Announcing your wedding is an exciting and busy component of wedding planning. Besides the usual invites and personal wedding announcements you make to very close friends and love ones, there is some traditional and standard etiquette often used when both inviting and thanking guests for celebrating and attending your cherished event:

Announcement Cards

These cards are used to announce your engagement to friends and relatives. They can also be used as invitations to a bridal shower or engagement party.

Wedding Invitations

Wedding invitations are available in many different varieties and are the classic wedding announcement. You can have them professionally printed, or print them yourself. These options give you plenty of room to express yourself and your sentiments. Whichever option you choose, it's always recommended that you purchase invitations and envelopes to match at the same time. This is just a precaution to ensure there will be no variations in the size of your envelopes. Inside of the mailing envelope, your invitation should rest in an inner-envelope, as this is proper invitation etiquette. The inner-envelope should only bear the name of the invitee.

Reception Cards

These cards are to be sent to guests of your wedding reception, who many not have been invited to the ceremony. This is increasingly popular among re-married couples who only wish to have their relatives present at the reception without sending formal wedding announcements to out-of-touch friends. Reception announements are also embraced by many couples who wish to celebrate a milestone anniversary.

RSVP Cards

These cards should coordinate with your wedding invitation. Each card should be placed in the same envelope with pre-paid postage and a return envelope.

Wedding Programs

The most popular wedding programs are printed on standard-sized paper and folded in half to make a booklet. These booklets are handed out to your guests by the ushers who escort them to their seats. Each wedding program will inform family members who the members of the wedding party are.

Thank You Notes

Always send thank-you notes to the guests who attended your wedding 4-6 weeks after your wedding date. These cards really should be personalized, preferably hand-written. It tells your guests that their presence was especially important to you. All guests who recieved any form of wedding announements from the host of the wedding should be sent a thank you note.

Guest Book

At your wedding ceremony, your guests are asked to express a special sentiment in your guest book. Typically, the bride and groom choose young women to sit with the guest book and encourage your guests to sign it. Some family members may choose to wish an expression of good wishes, others will write a favorite quote or love poem. These expressions, once compiled on the pages of your guest book, will make a wonderful keepsake that you can treasure forever. Although not wedding announcements, these entries signify and capture memories to relish for years to come.