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Wedding Invitations & Paper
Ghostie625
member
computer printed addresses ok?
I read in the "How to address your invites" post that hand addressed invitations is the proper way to go. The problem is we have about to 150 separate invitations to send out and I would be addressing every single one of them by myself.
How serious of a faux pas would it be to run them through a printer instead? The company we're ordering the invitations from can print the addresses right on the envelopes for us in a nice pretty font. They did it for our STDs and it turned out fine so I'm not worried about that. Do you think I'll get side-eyed for not hand addressing them? I know I personally probably wouldn't even notice one way or the other but I wanted some other opinions. Is it fine to do this? Am I overthinking this?
Thanks!
How serious of a faux pas would it be to run them through a printer instead? The company we're ordering the invitations from can print the addresses right on the envelopes for us in a nice pretty font. They did it for our STDs and it turned out fine so I'm not worried about that. Do you think I'll get side-eyed for not hand addressing them? I know I personally probably wouldn't even notice one way or the other but I wanted some other opinions. Is it fine to do this? Am I overthinking this?
Thanks!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: computer printed addresses ok?
I am old school and think that for a wedding, hand written is most appropriate. However, if it is truly not possible, then I think your plan is an acceptable "Plan B". Is there a reason your FI is not able to help you address the invitations? What I do not find appropriate is when labels, even clear labels, are used in such formal correspondence.
Please make sure the font size and coloring is legible for the postman. I received an invitation several weeks ago. The font was incredibly small and light in color, and was written on a clear label. I remember saying to my husband at the time that the envelope was extremely difficult to read. A few weeks later we learned that the bride discovered that MANY guests did not receive their invitations. My guess is that the label was too difficult for the post office to read.
Are you really inviting over 300 people to your wedding? That will be a lot of thank you notes that will need to be handwritten!
FI has bad handwriting, otherwise I would have him help.
My main concern with doing them myself is the time commitment, and I'm sure I would mess up a bunch. (I'm marrying into a Greek family with a lot of long last names on FI's side lol.)
They would be printed directly on the envelope, ideally chocolate brown font on an ivory envelope. I will make sure we go with an easy to read font. The one we used for our STDs was nice and we had no issues, so I can always have them use the same font again.
ETA @MobKaz It's about 250 with a mix of singles, couples, and families with kids. It's a big fat Greek/Italian wedding! lol
Sorry, canadianteacher, but I really don't like that address style. If you must use computer addressing, at least use a font that resembles classic handwriting.
And I agree with CMGr about that font, CanadianTeacher.
That said, @canadianteacher, I agree with the PPs that I wouldn't use that font. It looks too artificial.
@Ghostie625, I think printing will be fine. My FI also has bad handwriting, so the invitations are on me. I have about half the number you do, however, so it shouldn't be quite so bad doing them by hand. Plus, one of the weird hobbies I had as a teenager was practicing actual calligraphy with different inks and quills. I figure this is the one time in my life there will be practical value to this quirky skill.
Serious question: in a place where foregoing so much pomp and circumstance of traditional American weddings is ok (which I wholly love), why is printing vs. writing so important?
In the earlier days of wedding, ALL correspondence was is handwriting. People spent many, many hours perfecting their handwriting, so as to make a good impression.
The manual typewriter shook up a lot of people. When it was in wide use, etiquette dictated that only business letters were to be written "by machine". Older people were insulted by typewritten letters, even business ones. Now that we are all used to typing on the computer keyboard, that tradition still continues.
I do think it will change. Twenty years from now, only old ladies like me will even be able to write in beautiful cursive handwriting, and I think this is sad.
Oh, by the way, traditional weddings did not have "pomp and circumstance. " That is something that has been brought on by the wedding industry. Traditional weddings were small, family oriented ceremonies, usually held in the brides home. The bride wrote her invitations in her own beautiful handwriting. If you saw this past Sunday's "Downton Abbey", the wedding of Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughs was a lot more typical of most weddings than the wedding of Lady Mary.
@ Canadianteacher, I like that font too!
All standard etiquette books say that hand addressing is the proper way to address a wedding invitation.
I don't think that printing the addresses on a computer is a major crime, and I do think it will become standard practice in years to come. But sticky labels - UGH!