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Wedding Invitations & Paper
cbabybear
member
Colored envelopes
So I'm designing my own invites for my August wedding. (I do graphic design at work, but never anything like this) And I'd like to get my envelopes soon so I can start addressing them. I keep seeing colored envelopes out there, but I'm stumped because I don't understand how people are addressing these... Our colors are navy and coral accents, so I'm thinking creme or navy envelopes. I've also purchased a custom stamp for our return address. Creme envelopes are straight forward... but Navy seems like it could be really cool. Would you think white or silver paint pen/ink for the stamp, or a white badge on the front? Anyone else seen other ideas out there?
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Re: Colored envelopes
If you have time, my suggestion would be to order a couple of samples and play around with them. Maybe try some different types of stock too, like linen vs. smooth. Most of the envelope sites I found charge only a dollar or so for samples, and apply what you spend to a future order.
Just out of curiosity, when you say you don't design for anything like this, do you do any designing for print work?
EDIT: You might want to try a metallic stock too. They can be a bit finicky with what ink they'll accept but it may be worth a try. With normal (uncoated) envelopes there's a chance the ink from a paint pen might soak in too much and fade out. The coating on a metallic might help.
@CMGRAGAIN here's what I've currently got, I haven't passed it by the family yet, I'm not sure on the etiquette for this, my family is paying for everything, his Dad has volunteered for the rehearsal dinner and that's it... His Mother hasn't mentioned anything. This kinda irks me, but granted I've got the bigger family, I'm just thankful my parents are being so generous.
His parent's are also divorced, and have been since they were 9, his Dad remarried when he was 11, and we see his Dad/StepMom a lot. Any advice on this would be helpful too! Don't want to start formatting cards to find I need to reword/reformat the invites.
I have renamed us after my pets too...LOL
MR. AND MRS. COPPER HARDY
REQUEST THE HONOR OF YOUR PRESENCE
AT THE MARRIAGE OF THEIR DAUGHTER
Lola Hardy
and
Cassius DeCammen
SON OF MR. AND MRS. RONAN DECAMMEN and MRS. IMKE DECAMMEN (his Mom)
SATURDAY, SIXTEENTH OF AUGUST
TWO THOUSAND AND FOURTEEN
AT FIVE O’CLOCK IN THE EVENING
-Location-
RED HOUSE B & B
Reception to follow
*In terms of what I do design: I'm an architectural designer. So mostly building stuff, but I do all the marketing documents, and presentation boards/graphics for my office. I've designed custom invitations for parties, work, personal, etc for years...but nothing where I had a super coordinated suite. I've also done logos and marketing graphics for various purposes/projects.
5:00 PM is afternoon, not evening. I would simply leave this out. No one will think your wedding is at 5:00 AM.
The grooms parents do not belong on the invitation unless they are hosting the wedding. You can use the "son of" line if you must, but the groom cannot have three parents. It would look like this:
son of
Ms.Imke Decammen
Mr. Ronan Decammen
Awkward, isn't it? Divorced parents cannot go on the same line of type together. There is no good reason to put the groom's parents' on the invitation at all. The invitation is not a family tree. IT IS NOT AN HONOR TO BE ON THE INVITATION!!! The invitation is a simple note from the hosts (your parents) to the guests, giving them the information of who, what, when and where.
The all caps gives me a headache. If you aren't using them in your design, then try again, and I will check the caps/lower case issues. Otherwise, this would be correct, traditional wording.
MR. AND MRS. COPPER MIDDLE HARDY
REQUEST THE PLEASURE OF YOUR COMPANY
AT THE MARRIAGE OF THEIR DAUGHTER
LOLA MIDDLE
TO
MR. CASSIUS MIDDLE DECAMMEN
SATURDAY, THE SIXTEENTH OF AUGUST
TWO THOUSAND AND FOURTEEN
AT FIVE O’CLOCK
RED HOUSE BED AND BREAKFAST
1234 MAIN STREET
CITY, STATE
RECEPTION TO FOLLOW
I will leave the decision on the leading text to my family, I have seen many non-church held weddings with "honor of your presence" and of the 3 wedding etiquette books I've been loaned 2 have it as traditionally used in religious ceremonies, but optional for more formal/traditional weddings.
I don't think the groom's family has to be on our invitations given the hosting 'situation'. But I don't necessarily think they shouldn't either, it is his wedding too, his family is also being invited, and I think every one of our parent's gets credit for raising us to be us, and being there for our relationship thus far. We fall under that category where it's a modern interpretation of the traditional invite, both families are listed, it's a nod to both of them. Which is why on my first pass they're on there, his stepmother and Mother included, his stepmother has been in his life for over 20 years and refers to him as her son.
The caps currently is part of my design/typography selection, that I've been generating a mock up from.
Thank you for your other suggestions.
Any suggestions on the colored envelopes?
Or, you could use coral envelopes and write the addresses with a regular pen. Example:
I used bright green envelopes for our RSVP cards. And used dark grey ink. It showed up perfectly but I would recommend practicing first.
It was so fun to go to the mail and have all the green envelopes stand out. So much more fun than getting bills.
Yes I will be hand addressing them! Time to work on my calligraphy skills again! Never knew that being a weird kid and learning that would ever be handy!
Sounds like designing an invitation suite might be a fun break from the technical stuff. I work in printing so these things interest me in my own nerdy way.
You can, of course, word your invitation however you like, but it would be nice if your invitations were perfect, wouldn't it?
The proper place to honor your parents and his parents is on the wedding program, or during toasts at the reception - not on the invitation. Put it this way: if you were giving a party for your friends, would you put your parents' names on the invitation to "include" them? I don't think so. This is no different. Your parents are hosting your wedding, so their name goes on your invitation. His parents are hosting the rehearsal dinner, so their name goes on the invitation to the rehearsal dinner, not your parents' names. Step mother is included as host. How does his mother feel about stepmother being listed as his mother on the invitation? If they were hosting, this wouldn't be a problem, but they are not.
I am really trying to help you make your invitation perfect. Please don't do "request the honour of your presence". People will notice.
Your comparison isn't even a valid comparison.
Nor do I wish to argue with you over this, I asked about colored envelopes. I will have my final invitations proofed family who know us well. What is hard and fast for you may not be for others, so please do not try to define my version of 'perfect'.
@Lolo8383 - yes I know they don't have white ink standard for printers, although I can get white ink for pens and I'll be handwriting. For other brides, I do know you can hack white paint into a printer cartridge if done properly...
Thrown away or not, it's just that attention the envelope gets when first received, it's colored so it sounds out. I like your idea of coral outer envelope and navy inner envelope!
Nobody forced you to put your working text on the board. Now that you did, you will be open to comments.
I scoured every office supply and craft store in the city to buy a variety of silver fine tipped markers, paint pens, and gel pens. Basically, they all worked great, but a few of them were easier than others. For example - the paint pens were difficult to use at times, because they would create gaps in the writing (easy to touch up, though). The Gel pens created a lighter line (still readable, just not as bold). After testing them, I waited until the ink dried to see if there was any smearing. I can't remember the specific brands that worked best, sorry!
My sister-in-law and I hand addressed the front of the envelopes with the guest info, and the back flap with the return address. I'm sorry I don't have a suggestion for the stamp, but I'm sure there are silver ink pads out there, somewhere. If you don't want to use silver, I know I've seen gold, and white paint pens before.
About your wording: I think it's a great idea to get the ideas of others, and to listen to second opinions, but in the end, it is your decision. You are always going to find different opinions on what is and isn't an absolute, hard and fast etiquette rule. As long as you are happy with it, your fiance is happy with it, and anyone else whose opinion is valued is happy with it - go with it.
Asking why this is so is like asking why the sky is blue. Because it just is. There are a lot of bridal traditions that don't have a logical reason, but that doesn't make them any less valid.
I really don't mind non-traditional wording, as long as it tells the guest clearly, who, what, when and where. I dislike poetry and wordy invitations, which is why I object to the non-traditional "son of" wording. it also is a slap at the groom because it sort of implies that nobody knows who he is without listing his parents.
I dislike misleading wording. "Honour of your presence" is misleading because it indicates a wedding held in a church. There are also rules about divorced parents, and that they should not be on the same line of type together.
When ladies ask questions on the Knot, they expect to get the correct answers, not just someone's personal opinion. Saying "It's your wedding. Do whatever you want to do," is terrible advice.
Is there room for creativity in wedding wording? Yes, IF it does the job, but not if it confuses your guests, or insults someone.
That is one of the silliest things I've ever heard that that's just "how it's been" for no rhyme or reason. Because this so called oldest invitation company made that up 200 years ago? Well the constitution was made 200 years ago as well and look how many amendments we've needed.
I also don't think it's misleading when 1. hardly anybody knows of that so called signification. 2. A few lines down is the name of the venue, which is obviously not a church lol
Request Line
The request lines invite your guests to your wedding. The wording varies according to where the wedding is being held. The correct wording for a wedding held in a church, temple, synagogue or any house of worship is “request the honour of your presence.” The word “honour” is used to show deference to God whenever a wedding is held in a house of worship. For weddings held in any location other than a house of worship, “request the pleasure of your company” is used.
Which is more formal: “request the honour of your presence” or “request the pleasure of your company”?
Both phrases are equally formal. They are just used under different circumstances.
What is the correct spelling of “honor”?
Both “honour” and “honor” are correct. It’s a matter of personal preference, although most brides prefer the English spelling, “honour.”
My wedding is being held at home and is a religious ceremony. May I use “request the honour of your presence”?
The use of “request the honour of your presence” is reserved for weddings held on sanctified ground, so it’s not properly used for a wedding held at home
I just wanted to put this on here because while most people might not know the difference, it could potentially offend some church going guests who do know that "honor of your presence" is used only in a house of worship.