1. Set a budget and be creative. As well as there are beautiful expanssive invitations, there are also inexpenssive but equally beautiful ones in the market. You just got to be creative and know where to look.

2. Decide on a theme and color motif for your wedding. Your invitation should suggest the theme or the color motif of your wedding.

3. Do your guest list so that you will know how many invitations to order.

4. Select a style that reflects your personality as well as it should give an idea of the wedding that you are planning.

5. Begin as early as eight months before the wedding. This means that you will have plenty of time paying attention to perfect the wording, and should something goes wrong, you will have ample time to revise it and make sure that it is ?the way you want it? before sending them out.

6. Before you order your invitations, make sure that all of your wedding details such as the date, time and place of the ceremony and reception are already confirmed.

7. Asking help from professionals on the look and style of your invitation will help you pull your ideas together for a more beautiful outcome.

8. With regards to the proper wording and etiquette, a professional should be consulted to make sure that everything in the invitation is properly placed.

9. Order more invitations than the amount that you really need. This will give you a few extras in case you miss anyone out.

10. When giving the shop your wording, it is best that you give it to them typewritten, so they can clearly read it.

11. Do it with style. Be creative and try to combine materials to achieve your own personal touch.

Invitation Etiquette

1. When the ceremony and the reception will be held at different locations, you can enclose a reception card along with your invitation. The reception card should also be provided with an envelope and contain specific information about the reception.

2. Do not address envelopes as Mr. and Mrs. William Cooper and Family. This is not proper. The names of children under eighteen years old should be included in the invitation, while children over eighteen should be sent their own invitation.

3. You can use casual names such as ?Uncle Henry and Aunt Beth? or ?Grandma? to relatives that are close to you, in addressing the inner envelope as this will show how much you mean to them, even if you are planning a formal event.

4. Mail your invitation six to eight weeks before your wedding date. If however, your wedding date is set on a holiday season or you are inviting a lot of guests that are from out of State, you should mail the invitations sooner to give them ample time to plan and make hotel reservations and organize their schedule.

5. Position the word ?black tie? in the lower right hand corner of the invitation if you are planning for a formal wedding so that your guests can dress accordingly.

Don'ts when placing invitation wordings:

1. Don't use nicknames. Always use the first, middle, and last name. Some people do not want their middle names included in the invitation; don't use initials, simply do not include their middle names.

2. Don't make abbreviations. Only ?Mr.?, ?Mrs.?, or ?Dr.? can be abbreviated. All other titles should be written completely.

3. Don't abbreviate dates, addresses and time.

4. Don't write the word ?and? as ?&?.

Invitation assembly:

1. Place the invitation inside the large envelope along with its protective tissue and make certain that the invitation is facing you.

2. Place in the reception invitation on top of the invitation, also facing you.

3. Position the response card in, and leaning within the flap of the response envelope, which is facing down.

4. The last to go in are the directions or map which guides the guests.

5. When addressing the outer envelope, it is best that you use calligraphy.

6. For added touch, choose a postage stamp that well compliments the general appearance of your invitation.

7. If possible, bring your invitations to the post office and ask that they be hand cancelled, to avoid unattractive marks or scratches that a machine cancelling can cause.