How to Choose Wedding Invitations

Once you've selected your wedding and reception venues, you need to make sure you can fill them with guests! Despite the onset of the e-mail age, snail-mail wedding invitations are still traditional. Your wedding invitation sets the tone for the entire event. Close friends and family members will keep theirs for years. Many newlyweds receive framed versions of their invitation as a keepsake gift.

The wedding invitations are kind of like a preview for the wedding itself. You have to choose the type of paper, the font, the design, the size, and decide what to write in it. If you're having a very formal wedding and black-tie reception, make sure your invitations reflect that - avoid funky fonts or clip art. Conversely, if you're doing a casual beach wedding, a super-formal invite will seem stodgy.

If your parents are paying for the wedding, it's traditional to have it say "Mr. (Father's Name) and Mrs. (Mother's Name) invite you to the wedding of (Your name) and (Fiancé's name)" or something similar. Some brides choose to phrase it like this even when their parents are not paying; other brides choose not to do it this way even when their parents are footing the bill.

In addition to the venue and time, most guests expect the wedding invitation to state the dress code. Try to be descriptive without getting overly cutesy. Most guests won't know what "Beachy Festive" means. Choose from Black Tie, Formal, Semi-Formal, Dressy Casual and Casual and let your guests infer the rest from the venue, time of year and time of day it takes places. If your ceremony or reception is taking place outdoors, make that very clear.

Your wedding invitations should be personal and reflect the tone of your big day. And don't forget the RSVP card!