The key to successfully mailing your wedding invitations is organization! Taking the time to plan ahead and create an organizational strategy will save you time and headaches when it’s time to provide your vendors with the final number of guests.
Guest List: If you haven’t created a hard copy of your guest list, now is the time. Perhaps you’ve been working with a guest list that is in your head or perhaps you and your fiance’ haven’t wanted to face the cold hard truth that your guest list is going to be larger than expected, what ever your reason it’s time to sit down and finalize your guest list. If you have to limit your guest list to a certain number of people now is the time to prioritize who you couldn’t imagine not being at your wedding and who can be cut from your list. You may want to place the guests your forced to cut on a “B” list. That way when you receive replies from guests who are unable to attend, you can then mail invitations to your “B” list.
Addresses: Once you’ve put together your guest list it is time to gather your guests addresses. Formal invitations are sent to the home address of your guest unless they specifically request or prefer to receive their invitation at their place of business. When gathering the information for addressing your invitations be sure to gather the full names of your guests spouses or significant other if they are in a long term relationship and you know that they will be bringing them as their escort. It is preferential to use full names instead of the term “and guest” unless you do not know who will be escorting your guest. If you are inviting the children of your guests be sure to include the children’s first names on your guest list.
List: You will want to create a list that includes columns for number, name and address,mailed, attending, unable to attend, no response and called. This way you can keep track of who you have mailed invitations to, who has replied, who has not responded and who you have called to follow up with.
Reply Cards: Inevitably you will receive reply cards back that either have no name or are just completely blank. A great trick to prevent confusion is to discretely number your reply cards. A good way to hide the number is to use a layered reply card. This way you can number the back of the top layer of your reply card. Then record the number of the reply card in the column next to the name of the guest to whom it was sent. This way when you receive blank or no name reply cards, you will know who mailed them. Contact www.theclassicinvitation.com to order layered reply cards that come with one corner left adhered. The Classic Invitation uses a pressure sensitive adhesive so you simply remove the protective strip and press to seal after you have numbered the corner of your reply card. For an additional fee we can number the reply cards for you!
Mailing Time Frame: Plan to mail your invitations at least 6 to 8 weeks before your wedding. This will allow sufficient time for your guests to make arrangements to attend. If you didn’t mail save-the-date cards you should plan to mail your invitations 8 -10 weeks ahead of time to allow out of state guests to purchase plane tickets and make hotel arrangements. This will also allow you time to mail invitations to your “B” list with out it seeming like you invited them last minute or that they were an after thought.
Responses: As your reply cards come in record their receipt on the list that you’ve created. This will give you a running tally of the number of your guests.
Follow Up!: About a week or two before you need to provide your final guest list to your vendors be sure to contact the guests who have not responded. This will provent guests you’ve invited but didn’t respond from showing up unexpectedly. Also we all know that the U.S. Postal service is far from perfect. Invitations that you’ve sent may not have been received and replies that your guest’s have sent may have been lost in the mail.
Visit www.theclassicinvitation.com today for all of your wedding invitation and stationery needs! The staff at The Classic Invitation is always happy to assist you with any invitation or etiquette questions that you may have. Contact The Classic Invitation today for a free consultation!
By: Sheila Elizabeth
