Examining Essential Printed Wedding Materials: A Look At Wedding Invitations And More

As soon as a couple decides to marry, the process of planning a wedding begins. For many brides-to-be, the planning process began years earlier, as young girls. Of course, many of the wedding details that were seen as must-haves when the bride was in primary school may be outgrown, whereas others are just as valid as the day they were first considered. Bringing these early dreams together with older traditions, modern day options, and financial realities can make organizing a wedding a hectic experience. The easiest way to simplify the wedding plan is to organize all of the essential printed wedding materials into a cohesive package.

As with any major event, the planning process must begin with a guest list. As much as the bride and groom are the center of attention at any wedding, courtesy and etiquette require that the guests are the ones for whom the majority of the planning is done. Only with an accurate guest count and familiarity with guests' traditions, cultures, needs and expectations can the bride and groom be assured of creating a memorable wedding ceremony and reception. Luckily, there are reliable and experienced online resources for wedding invitations, response cards, save the date cards, reception cards, bridal shower invitations, bachelorette party invitations, wedding favor stickers, thank you cards, address labels and more. Ordering all of these materials from the same supplier allows you to have everything match the wedding color scheme, as well as add personal touches, photographs, and messages to tie everything together.

The first question to ask yourself is what, exactly, are the essential printed wedding materials for your wedding. Obviously, wedding invitations will be needed if anyone is to attend at all! Beyond that, the type of wedding celebration planned will dictate other printed materials you may need. If there is to be a bridal shower and/or bachelorette party, those invitations will be needed, as well. If there will be a reception, reception cards will be in order. Extra convenience can be obtained by using address labels and envelopes with preprinted return addresses. Thank you cards are always a necessity after any major function -- and this is especially true for weddings for all the gifts that are sure to be received. For guests traveling long distances to attend, save the date cards can also be extremely helpful.

In today's busy society, with family and friends spread across the globe, save the date cards are the best way to ensure that guests are provided with enough advance notice to make necessary travel plans and hotel reservations. The courtesy and convenience offered by save the date cards allows guests to get time off of work, to arrange for a house or pet sitter, and to make any other arrangements needed that will allow them to attend the wedding. Since save the date cards are simply notice of the date and place of the wedding, a response request is not included. Also, gift registry information is not part of save the date cards. Save the date cards come as actual cards or refrigerator magnets, which act as convenient reminders. Save the date cards should be mailed out to those individuals who will need prior notice, six to twelve months in advance of the wedding.

It is very easy to get overly caught up in this one aspect of wedding essentials. There are simply so many rules of etiquette that many brides can feel overwhelmed. Luckily, there are online tutorials and informational websites, as well as wedding books and magazines that can answer those types of questions. The best part about creating unique wedding invitations is that many of the more restrictive traditions have been put aside in favor of a more open view which takes into account the many different cultures, lifestyles, and individual preferences.

Today's wedding invitations are not restricted to the formal, engraved wedding invitations of yesteryear. You and your betrothed can select any color scheme, any font style, any layout, and include any personal photographs, messages, or other special touches that you like. This freedom allows you to create something uniquely yours for your most special day.

Traditionally, response cards were not mailed with wedding invitations, but the need for an accurate count for seating, caterers, and other event details makes them a highly useful tool in organizing a successful event. There are many options available when wording response cards. To avoid confusion caused by those guests who do not write out their name on the response card, it is highly useful to number your guest list and add the number discretely to the back of the response card just in case. Another nice touch is to leave room for comments from the guests, which can range from sentimental to charming to humorous. Matching response cards make a nice addition to your wedding mementos and scrap book.

The prohibitive cost of receptions makes it increasingly more common for more people to be invited to the ceremony than are asked to attend the reception. To avoid any awkwardness or, reception cards should be placed in front of the ceremony invitation for those individuals who are invited to both aspects of the wedding. This is especially true in the case of more formal weddings being given on a budget. A sit down dinner reception can be more than the new couple can afford if everyone who attended the ceremony also came to the dinner. Reception cards can also be used to provide directions to the venue, for those guests who are unfamiliar with the area or the location.

Bridal showers are parties held for the bride, prior to her wedding. Traditionally, bridal showers were intended to be gift-giving events that helped to ensure the wedding would actually take place. Those days from the late 1800's are long gone. Today's bridal showers are playful celebrations of close family members and friends, both male and female, to celebrate the upcoming wedding. Bridal shower invitations often reflect the same color scheme as the wedding itself, while catering more the bride's personality, interests, and preferences. There is no limit to the possibilities when it comes to designing unique bridal shower invitations that will have everyone hoping they're invited!

A different take on bridal showers are today's bachelorette parties, which are modeled after the more traditional bachelor parties in which the groom's friends would take him out to dinner prior to his wedding day. Ranging from classy and demure to playful and sassy, bachelorette party invitations tell your guests what to expect on this night out for the bride-to-be. Bachelorette parties can be anything from a ladies' night out drinking to a day at the spa, a wine tasting event, an old fashioned sleep-over, a day at the local flea market, an afternoon of charity work, or anything else that reflects the interests and personality of the bride-to-be. These invitations set the stage for a truly memorable get together and there's no reason why you can't have both a bridal shower and a bachelorette party!

Thank You Cards

After everything is said and done, thank you cards are a social necessity and there are many ways to ensure that everyone is made to feel glad to have been a part of your special day. Thank you cards should certainly be sent to everyone who gave a gift.

Gift thank you cards should always include a personal note that mentions how the gift is being used or is appreciated. This is simplified by having the best man or maid of honor stand nearby as gifts are opened, if this occurs at the ceremony or reception site, noting which gifts were provided by whom. If gifts opened at home, the gift cards themselves can be used to note what was given, as they already contain the giver's name. In addition to sending thank you cards for gifts, these courtesies should be extended to everyone who helped make your special day a success: caterers, florists, flower girls, ring bearers, and dear friends will all be touched when they read your note of appreciation. Perhaps the most important thank you card you can send after a wedding it to your own parents, thanking them for the countless things they have done to bring you to this special day.

Your Special Day

Planning a wedding can be demanding and stressful. It can also be thrilling and exciting. One thing everyone agrees upon about weddings: time becomes a precious resource. A designated wedding organizer can save significant amounts of time by helping you design and order wedding invitations, save the date cards, reception cards, favor tags, and photo thank you cards from the same supplier, all at the same time. This way, these essential printed wedding materials will be color coordinated with matching fonts, photographs, and other special touches. Additional time can be saved by ordering envelopes with preprinted return addresses and matching address labels.

Your wedding day is your special creation, a chance to express unique aspects of the bride and groom that will set the tone for your lifetime together. Take the time to make your wedding invitations, save the date cards, and thank you cards reflect the two of you as a couple with personal photographs, intimate messages, and other one of a kind touches that no one else has. This is your wedding day -- be sure to make it our own!