What to expect if planning to submit a wedding annoucement? Also when is this usually done?

Wedqueen12

I'm just curious as to what to expect regarding the submission of a wedding announcement? Also was unsure of when this is usually done we have been engaged since October 6, 2012 but never announced our engagement in the paper. Any advice would be appreciated.

manateehugger

Do you mean submission for a newspaper? The ship has sailed for an engagement announcement, I think. To announce your wedding in the newspaper, I think you usually put it in the paper the week after the wedding and typically just state who, when, where, and parents' names.  

First step would be to contact the paper you want to put the announcement in to see what their rules/guidelines are. 

Also, doing this isn't a requirement at all; so unless you really want to do it, you could just save the money. 

misssunshine17

You can put your wedding picture in the paper, after your wedding, obviously. My paper has a generic layout and info. 

For mailed announcements, send them after the wedding. Bride & groom were married on XYZ date. I, personally, think these are pretty attention whore since they are generally sent to people you didn't invite to your wedding. 

Wedqueen12

 PDKH: To be polite: the ship has not sailed for engagement couples can choose when to announce their engagement there really should not be a deadline. I'm offended that you said that. My sister's best friend got engaged way before I did and is just now having an "engagement party on June 1st so there really is not a deadline. I understand what you are saying though. This is a bit of a touchy subject for me though but I appreciate your opinions.

libby2483

In my area, engagements are typically announced one to two months before the wedding, even if the couple was engaged sooner.  I was flipping through the announcements this week, and only one was for a wedding next year; there were about 10 announcements for weddings in the next two months.  So, I disagree with PP who said the ship has sailed.  OP, for ideas, I would just take a look at the newspaper's requirements.  We submitted ours online, and it was very simple.  You can also look at others' engagement announcements to get ideas for wording.  Ours included our names, parents' names, colleges, occupations, current city, and wedding date and city.

manateehugger

Wedqueen12 said:

 PDKH: To be polite: the ship has not sailed for engagement couples can choose when to announce their engagement there really should not be a deadline. I'm offended that you said that. My sister's best friend got engaged way before I did and is just now having an "engagement party on June 1st so there really is not a deadline. I understand what you are saying though. This is a bit of a touchy subject for me though but I appreciate your opinions.

Good Lord, I didn't meant to offend (honestly, I'm not sure how what I said was offensive).  I'm just saying, in my experience, that typically people do engagement parties/announcements shortly after they get engaged. But I suppose that could just be what I'm familiar with. It just seems odd to celebrate an engagement when you're getting close to the wedding itself. But if you're still a ways out from the actual wedding, do what you want - just don't host your own engagement party. 

Edit: Tried, but failed to get the weird formatting to go away.

HisGirlFriday13

Engagement announcements are submitted to the newspaper whenever you want to, in advance of your wedding. After your wedding, you submit a wedding announcement.

Typically, they go in 3-4 months in advance; less time in papers that get a lot of submissions, more time in papers that don't get as many. Many newspapers have a policy that they won't publish engagement announcements more than X time out. One newspaper I worked at had a line of six months -- more than that length of time from the wedding, we held the announcement. It was the editor's rule, and there wasn't a rhyme or reason for it, it just was.

Your local newspaper should have a form for it online; just fill that out and submit it. Some newspapers charge you, and will charge by the column inch (in general, 30 words = 1 inch), and for a colour v. black-and-white photo. 

MsYeck

In my area people typically combine the engagement and wedding announcement into one and polish it 2-3 weeks before the wedding

jarednmegan

libby2483 said:

In my area, engagements are typically announced one to two months before the wedding, even if the couple was engaged sooner.  I was flipping through the announcements this week, and only one was for a wedding next year; there were about 10 announcements for weddings in the next two months.  So, I disagree with PP who said the ship has sailed.  OP, for ideas, I would just take a look at the newspaper's requirements.  We submitted ours online, and it was very simple.  You can also look at others' engagement announcements to get ideas for wording.  Ours included our names, parents' names, colleges, occupations, current city, and wedding date and city.

Our local paper is the same way as far as the timeline of when to announce. I think it varies from paper to paper. Most couples here announce a month or two before the wedding.

The other day I saw one for a couple who's not getting married until August 2014, which seems too early at least in comparison.

I'd suggest that you flip through past issues of the paper(s) you're announcing in, to get an idea of when other couples announce in your area. Our paper doesn't require you to announce in a certain time frame...it's whatever you prefer. But like I said, every paper has different criteria for announcements.

jarednmegan

CMGr said:

Sleeper2013 said:

We had ours printed about 3 months before our wedding. And expensive? We paid a whopping $15.

The paper in Iowa wanted $275.

o.O

Where in Iowa? Good grief. Announcements in our paper in SE Iowa are free, but if you asked someone around here to pay $275, no one would announce anything EVER.

One of my friends opted not to put a wedding announcement in our paper because then she'd have to put one in her husband's hometown paper, where there's apparently a charge. I'd have gritted my teeth and paid for it anyway, but if it was that expensive I might think twice.