Wedding Invitations & Paper

Save the date advice? Postcards?

We're thinking about doing postcards with our STD info on it , and found these from staples. Has anyone ever used these, or another type? http://www.staples.com/Staples-Inkjet-Postcards-5-1-2-inch-x-4-1-4-inch/product_610389

 

Also, we are having a small ceremony, but are inviting extra people to the reception...do we send a STD for reception-only people, or just an invite?

Re: Save the date advice? Postcards?

  • maryemoo said:

    We're thinking about doing postcards with our STD info on it , and found these from staples. Has anyone ever used these, or another type? http://www.staples.com/Staples-Inkjet-Postcards-5-1-2-inch-x-4-1-4-inch/product_610389

     

    Also, we are having a small ceremony, but are inviting extra people to the reception...do we send a STD for reception-only people, or just an invite?

    How small is your "small ceremony".  It really needs to be tiny, like immediate family only.  Please don't just invite extra people to the reception....that is incredibly rude!  You're basically saying that they aren't good enough to see you get married, but they're good enough to come to the reception and bring you a gift?  That would be awful.
  • doeydodoeydo member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited October 2013
    I agree with JoanE2012.  The ceremony should be truly tiny, as in just parents and maybe siblings, 20 people tops.  ETA I have not used those STDs so I don't have advice on them.
    image
  • We're having private ceremony, only parents are coming. (As in FI's dad, mom and perhaps step-dad, my mother and her boyfriend, and my dad and maybe his girlfriend). But we aren't inviting anybody else. They're all invited to the dinner afterwards though.
  • We just sent STD magnets that were 4x6. we ordered them from vistaprint.com for 0.80 cents each, AND the quality was unbelievably good! We LOVED them! You can also get postcards from there as well!

  • JoanE2012 said:
    maryemoo said:

    We're thinking about doing postcards with our STD info on it , and found these from staples. Has anyone ever used these, or another type? http://www.staples.com/Staples-Inkjet-Postcards-5-1-2-inch-x-4-1-4-inch/product_610389

     

    Also, we are having a small ceremony, but are inviting extra people to the reception...do we send a STD for reception-only people, or just an invite?

    How small is your "small ceremony".  It really needs to be tiny, like immediate family only.  Please don't just invite extra people to the reception....that is incredibly rude!  You're basically saying that they aren't good enough to see you get married, but they're good enough to come to the reception and bring you a gift?  That would be awful.

    The location of our ceremony is small, and it has a max number of people allowed in. That's why we can only invite so many people.
  • Also, I'm asking about sending STDs and a brand of printables...that's what I need feedback on.
  • maryemoomaryemoo member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    edited October 2013

    alisonmarie658 You call it etiquette breach, I call it not violating the fire code. Also, I'm not telling anyone "you can't post this," I'm just asking for more pointed feedback.

    ETA    We can't change our ceremony location. One, we've already paid for it and two, it's where his mother and father (who passes away) were married. It's special to him by himself and to us as a couple. We're keeping the location.

  • what about those of us who are choosing to elope and have a party back home a few months after? is that rude too?

    i don't understand what is so rude about wanting a private ceremony and a bigger reception after. as long as none of the guests feel personally victimized by not being able to watch a couple share an intimate moment (IMO), i don't see what the problem is. some weddings are non-traditional and "proper etiquette" doesn't necessarily apply.
  • We did STDate postcards and RSVP cards. I had planned to be more helpful in my answer, but your snippiness with PPs made me reconsider that.

    In future, if you want help, don't be snarky and defensive.

    Unless you are doing a truly private ceremony, what you are planning is rude. Whether you want to be told that or not, it is.

    @jules524: An at-home reception after a DW is perfectly acceptable a long as you don't pretend it's a wedding reception -- no first dance, no vows, no cake-feeding, etc. (The jury is out on re-wearing your dress).
    Anniversary

    image
    I'm gonna go with 'not my circus, not my monkeys.'
  • I used similar postcards for my Save the Date. There were two things different with mine compared to the ones you have a link for. Mine were Avery instead of Staples (I don't think brand makes a difference) and instead photo quality we just went for a card stock quality that had a slightly textured look to it. They turned out amazing, people thought we had them professionally done. I found a nice but still fun font, added a few fun hearts on it too. When the ink was dry, I turned them over and ran them through again and printed our return address information on them because we didn't have any address labels and there was no way I was writing that information that many times. I would have done the guest names that way too but my MIL said she would take care of sending them out to their side of the family & I didn't get the guest list from them until later.

    Going this route was an easy and inexpesnive way for me to to save the dates, plus the postage on postcards is less. Most guests are just going to throw them away after the wedding so why spend a lot of money on them.

  • edited October 2013
    jules524 said:
    what about those of us who are choosing to elope and have a party back home a few months after? is that rude too?

    i don't understand what is so rude about wanting a private ceremony and a bigger reception after. as long as none of the guests feel personally victimized by not being able to watch a couple share an intimate moment (IMO), i don't see what the problem is. some weddings are non-traditional and "proper etiquette" doesn't necessarily apply.
    jules524 If you elope or have a truly private ceremony (ie immediate family only, which is what the OP is doing) the etiquette rules are different. 
    There is a thread here that can give you more info:

    But the main point for your question is:
    kay, I see your point, but I am still really sad that I didn't get to celebrate my marriage with my friends and family in the style that I would have liked to! Luckily, you still have some options. You can have a party celebrating your marriage - just take care to avoid making it look like a stage re-enactment of your wedding. It would be inappropriate to have a ceremony, big poofy white wedding dress, wedding party, tosses, cake cutting or first dances since you were already married. You can, however, throw a big party for everyone you love with a great meal, music and dancing. Invite your guests to join you at a celebration of your marriage, not a wedding. If it's been awhile (normally at least 5 years, frequently 10 or more) you can host a vow renewal.

    FWIW - I disagree with not being able to wear your wedding dress - I want to see you in it - this is one people are on both sides of the fence over and most people think you can get away with wearing your elopement dress at the party.
    :kiss: ~xoxo~ :kiss:

  • jules524 said:

    what about those of us who are choosing to elope and have a party back home a few months after? is that rude too?

    i don't understand what is so rude about wanting a private ceremony and a bigger reception after. as long as none of the guests feel personally victimized by not being able to watch a couple share an intimate moment (IMO), i don't see what the problem is. some weddings are non-traditional and "proper etiquette" doesn't necessarily apply.

    Eloping is the most private of all ceremonies and to open it up for a reception later is fine, as long as they don't pretend that is their wedding day.

    The problem with tiered weddings like op is suggesting is you are saying to your guests invited to the reception only, they aren't good enough. I get she had a limited capacity at her ceremony space, but to a guest that means they aren't good enough to plan to invite all they cared about. The big IF is if the ceremony is truly private, like less than 20 ppl, just parents and siblings sort of size. Anything more is prioritizing your relationship with your guests. For example if OP could only invite 60 people to the ceremony, but wanted 100 people at her afternoon reception, wouldn't you feel pretty shitty if you were a part of those 40 that didn't make the cut??


    image
  • I would rather get the invite to the reception than no invite at all. Realistically, if you cut it off at a reasonable and consistent place like family only at the ceremony, or only family out to first cousins, then I don't think people would be offended.

    Offended people won't come and that's fine. At least you gave them the option (rather than making the decision for them.)

  • MrsRadke said:

    I would rather get the invite to the reception than no invite at all. Realistically, if you cut it off at a reasonable and consistent place like family only at the ceremony, or only family out to first cousins, then I don't think people would be offended.

    Offended people won't come and that's fine. At least you gave them the option (rather than making the decision for them.)

    I disagree. I would rather attend the wedding than a reception. (Although I would be just as offended if I was only invited to the ceremony!) I'm always shocked at people who skip the wedding and just show up at the reception. The wedding is the event, it is the moment, it is what I want to see :)
    :kiss: ~xoxo~ :kiss:

  • I sent out STD postcards in early Nov. So this was when mail is picking up due to holiday cards and advertisements. I heard that several people did not get our STDs. Or they accidentially tossed them since the postcard got shoved into junky catalogs.

    BabyFruit Ticker
  • OP is having a truly private ceremony, with fewer than 10 guests, all of them immediate family (parents) or SOs.  She's fine inviting more people to the reception, etiquette-wise.



  • maryemoomaryemoo member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    edited October 2013
    Erikan73 Did you use a specific program to make them? I was just going to set it up in Microsoft Word or something.
  • MrsRadke said:

    I would rather get the invite to the reception than no invite at all. Realistically, if you cut it off at a reasonable and consistent place like family only at the ceremony, or only family out to first cousins, then I don't think people would be offended.

    Offended people won't come and that's fine. At least you gave them the option (rather than making the decision for them.)


    It's just family at our ceremony. We have even talked to a few people who've said they wanted to come and told them that our ceremony is family-only due to the location, but that we'd love to celebrate with them afterwards, and they were fine with that.
  • maryemoo said:
    MrsRadke said:

    I would rather get the invite to the reception than no invite at all. Realistically, if you cut it off at a reasonable and consistent place like family only at the ceremony, or only family out to first cousins, then I don't think people would be offended.

    Offended people won't come and that's fine. At least you gave them the option (rather than making the decision for them.)

    It's just family at our ceremony. We have even talked to a few people who've said they wanted to come and told them that our ceremony is family-only due to the location, but that we'd love to celebrate with them afterwards, and they were fine with that.
    Although I'd be sad I didn't see the ceremony- I would understand, still come and be very happy for you :) GL!
    :kiss: ~xoxo~ :kiss:

  • photokitty     Thank you! I honestly don't think the people that are coming to the ceremony or reception will be upset/bothered by this...they're all close to us, they understand why this location is so special, and I think they'd be happy that they were invited nonetheless...like I said, it's family only at our ceremony.
  • I used postcards for our STDs.  I designed them on PowerPoint and printed them using VistaPrint (with a coupon!)  They turned out nice, but when they were send some of our information (like the website) was covered by the postage bar code so several people were missing additional information that they were intended to receive.  It seemed like a great idea, and they were super cute as I was mailing them out, but I would use a postcard style in an envelope if I was sending them again...
    image
  • ROBINRENE5 Was there any difference in postage to use a postcard without an envelope?
  • The template now shows you where the bar code will go, be sure to use it so you don't have the same issue PP did. I used the template and had no issue :)
    Postcard stamps are cheaper than letters in envelopes. If you put it in an envelope you have to pay the regular postage rate.
    :kiss: ~xoxo~ :kiss:

  • We did STD postcards - my good friend is a graphic designer and designed them for us, we printed at uprint.com and really liked them.  They were 4x6 and postage was 33 cents each.
  • @jackieandadam1205 please dont advertise here. It is against TOS
    BabyFruit Ticker
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards