Reception Info on Invite

[Deleted User] · March 2015

There is one area of my wedding where I absolutely cringe when it comes to spending money and that's on invitations. It's paper! People use it for the purpose of getting all the info for the wedding and then it goes in the garbage. Anyway, I'm currently designing my invites and I can fit the reception info (place, address) at the bottom of the invite. I would like to cut down on cost (and wasting paper) and just include the reception info on the bottom. I seriously cringe at spending even a couple cents on a reception card. My invitations are neat and decent quality. Paper is seriously not my priority, and I would rather spend the money on nicer favors or something my guests might actually enjoy.

Is this a huge etiquette fail?

danaamariee88 · March 2015

Have you looked into seal and send invitations? They include a spot for reception info! And the RSVP card tears off so it can be mailed back to you. I was looking into them, but the direction cards my venue gave me won't fit in them

[Deleted User] · March 2015

Thanks, I will look into the send and seal. I'm also looking into buying a template on Etsy, then having the invitations, RSVPs and reception cards printed. That seems like a pretty reasonable option. I'm just worried because I'm not a DIY person and I don't even know where to begin with printing them at home.

Finding the right type of invitations within my budget is driving me crazy. I've been sitting here on the computer searching for like 3 hours.

fwtx5815 · March 2015

Wedding etiquette experts would say that the reception card needs to be separate from the invitation if the ceremony and reception are in different places. But I couldn't tell you why it's so super important that they be on different cards.

It's probably a victimless crime tbh. Like printing the addresses on labels.

LtPowers · March 2015

Separate reception cards are unnecessary. Miss Manners writes: "Most traditional enclosure cards are no longer used. A ceremony card enclosed with a reception invitation, or a reception card with a ceremony invitation, means that all wedding guests were not invited to both, a distinction that is bound to cause offense nowadays."

southernbelle0915 · March 2015

LtPowers said:
Separate reception cards are unnecessary. Miss Manners writes: "Most traditional enclosure cards are no longer used. A ceremony card enclosed with a reception invitation, or a reception card with a ceremony invitation, means that all wedding guests were not invited to both, a distinction that is bound to cause offense nowadays."

No, that's not what it means. Just because someone has an info insert with reception information on it does not mean that some people were invited to one event and some to the other.

Info inserts are extremely common because many receptions are held in different locations than the ceremony. So it provides guests with location and other necessary info. An insert does not insinuate that only some people were invited.

LtPowers · March 2015

southernbelle0915 said:

LtPowers said:
Separate reception cards are unnecessary. Miss Manners writes: "Most traditional enclosure cards are no longer used. A ceremony card enclosed with a reception invitation, or a reception card with a ceremony invitation, means that all wedding guests were not invited to both, a distinction that is bound to cause offense nowadays."

No, that's not what it means. Just because someone has an info insert with reception information on it does not mean that some people were invited to one event and some to the other.

Info inserts are extremely common because many receptions are held in different locations than the ceremony. So it provides guests with location and other necessary info. An insert does not insinuate that only some people were invited.

I'm afraid I must defer to a recognized expert on this topic. I suspect she has pegged the origin of the custom, and its demise has been slower to come about than the recognition that it's rude to invite only select guests to the reception.

Regardless of the implications of the separate card, though, the fact remains that it's unnecessary; it's perfectly acceptable to place reception details directly on the invitation.

dcbride86 · March 2015

LtPowers said:

southernbelle0915 said:

LtPowers said:
Separate reception cards are unnecessary. Miss Manners writes: "Most traditional enclosure cards are no longer used. A ceremony card enclosed with a reception invitation, or a reception card with a ceremony invitation, means that all wedding guests were not invited to both, a distinction that is bound to cause offense nowadays."

No, that's not what it means. Just because someone has an info insert with reception information on it does not mean that some people were invited to one event and some to the other.

Info inserts are extremely common because many receptions are held in different locations than the ceremony. So it provides guests with location and other necessary info. An insert does not insinuate that only some people were invited.
I'm afraid I must defer to a recognized expert on this topic. I suspect she has pegged the origin of the custom, and its demise has been slower to come about than the recognition that it's rude to invite only select guests to the reception.

Regardless of the implications of the separate card, though, the fact remains that it's unnecessary; it's perfectly acceptable to place reception details directly on the invitation.

I think if the reception is at another location, you should include an insert. Otherwise I'll probably assume the ceremony and reception are at the same location. And honestly, I think putting the reception info on it would just look too busy. What will it say? "Reception to follow at [LOCATION]"? That just seems odd to me

badbnagdway · March 2015

So, I had gotten the advice that one shouldn't put the reception info on the invite. Since our ceremony and reception are at two different locations (about four blocks apart) I'm glad we did do a separate reception card. I also put our wedding website on the reception card with a note that said something like "For updates and travel details, please visit our wedding website..." I also really did want to give people the option of RSVPing through mail as well as by phone and our website. Then we realized we also needed to do a separate hotel block insert because of an event that was increasing demand for hotel rooms that weekend. So, we had an invitation and three inserts. We used Vistaprint, and, because I just typed this out on another thread, I'll give you the breakdown of what we spent:

Flat 6 x 9 " invitation on linen x 100 = $70

Glossy print small RSVP post card x 100 = $20

5.5 x 4" Reception card on linen x 100 = $54

Custom envelopes with pre-printed return address x 100 = $52

Custom printed envelope seals with logo x 120 = $20

Business card sized insert regarding hotel block x 100 = $10

Came with a crap ton of extra white envelopes, $226 plus shipping and tax, probably $260 total.

The linen paper upgrade on the invites and reception card probably added 20% or so to the price. One route I wish I had considered at the time was doing fancier invites from another source and just getting all the inserts through Vistaprint. You could spend very little on a reception card that was printed as a postcard, for example, and it could also hold your wedding website info. Just some ideas.

Maggie0829 · March 2015

LtPowers said:

southernbelle0915 said:

LtPowers said:
Separate reception cards are unnecessary. Miss Manners writes: "Most traditional enclosure cards are no longer used. A ceremony card enclosed with a reception invitation, or a reception card with a ceremony invitation, means that all wedding guests were not invited to both, a distinction that is bound to cause offense nowadays."

No, that's not what it means. Just because someone has an info insert with reception information on it does not mean that some people were invited to one event and some to the other.

Info inserts are extremely common because many receptions are held in different locations than the ceremony. So it provides guests with location and other necessary info. An insert does not insinuate that only some people were invited.
I'm afraid I must defer to a recognized expert on this topic. I suspect she has pegged the origin of the custom, and its demise has been slower to come about than the recognition that it's rude to invite only select guests to the reception.

Regardless of the implications of the separate card, though, the fact remains that it's unnecessary; it's perfectly acceptable to place reception details directly on the invitation.

LtPowers · March 2015

dcbride86 said:

I think if the reception is at another location, you should include an insert. Otherwise I'll probably assume the ceremony and reception are at the same location. And honestly, I think putting the reception info on it would just look too busy. What will it say? "Reception to follow at [LOCATION]"? That just seems odd to me

It would say exactly what the separate insert would say, only placed at the bottom of the invitation.

Certainly some designs don't lend themselves to the extra verbiage required, and there's nothing wrong with using an insert (I do agree with @southernbelle0915 that the implications of such are probably not what they once may have been). But mostly I was responding to the comment from @dallasbetch ("Wedding etiquette experts would say that the reception card needs to be separate from the invitation if the ceremony and reception are in different places") by offering a contradictory pronouncement from an etiquette expert.

banana468 · March 2015

I broke that rule (gasp!).

We put all the info on the invitation and miraculously, no one left the church and drove north into Canada never to be seen again.

MairePoppy · March 2015

If the reception info fits on the invitation, there's no need for a separate card. I have received many all inclusive wedding invitations. I like the idea of you putting your money toward something your guests will enjoy.

@LtPowers - That is exactly what some people (my mom and aunts, for instance) think when there are multiple inserts - that everyone isn't invited to everything. In some circles those little extra inserts have negative connotations.

luckya23 · March 2015

I'm strongly considering these invitations, which have reception info on the back.

http://www.invitationsbydawn.com/catalog/category.jsp?moreLinks=&categoryId=2003&parentCategoryId=1977&refIds=800001784&dRefIds=&refsName=All%2520In%2520One&currentRefName=All%2520In%2520One

dcbride86 · March 2015

LtPowers said:

dcbride86 said:

I think if the reception is at another location, you should include an insert. Otherwise I'll probably assume the ceremony and reception are at the same location. And honestly, I think putting the reception info on it would just look too busy. What will it say? "Reception to follow at [LOCATION]"? That just seems odd to me

It would say exactly what the separate insert would say, only placed at the bottom of the invitation.

Certainly some designs don't lend themselves to the extra verbiage required, and there's nothing wrong with using an insert (I do agree with @southernbelle0915 that the implications of such are probably not what they once may have been). But mostly I was responding to the comment from @dallasbetch ("Wedding etiquette experts would say that the reception card needs to be separate from the invitation if the ceremony and reception are in different places") by offering a contradictory pronouncement from an etiquette expert.

Maybe it's just because I haven't seen it before, but that just seems a bit wordy to me. I'm not saying it's against etiquette (I have no idea if it is). Like I said, it might just seem wordy to me because I haven't seen it before.

[Deleted User] · March 2015

I put all the information on one card, it fit and didn't looked cramped together. I wanted to keep the invites as simple & inexpensive as possible (but still nice) because it's something that everyone will just throw away after the day anyways. The nice thing too if it's all on one card is that a guest can grab it & have both addresses (assuming ceremony & reception aren't in the same place) on one piece of paper to be able to put locations into their GPS if needed.

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