Help! Looking at Invitations on Tuesday and I'm CLUELESS!

dcbride86

Hi! I'm looking at (and hopefully picking out) invitations in less than a week and I'm totally clueless.  What do I even need to look for?  I hate having too many similar options because they end up looking the same to me and I get overwhelmed, so I'm not really looking forward to this part.  I just want a classic, traditional invitation.  I already know where to find a calligrapher, so I'm good on that. 

What additional "necessary" card do I need to include?  so far, I've thought of: (1) the RSVP card; (2) the (prestamped and addressed) RSVP envelope; and (3) the invite to Sunday morning brunch to be placed ONLY in the invites for out of towners. 

Am I missing anything?  Do I include the info about the hotel blocks in the invitation?  A map?

 

Any help/advice would be VERY MUCH appreciated!!  Thank you!

CMGragain

What level of formality is your wedding?  Formal weddings usually have white or ecru invitations with raised or letterpress printing.  Less formal invitations have lots of color and fun designs.
First you need your invitation.  Check the sticky at the top of the board for wording.
Is your reception being held in the same place as your ceremony?  If it is, then you don't need a separate reception card.  Just put "Reception to follow" at the bottom of your invitation.  Otherwise, you need a reception card.
Most people use RSVP cards with stamped return envelopes.
We put a small insert card that said "For more information about the wedding, directions, hotel information, please visit our wedding website, http://www.theknot.com/your names.

ctr24

This isn't Gospel, but what I included was the invitation, the invitation to the reception (in different location than ceremony), an additional info card (had the hotel block, invitation to brunch, and shuttle times) and the rsvp and envelope. 

Unless your location is somewhere remote or otherwise hard to find, I wouldn't include a map or directions. I would include the hotel block info because how else will people know what hotel to book? 

Regarding what to think about before looking at invitations:

- Before our first appointment with a stationer we knew nothing except our budget. 

- How much are you looking to spend? Depending on how it's printed (letterpress, digital, engraved, thermography) prices vary. Your stationer will walk you through the look and feel differences. 

- All of the stationers I've been to have books and books of examples. Tell your stationer you want classic and traditional and they'll point you to the right section of the right books. (We wanted classic and traditional and ended up in Vera Wang)

PM if you have any other questions about my experience. I was dreading it as well so happy to help! 

dcbride86

CMGragain said:

What level of formality is your wedding?  Formal weddings usually have white or ecru invitations with raised or letterpress printing.  Less formal invitations have lots of color and fun designs.
First you need your invitation.  Check the sticky at the top of the board for wording.
Is your reception being held in the same place as your ceremony?  If it is, then you don't need a separate reception card.  Just put "Reception to follow" at the bottom of your invitation.  Otherwise, you need a reception card.
Most people use RSVP cards with stamped return envelopes.
We put a small insert card that said "For more information about the wedding, directions, hotel information, please visit our wedding website, http://www.theknot.com/your names.

Pretty formal wedding.  Not black tie, but definitely formal.  Erverything is at one place.

Thanks so much! 

dcbride86

ctr24 said:

This isn't Gospel, but what I included was the invitation, the invitation to the reception (in different location than ceremony), an additional info card (had the hotel block, invitation to brunch, and shuttle times) and the rsvp and envelope. 

Unless your location is somewhere remote or otherwise hard to find, I wouldn't include a map or directions. I would include the hotel block info because how else will people know what hotel to book? 

Regarding what to think about before looking at invitations:

- Before our first appointment with a stationer we knew nothing except our budget. 

- How much are you looking to spend? Depending on how it's printed (letterpress, digital, engraved, thermography) prices vary. Your stationer will walk you through the look and feel differences. 

- All of the stationers I've been to have books and books of examples. Tell your stationer you want classic and traditional and they'll point you to the right section of the right books. (We wanted classic and traditional and ended up in Vera Wang)

PM if you have any other questions about my experience. I was dreading it as well so happy to help! 

Thanks so much!  I wasn't sure about this because one of the hotels is the one where we are having our ceremony and reception.  But we also have blocks the other ones just down the block becaue ours is a bit pricy.

Great idea about telling them I want traditional and classic right away.  Like I said, I can get a bit overwhelmed by too many choices, so having it narrowed right away is ideal for me.

 

Thanks SO much!