When you are planning your wedding, you know that you need to send out invitations. You have probably researched the wording and have your colors and styles picked out. Yet, when you go to put it all together, you may find that there is more to putting together a good wedding invitation than just the print, wording, and colors.

Essential Information

There are a few things that your wedding invitation must contain. Your guests need to know the who, what, where, and when of your wedding, and your invitation should contain all that information. Therefore, you need to provide your guests with your names, the ceremony location name and address, and the reception site's name and address. Remember, not everyone will know this information without you providing that information.

Helpful Information

Most likely you will be inviting friends and family that are not necessarily familiar with the area in which your wedding will be taking place. Therefore, you should provide them with the information they need to make their plans. Make sure you insert maps and hotel information for your guests.

Don't just assume that some guests know the information, place the helpful information in all the invitations. Some guests may not want to drive home after a reception, so they may want to stay in the hotel near your reception. Therefore, you will need a map and information insert for all invitations. You can print the information on a card that matches the paper for the invitation or save money by printing out the information using your own personal printer.

Response Cards

Most likely you are including a response card in your wedding invitation. Make sure that the response card or response card envelope already has postage on it. First, it is the polite thing to do. Second, it will ensure a greater response from your guests if they do not have to remember to put on their own postage. Thus, when you are calculating your costs for your wedding invitations, do not forget that you will need at least two stamps per invitation. However, if you have a specialty invitation you may want to get your invitations weighed to know the exact postage needed.

Also, you may want to add a place for any special dietary considerations on your response cards. Often couples offer a choice of chicken or beef, but sometimes guests have food allergies or special dietary considerations for which you may want to make a few special accommodations.