Anatomy of a Wedding Invitation

We asked our friend Lauren Myers from Lauren Rachel to give us her professional advice on wording a wedding invitation. Lauren designs custom paper goods for weddings from save-the-date cards to invitation suites to menus and place cards. Not only is she creative and experienced, Lauren is one of the most professional vendors we have the pleasure of working with. She’s responsive and kind. She understands that the key to crafting exactly what her clients need is listening. She spends time listening to her clients and then, if necessary, even interfaces with their wedding planner to ensure her design integrates into the overall theme of the wedding. This dedication to her clients and her craft is why we asked Lauren to be a guest on our blog!

Guest Blog: Anatomy of Your Wedding Invitation

by Lauren Rachel

Like so many aspects of planning your wedding, writing the text that will appear on your wedding invitation is all about figuring out the proper rules. There is also etiquette and certain ideas built on traditions that can make things even more confusing. If you are planning a same-sex wedding, the wedding invitation format will be different. I suggest to wedding couples I work with, “stick with your gut and the reality of your relationship”. The truth is the “etiquette and rules” are almost exactly the same for every couple, gay or straight and you can really make them your own. In most cases, invitations fit into 3 categories: formal, classic and playful. My personal favorites are the playful ones!

Whether you are a traditionalist or of a creative mind, and you are spending the time and money to personalize your invitations, you should take that time to do exactly what you want, perhaps by setting all the rules aside. Most importantly, remember that your wedding invite will have some basic information that you must include so don’t let it become overly complicated. Use the four W’s: Who, What, Where and When are all “must-haves” on your wedding invitations.

Below are ways to break down the anatomy of your wedding invitations. This will help you decide what to use for text in more manageable segments.

The Host line

Who’s hosting? Traditionally it is the bride’s parents who host the wedding, however, this isn’t always the case. In many situations, couples are splitting the bill or in the case of a gay couple a “bride’s side” wouldn’t make sense. It is good to recognize which parents are contributing and to give all credit as hosts of the wedding. Take a little time to figure out who is involved and what makes the most sense.

Names

This is one of the easiest parts of an invite. There are only a few options and some are just a bit more formal than others. Make your choice based on the overall vibe of the wedding for the best fit that matches your relationship or how you are best known by your friends and family.

Action line

This is where you invite people to share in your event. It should be supportive to your host line and in the same style (formal, classic, playful) so the overall vibe is consistent.

Information

This is the one place on your invitation where you have to stick to the basics and not use alternative options. You do not want to create any confusion about time, date or location as you may risk your guests not getting to the right place at the right time. There are ways however to dress it up or down.

Party line/Closure

This is the last line on the invite and the last place you can hint at the fun you’re planning or refer to something special you might be doing at your celebration. It wraps everything up in a nice little bow and leaves your guests rushing to return their RSVP to celebrate with you on your special day.