thoughtful and use proper wedding invitation etiquette. We’ve compiled several helpful tips that can make your wedding invitation organizing and planning less stressful and more effective.

DO!

Send out your wedding invitations in a timely fashion. For national guests, send your invitations approximately 6-8 weeks in advance. For international guests, 8-10 weeks should suffice. Although this may sound very early, it gives your guests plenty of time to make accommodations for your special day. Leaving you invitations until the last minute will result in less guests before the wedding date. This will give your guests plenty of notice. Leaving the invitations too late will result in guests, who would have loved to be there for your wedding day.

Try personalizing your ‘thank you’ notes by writing them yourself. Your handwritten note should me sent within four weeks of receiving a gift from your guests.

Get all of your wedding planning done months before the actual wedding date. If you start shopping around at the last minute, you’ll end up feeling a lot of unnecessary stress.

If you’re feeling stressed, pamper yourself about 10 days before your wedding. Enjoy a nice massage at a day spa. This will lift you back up again!

Keep your budget reasonable and realistic. You don’t want to spend the next two years paying off debts from your special day.

Relax and enjoy spending time with your friends and loved ones at the reception. Try and devote time to everyone, don’t sweat the small stuff. Your vendors are there to perform a function, they’ll take care of everything.

Give everyone invited a small token from your wedding. Your guests will adore a wedding favor in any shape or form.

DON’T!

Send wedding invitations to outdated addresses. Make sure that all of your guest information (including address, postal code, and city) is correct.

Do not lose your cool if something ‘doesn’t go according to plan.’ A vendor may be late, a photographer may not be dressed appropriately. These are little things that you have little or no control over. Don’t let it ruin your mood.

It’s not a good idea to invite every single person you’ve ever met. Weddings are outrageously expensive. Stick to friends, colleagues, and loved ones who have supported the decisions you’ve made in life.

Guide to Beautiful Wedding Invitations

Wedding invitations are an integral part of a wedding’s theme and the “mood” you want to set for your ceremony. After all, if the purpose were to solely inform the guests of the details of the event, then you could just send an email or postcard. However, the invitation also serves as a souvenir of a special occasion, and an announcement of a couple’s love. Like the wedding ceremony itself, it must be beautiful and personal.

Selecting the Wedding Invitation’s Design

There are thousands of ready-made wedding invitations to choose from; simply select a design, send the details, and the printer can have it ready within weeks. With such a wide selection, it may be difficult to pick which one is best. Here are the things to consider:

* Formal or casual. You want a wedding invitation to complement the overall theme and mood of the wedding. Is your wedding formal or casual? A Formal Wedding Invitations may need classic script fonts, formal wording, and the traditional double envelope. A more casual invitation may use more modern fonts and more natural wording (i.e., instead of “we cordially invite you”, say “please join us…”), but care must be taken to retain the solemnity of the occasion. Let’s say you want to enclose a photo of you and your fiancĂ©—not typically done for traditional invitations. Wear appropriate clothes to the photo shoot: shorts and tank tops simply don’t work.

* Color. You should always choose a subdued color. If you are using a rather bright color for your motif, like turquoise, opt for a delicate ribbon trim or small accents at the sides or corners rather than applying it to the whole invitation. This makes the invitation look more classy, and again, is in keeping with the nature of the event. It’s a wedding, not a night dancing at a trendy club.

* Personal Touches. You can add a short poem, a photo of the couple, or a song lyric from the wedding ceremony.

Wedding Invitation Inserts

Most wedding invitation companies can provide a selection of templates where you just have to fill in the specific names, places and dates. However, many couples prefer to make their own, to make the invitation less stiff and more personalized. If so, here are a few guidelines:

* It is not necessary to put the entourage in the invitation. However, you can have a separate piece of paper listing the members that can be inserted in select invitations—specifically those that go to the entourage themselves, and to the more immediate family and friends. They would appreciate the souvenir; plus, it is a way of thanking them for their participation.

* You’d never forget to put the date and the venue, but many couples forget to put a map to the church and/.or reception area. A map would be very helpful, and would save many guests any inconvenience especially if the wedding is located in a place they are unfamiliar with.

* If you are trying to control the number of guests, insert a small card that says, “We have reserved __ seats for you.” This is a subtle and polite way of minimizing the headcount.

* If you are moving to a new home after the wedding, you can include another small insert announcing your new address.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Wedding Invitations - Tips for Picking Your Style

Picking out the wedding invitations will be one of the most exciting things that you do for your

wedding. You will want them to look great as they proclaim your big day to friends and family
all over the world. When you pick your wedding invitations you want them to have a sense of
style that is unique to you and that reflects your personality and the theme of your wedding as
well. The following are some tips to help you pick the style of wedding invitations that best suits
you and your wedding.

One of the first things that you should do when you are considering wedding invitations and
making your final choice is to think about whether you are having a formal wedding or a more
informal wedding. If you are having a formal black tie wedding, it will never do to send out
informal invitations. On the other hand, if you are having an informal wedding, formal
invitations may look overdone for what you are planning. Picking a formal style and formal paper
for your wedding invitations carries over the thought that you are having a formal wedding.
Lighter styles and papers will give your guests the informal feel that you are trying to have at
your wedding.

Considering your personal style and the style of your wedding is also important when you are
choosing wedding invitations. If you have certain colors in mind for your wedding you may want
to use those colors on your wedding invitations. Perhaps you are having a wedding in which
green and purple are your colors. Carrying the green and purple over to your invitations is a great
way to give your guests a tiny peek at what your wedding may be like. While you do not have to
match your invitations to your wedding colors, this does look classy. Otherwise you may just
want to pick wedding invitations in a favorite color or that has the look of your gown or some
other aspect of the wedding.

You should also keep your wedding theme in mind when you are choosing your wedding
invitations. Whether you are having a beach wedding, a country wedding, a garden wedding, or a
big church wedding, you should keep the theme in mind. Try to coordinate the theme and style of
your wedding invitations to the theme that you are having of your wedding. You can choose from
various paper types and designs that are available and no doubt you will be able to find
invitations that go with your chosen theme.

Wedding invitations are important because they are announcing the day of your marriage. You
want the invitations to look great and announce your wedding with style. Keeping in mind the
formality of the wedding, the colors and style, and the theme of your wedding can all help you
pick the perfect wedding invitations. Well designed invitations will impress your guests and be a
great way to invite them to one of the biggest events in your life.

Considerations When Choosing Wedding Invitations

If you are planning your wedding, you want everything about your wedding to reflect your personality and your sense of style. From your wedding dress to your wedding invitations, you want everything about your wedding to be perfect. Today, there are many different styles, colors and textures available for wedding invitations and finding your exact style may take some time. Following are several considerations that can help you find the invitations for your wedding that will reflect the beautiful and stylish person you are.
  1. What is the Setting?
  2. When you are choosing wedding invitations, it may help you to consider the setting of your wedding. Whether you are having a formal wedding or a more casual wedding, there are invitations that reflect that setting. If you are having a formal, black-tie wedding, you may want to consider invitations that are formal as well. If you are having a more casual outdoor wedding, an invitation that is casual may be just your style.
  3. What are your Colors?
  4. Another consideration that can help you find the wedding invitations that are perfect for you are the colors of your wedding. Invitations are available in almost every color you can think of, so matching your invitations to your wedding colors is possible and a great idea. You can also match colors to the theme of your wedding, choosing bright, sunny colors for a summer outdoor wedding or Christmas colors for a Christmas wedding.
  5. What is Your Theme?
  6. You may also want to consider the theme of your wedding when you are picking out your wedding invitations. If you are having a beach themed wedding, you can often find invitations that have pictures of the beach or follow that theme. If you are having a garden theme, you may want to have invitations that have flowers on them to go with the garden theme. Whatever theme you are having at your wedding, you can probably find invitations that complement that specific theme.
  7. Do You Want Photos?
  8. One option you have that will make your wedding invitations unique is having a photo of you and your groom-to-be on the front or inside your invitations. You can choose a simple invitation and have your photo added to make an invitation that your friends and family will treasure.
  9. What is Your Budget?
  10. When choosing your wedding invitations, you also should consider the budget you have. If you are spending more money on your dress, you may have to cut back on the money spent for invitations. Even if you are cutting back on the budget for invitations, there are many great choices that are budget friendly.

Your invitations are one way that you will let your friends and family know about your big day, so you want them to be perfect and a reflection of you and your love. Keeping these considerations in mind can help you find wedding invitations that will be beautiful, unique and a wonderful way to invite your cherished loved ones to share in your special day.

Friday, October 2, 2009

How Do You Choose Your Wedding Invitation

Compared to the price of wedding photos and gown, the cost for wedding invitation is a lot lower and some couples may overlook the production of it due to this reason. In fact, wedding invitation should be as important as your photos and gown. You cannot invite your guests to your wedding without a wedding invitation. How to choose the wedding invitation should be one of the essential issues a couple should take care of.

You need to choose a vendor before you really choose the wedding item. It is also true when you choose your invitation. You should firstly choose the wedding invitation provider. Reputation is always the most important point to consider. An irresponsible company will just ruin your wedding.

Besides, you should also observe if the company delivers products with good quality. You would like your wedding to be perfect and the wedding invitation should also be perfect. You should never choose a wedding card vendor which delivers cards with bad quality.

After you have decided which company you choose, you can start to think of the style you like. You may want the wedding invitation to match your wedding theme. In this case you can discuss with the designer what your wedding theme is so that they can make the design to match your theme.

Using your photos as the invitation becomes more and more popular these days. If you are planning to put your photos into the wedding invitation, you should always ask if the resolution of the photo you choose is high enough for printing. A photo with low resolution will just make the wedding invitation a mess.

Although the style of the invitation is very important, you should not miss the point that you have to put the details of your wedding into it. You need to put the address of the venue and date of your wedding. You may also need to include a small map into the wedding invitation so that your guests can find their way to the venue.

As a result you need to make sure that you will have enough space to incorporate all the information you need to put onto the wedding invitation. If it is not enough for a piece of card, you may need to make a few cards. For example, the details of your wedding are on one card and the map is on a separated card. If this is your choice, you may need to make a folder of some kind so that you can put all the cards, such as the main invitation, RSVP and map into it.

Furthermore, you should order your wedding card as soon as possible. Even the best company may make mistakes. If you do not order your invitation early, you will not have enough time to do it again if there is any mistake. It will only be a pity if you cannot have your perfect wedding cards just because you do not have enough time.

With all these in mind, you should be able to choose your dream wedding card.

How to Make Cheap Homemade Wedding Invitations

I know you are probably thinking that you have no idea of how to make cheap homemade wedding invitations. It isn’t difficult, saves you quite a bit of money and can be great fun. Besides we will lead you through it step by step.

First, you have to decide on the level of formality your wedding will have. This will have an effect on your design and wording choices.

Browse the web, looking for, do it yourself wedding invitation ideas. Many sites offer free templates with or without designs and wording samples. They allow you to download templates to use as is or to adapt to suit your needs. Some sites only allow you to download free templates if you purchase your wedding stationary from them.

Decide on your design, or graphic image and the wording that you will use.

Pick a font that goes with the theme and style of your invitations.

Buy your wedding invitation stationary, including cards for any enclosures, such as, RSVPs, Thank You cards .and programs that you may want to use your stationary blanks which are available in a wide variety of sizes and colors, purchase a few extra in case of a printing mishap, such as an ink smear or paper jam.

Purchase extra ink cartridges, so that you don’t run out in the middle of this important project.

Schedule an afternoon or evening to create your invitations and then print them. The whole thing shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours to complete.

Before telling the printer to begin making X number of copies, print one copy of each piece on plain paper cut to the sizes of your stationary ,to make sure that everything is lined up properly, and to check for typographical errors.

Make sure that the printer you plan on using adjusts to the different sizes of your stationary.

Enlist family and friends with nice handwriting to help you address your invitations.

Have fun while learning how to make cheap homemade wedding invitations.

Are you feeling overwhelmed, by trying to choose a design for your invitations? What is your theme? If you are having a destination wedding use clip art, photos or original art work that represent your destination, such as a beach scene, flip flops, palm trees, sunsets, or mountains.

Here, are some design ideas, that you may want to use on your invitations. For a western wedding a WANTED poster is at present very popular. Cowboy boots, and hats are often seen on western invitations. Couples often use fonts that look like logs or rope on this type of invitations.

Disney weddings are also extremely popular, and you can download free clip art of Cinderella and Prince Charming to use on your invitations, as well as other Disney icons like Lady and the Tramp.

Many couples are choosing to honor their religious or ethnic roots, for example , a Celtic Cross might be chosen by an Irish Catholic couple, and a Star of David or a rolled Torah scroll by a Jewish couple. A native American bride and groom might use a dream catcher on theirs. Consider honoring your heritage on this special day. Photos of landmarks from your ancestral homeland, also make great images for wedding invitations.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

How To Make Your Own Unique Wedding Invitations

Wedding invitations can be quite expensive. By simply using your computer and following some basic instructions you can create your own quality bridal stationary and save a substantial amount of money in the process. Even those who do not consider themselves "crafty" can easily put together their own unique invitations using heavy stock paper and some embellishments.

Step 1: Choose a Background That Reflects Your Wedding Colors and Theme

Begin by choosing a heavy stock paper with a distinctive color, texture or print. This background paper should compliment the theme and colors of your wedding. Be sure the weight of the paper is at least 65 lb weight or more, depending on how sturdy you want the background paper to be. As this paper will not be printed on, you need not worry if it will feed through your printer. Cut the paper to the size you wish your invitation to be. By cutting an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet in half your invitation will be 4 1/2" x 5 1/2", which should be suitable for your purposes.

Step 2: Select a Lightweight, Sheer Paper For Printing

This is the paper where you will print the wording for your invitation. It will be secured on top of the background paper. Look for a translucent type of paper in a solid color. Some choices are: tracing paper, vellum, or rice paper.

Measure and cut the paper so that it is slightly smaller than the background. This will give your wedding invitation a nice solid border along the edges, creating a more professional look. Once you have your wording typed out and adjusted to fit properly (when printed), set your printer to "economy" or "draft" mode. This allows the least amount of ink to print on the paper making it harder to smudge - a good tip for those using an ink jet printer.

You may wish to add a small wedding graphic as well. You could place a graphic at the bottom center of the page or if you have a nice corner graphic, you could embellish the 4 corners of the paper. Remember to keep the graphic small so that it adds interest, but does not overwhelm the invitation.

Step 3: Attaching The Printed Invite To The Background

Here are a few methods which you can use to attach your printed paper to the background:

Glue the entire piece down. Using paper glue or small dollops of hot glue carefully dot the corners and edges of the translucent paper and center it over the background. For added embellishments you may wish to glue on a small ribbon bow, tiny silk flower, add a pretty sticker, or perhaps wrap a contrasting paper or silk ribbon band around the invitation.

Fasten the papers together at the top. Using a small hole punch, make two holes through both papers near the top. Tie the paper together using thin silk ribbons, raffia, small tassels or decorative metal fasteners.

Use a faux wax seal to secure your invitation. At the top, be sure to have your wax partly on the thin paper and partly on the background paper. Use a metal seal to press down into the wax. Once dry it will hold the two papers together. You may want to dab a bit of glue between the papers first for extra assurance. There are several faux wax seal kits that you can purchase in order to do this. If you want to save some money, you can also make your own "wax seal" by using colored hot glue gun wax, although I would suggest practicing first on scrap paper so you can get an idea of how much hot glue you need to make a proper "seal".

More Wedding Stationary Ideas That You Can Make

Don't stop at just wedding invitations. Use the above methods to create matching reply cards, wedding programs, and thank-you notes. Your guests will be impressed with the uniqueness of your invitations and you will be pleasantly surprised at how fun and easy creating your own wedding stationary can be.

Hot Trends in Wedding Invitations

Gone are the days where tried and true, conventional ivory or white invitations are the norm. We have seen a strong increase in unique invitations, styles, colors and design. Brides today want a fresh, modern look with embellishments and pizazz. Brides want to "wow" their guests with inspiring design, unique decorations, and stylish papers. Invitation companies are responding to these trends by providing a plethora of options, colors and modern designs. If you can not find what you are looking for in stores, there are a variety of stationary companies online which provide fresh invitation ideas. Or for signature work, sit down with a stationer about six months before your event for a completely custom design.

Here are 5 Hot Tips and Trends for Wedding Invitations for the last half of 2008 and 2009:

1) Unusual materials - Embellishments up the wow factor for your invites. Think unconventional materials to accent your invites such as bamboo, sinamay envelopes, raffia ties. It's all about the "au natural" feeling this year due to the increase in eco-chic weddings.

2) Fresh Font Styles - Forget the traditional fonts and the traditional font sizes. Switch things up with unusual font design, unexpected text placement (such as a vertical date), and eye-catching colors.

3) Ethnic Details - Celebrate your heritage! If you are of Indian decent, how about a sari inspired print design for your wedding invitations in modern colors such as hot pink and gold? Or if you are of Irish decent, why not have a custom die cast letterpress invitation with a Celtic-inspired monogram?

4) Combined Colors - gone are the days of white invitations with standard ink colors. Invitations now can be matted such as matting a picture in a frame, with several different colors and materials behind the actual invitation, giving your invite an almost 3-D touch. Cool color combinations such as pink and orange, blue and greens, ivory and black, turquoise and tan spice up the traditional color scheme.

5) New Shapes - for a stylish alternative to the traditional rectangle, try an oversized square or a round invitation. Be careful though, alternate Shape Wedding Invitations can cost more to mail.