Wedding Planning Guides
Engagement Ring Buying Tips
Wedding Planning: First Steps
Wedding Books & Planners
Wedding Software
Bridal Magazines
Wedding Invitations
Bride Name Change Kit
Wedding Dress Tips & Scams
Top 10 Bridal Scams

Gift Registry Advice
Bridal Registry Tips & Scams
Online Gift Registry Guide
Bridal Shower Ideas

How To Choose Your
Wedding Cakes & Toppers
Grooms Cake Photos
Wedding Photographer
Videographer
Wedding Florist
Disc Jockey
Limousine Service

Honeymoon Trip
Reports
Sandals St. Lucia
Atlantis Resort, Bahamas
Sandals Royal Bahamian
Fontainebleau Hilton Resort

It's the new school of wedding invitations. In the 90's you had to find catalogs and order invitation samples. Now wedding stationary companies have simple to use sites allowing you to design your wedding invitations online, and see your online invitation samples before you buy. No surprises with online invitations, what you see is what you get. Savvy brides get discount wedding invitations online directly from the printers. We have ideas for you below.

There are 4 types of invitations for you to consider for your wedding:

• Save The Date - This type of invitation is usually a card you can send out to your guests up to a year before your wedding. This also acts as your announcement to the world that your marriage is now immanent. Once you have your date finalized, you send out your Save the Date cards or Save the Date postcards to give everyone a heads up to reserve that date.  In this age of PDAs people can enter it into their Outlook and other electronic calendars. You should include the names of the bride and groom to be, and the venue if it is known, with a note that more details will follow.
   

• Wedding Invitations - No need to state the obvious here.  You should have your invitations printed up 3 months before your wedding to allow for production time.  Some engraved invitations can take longer so verify with the printer how long they will take. Send out your invitations 2 months before the wedding.  This will give your guests enough time to plan their travel arrangements, and take time off from work if necessary.
   

• Bridal Shower Invitations  - The bride can work with her Maid of Honor to design the bridal shower invitation, or you can maintain the same design theme as the rest of your invitations. You should send them out about 1 month before the wedding shower. You should have someone other than family host the bridal shower party for you, to avoid the appearance that you're trying to solicit gifts through your family as a buffer.
   

• Thank You Cards - Thank you notes are a must, it's rude not to send out thank you cards to guests who bought you wedding gifts. You usually order thank you cards when you order your wedding invitations to keep the same theme.  As you open gifts, you should write down who purchased each gift for you.  Personalize the thank you letters by acknowledging the gift that the guest bought for you.  You should send out the thank you notes as soon as possible after you get back from your honeymoon.  You'll want to do it quickly anyway before you start to forget who bought you each gift.

Sites to get Your Wedding Invitations Online

Don't worry at all about invitation wording, what dates, or logistics, these companies are pros and will guide through every step.

Elegant Wedding Invitations at FineStationery.com
A great site for wedding invitations online is FineStationary. They have over 1000 styles of wedding invitations, from the best manufacturers, and samples can be viewed online. Search online for wedding invitations and quickly find what you want. Their online Design Center allows you to preview your finished wedding invitations online before you buy. They have wedding invitation consultants to help you on wedding invitation wording, layout, wedding invitation etiquette, help with special wedding invitation requests. In addition to good quality wedding invitations and announcements, they have, save the date cards, rehearsal dinner invitations, wedding programs, reception place cards.

Wedding Invitation Tips

• Use Wedding Software to track your wedding invitation RSVPs, and track wedding gifts
• Get wedding thank you cards to thank your guests for wedding gifts. Wedding thank you notes mean a lot to guests
• Use online sites that help you with your wedding invitations
• Buy wedding invitations, envelopes, wedding thank you cards, wedding reception cards, at the same time if you want to maintain a theme
• Order more than the number of guests you plan to invite. Expect only 75% of your invited wedding guests to RSVP
• The is no such thing as a cheap discount wedding invitation unless you make it yourself

Next Topic: Wedding Planning Software Reviews

Home

The information on this site is Copyright © 1996-2009 ConsumerNet, Inc. and is solely for your private use in wedding planning. You may link to us or make printouts for your own personal use, but no parts of these pages can be reproduced, sold or transmitted in any form without our written permission.