Ordering invitations to your wedding requires a good deal of thought and the ability to make appropriate decisions. Choosing the stationer is the first decision. Look for a variety of styles and prices. Select someone who knows about wording and type styles. Always order 25-50 extra invitations and 50-100 extra envelopes, because mistakes will be made.

There are several types of printing processes, so ask to see samples of each. Always choose the one that best fits the occasion.

Are you having a formal wedding? Ultra-formal? Casual? Intimate? Traditional? Themed? Daytime or evening? The answers to these questions can affect the style of your invitations.

The American Wedding Album - 800-428-0379

Many brides order thank you notes to match the style of the wedding invitations. Order them early, so the bride can promptly send notes to gift givers following wedding showers and the wedding itself.

Creations by Elaine

Proofread the copy when you place the order and again when you receive the finished stationery. Let someone else proofread it also. Check the style and color to make sure you received what you ordered. Are all the names spelled correctly? Are the titles, such as Dr. proper? Are the date and time of wedding correct?

Invitations by Dawn

This company carries recycled invitations if you would like to "go green."

Invitations Etc.

After the invitations have been sent out, it's important to record who will attend and who will not. You can use a 3 inch by 5 inch card file, a software program that computerizes the tracking system or a simple notebook with additional space for recording gifts and when the thank you note was sent.

Now and Forever

Addressing the invitation envelopes is time-consuming and requires a long lead time, If your guest list is over 200 and you use a calligrapher.

Keep in mind that there are two envelopes to be addressed, an inner and an outer envelope. Invitations should be addressed with a black fountain pen. Formal invitations are usually done by a calligrapher.

Rexcraft

As a general rule, the first names to appear on an invitation should be the people paying for the wedding. The bride's parents may not be paying for the wedding, it could be the groom's family. Or the two families could be sharing the expenses equally. The bride and groom may be paying for the wedding themselves. Each scenario will result in different wording of this part of the invitation.

These are just a few of the companies that make wedding invitations.

Desktop publishing is another option for informal wedding invitations. A good resource for finding a wide selection of decorative papers for do-it-yourself, computer generated invitations is a company called Paper Direct.  Go to www.paperdirect.com.