1 to 3 months in advance
Invitations
Invitations are always addressed to both members of a married couple. An invitation to an unmarried couple who reside at the same address should be addressed with each name appearing on a separate line. No abbreviations or initials are used. If children are not receiving a separate invitation, their names may be written on a line below their parents’ names on the inner envelope. If no inner envelope is used, their names must be written on the outer envelope.
Carefully consider where you want your RSVPs sent, as responses and gifts are often sent to the return address on the outer envelope.
Assembly and Mailing Tips:
- Allow plenty of time to address, assemble, and mail your invitations.
- Arrange each element that goes into an invitation in a stack, in the order it will be picked up, assembled, and inserted.
- Organize the master guest list in useful form, such as on file cards, in a computer database, or on the guest list worksheet in Chapter One, page 16.
- Before you buy stamps, have a completely assembled invitation (or two variations: one for local guests, another for out-of-town guests that may include additional enclosures) weighed at the post office.
- Look for pretty stamps that will complement the look of your envelope.
- Insertions go on top of the printed side of the invitation inside the inner (if used) or outer envelope. Tissues are optional.
- If you are using response cards, lightly mark the back of each card with an identifying number in case guests neglect to write in their names when they RSVP.
- Before sealing the outer envelope, double- and triple-check that the names on the inner and outer envelopes match up.
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