Best way to announce / invite when you're not quite eloping... really soon!

Re: Best way to announce / invite when you're not quite eloping... really soon!

• Jen4948 member

  

  July 2014

  You can make an after-the-fact announcement of your wedding after it takes place to those not invited, but I would not use streaming videos, eVites, Skype, or iChats to announce your engagement.  Your guests may not appreciate your using electronic channels rather than a paper announcement, especially since you're not inviting them to begin with.  It could feel like you're rubbing it in that they didn't make the cut for the actual guest list.
  

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• CMGragain member

  

  July 2014 edited July 2014

  Wedding announcements are sent in the mail AFTER your ceremony, not before.  Traditional form is shown below.
  Engagement announcements are NEVER sent in the mail, or e-mailed.  That is considered to be rude.  They may be printed in the newspaper.  You may also inform people personally by telephone.
  Evites are too informal for wedding invitations or announcements.  Don't even THINK about using Facebook for this!  People will be offended. 
  
  Brides Full Name
  and
  Groom's Full Name
  announce their marriage
  Date
  City, State
  
  Very simple, with no other details about your wedding.  You don't want to say "We had a great wedding, but you weren't invited!"  This simple announcement does not mean that they should send you a gift, but you might receive cards of congratulations.
  
  I would suggest ordering these from someplace like Vistaprint.  They have budget friendly prices and you can pay for fast shipping.
  

  

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• theartistformerlyknownas member

  

  July 2014

  lavasca said:

  Okay, so the proposal was just a few days ago. Everything is going so fast. We went to the church immediately after the proposal. I miraculously have a perfect wedding dress figure and had two fit perfectly off the rack and a third that just needs a panel. Colors have been picked. Rings are being sized now but I digress. We are jumping the broom in 3 weeks. We are capping out at 30 guests and will not have attendants or a registry. Everybody on the guest list is very close and cherished. We are announcing our engagement next week. ( Speculating about streaming video.) Everyone not on the list will receive wedding announcements. Here is my issue and where I need advice. - Can I use TheKnot to generate 30 invitations for printing & mailing? If not what site/resource would you recommend? - Is it tacky to use an eVite to a Skype or iChat the day invitations are mailed to announce to the 30? Only 4 are not local but all know one another and could carpool. - Can I make an after-the-fact announcement to those not coming to the ceremony? Please advise

  OK so wait. These people are close, cherished, and local, but you're going to announce the biggest decision of your lives via eVite or just mailing the invitation?? No. It doesn't matter how short your timeline is; these people deserve to hear of your engagement straight from the horse's mouth. Don't try to make it cutesie or a surprise. If my sister or someone equally close told me via streaming video that she was getting married, I would be tremendously, irreparably hurt.

  
  

  Call these 30 people today, tell them you recently got engaged and are getting married on whatever date, and that there will be a formal invitation arriving in the mail shortly. Hopefully they will forgive you for picking your dress and venue before you could even bother to tell them your news.

  
  

  Vista Print has good deals and fast turnaround for those invitations. Send everyone else wedding announcements following the ceremony.

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• CMGragain member

  

  July 2014 edited July 2014

  lavasca said:

  Okay, so the proposal was just a few days ago. Everything is going so fast. We went to the church immediately after the proposal. I miraculously have a perfect wedding dress figure and had two fit perfectly off the rack and a third that just needs a panel. Colors have been picked. Rings are being sized now but I digress. We are jumping the broom in 3 weeks. We are capping out at 30 guests and will not have attendants or a registry. Everybody on the guest list is very close and cherished. We are announcing our engagement next week. ( Speculating about streaming video.) Everyone not on the list will receive wedding announcements. Here is my issue and where I need advice. - Can I use TheKnot to generate 30 invitations for printing & mailing? If not what site/resource would you recommend? - Is it tacky to use an eVite to a Skype or iChat the day invitations are mailed to announce to the 30? Only 4 are not local but all know one another and could carpool. - Can I make an after-the-fact announcement to those not coming to the ceremony? Please advise

  No.  The Knot does not have this capability.  They accept advertizing from Invitation vendors.  This is part of what pays for TK.
  
  If you are handy with your printer, you can go to Michaels, Hobby Lobby, or any office supply store and get a kit for printing very nice invitations on your home printer.  If you aren't handy with this, go with Vistaprint rush shipping.  Here is traditional wording:  (church wedding)
  
  The honour of your presence is requested
  at the marriage of
  Bride's Full Name
  and
  Groom's Full Name
  Saturday, the ninth of August
  two thousand fourteen
  time o'clock
  Full Name of Church
  Address
  City, State full name (no zip!)
  
  If your reception is in the church, you simply put "Reception to follow" at the bottom of the invitation.  If it is somewhere else, you need a separate reception enclosure card with the Restaurant/ Reception site, which is often included in the invitation printing kits.
  Wedding invitations should be addressed personally, by handwriting.  Computer labels are for junk mail.
  

  

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• ShesSoCold mod

  

  July 2014

  My originally planned wedding was cancelled 30 days prior and a new one planned for two weeks earlier. I called everyone on my list and let them know. Since you have such little time, I suggest calling every guest individually and inviting them that way. 

  
  

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• princessleia22 member

  

  July 2014

  Like others have said, wedding is a formal event and should have printed & mailed invites.  And they don't need to be anything fancy or expensive. You can just print the info yourself on decent paper and mail it. Also, with 3 weeks until wedding, you should definitely let people know ASAP so they can make sure they are available to attend, rather than waiting until next week.  Ideally, they should have 4-6 weeks notice, and with only 2 weeks they may have other plans and not be able to attend. Besides, like lolo883 said, I would be hurt if my sister/brother/best friend/daughter/son went so far as to book and plan the whole wedding before even telling me they were engaged. That's something that people may want to share with you.

  And, yes, wedding announcements for uninvited guests should be sent after the wedding. Although, you can tell them that you are engaged before the wedding.

   

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• lavasca member

  

  August 2014

  Everyone, thank you so much! I will be calling everyone individually. We decided to push back our date a bit so we can have a party ahead of time. (I did some, perhaps unnecessary recon, and tracked people's schedules to find that our dates were bad.) Then we will mail each printed invitation. We will make streaming available for those who send regrets. We will send announcements to everyone else. I appreciate the input so much! My head has been spinning such that I fear that I lost sight of basic etiquette. I think a few people already know even though we still haven't announced. I'm pretty sure that FI didn't say anything and I haven't said anything but people are giving me wedding tips and asking about being bridesmaids and talking about when FI & I are getting married. FI did spill like five times but to strangers.

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• Jen4948 member

  

  August 2014

  Don't stream your wedding to anyone who declines.  If they can't or don't want to attend your wedding in person, then I would just accept it.  Sometimes you can't "include" people who aren't there.

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