Wedding Invitations

Your wedding guest list
The guest list is where it all begins, so before making any decisions about wedding invitations, be sure you and your partner have reached a decision on who will be attending your wedding ceremony. Making your wedding guest list stretch to include all your immediate relatives, extended family and close friends can be tricky. Make sure you talk it over and settle on a list that includes your must-have-there’s while not breaking your budget. Once you’ve settled on a number, you’ll know how many invitations to allow for in your costing. Remember to count the number of addresses, not the number of guests, when budgeting for wedding invitations. Many printers offer a wedding stationery package, which can include pew cards, place cards, printed napkins, wedding programmes and thank you cards along with wedding invitations.

There are many options for New Zealand wedding invitation design and printing. Consider your options:

Have a professional make your wedding invitations
There are many professional designers and craftspeople who can design and make beautiful wedding invitations for you. They can create custom wedding invitation designs to match your wedding colours, theme and mood. Talk over all aspects of design, colour and style with your designer to ensure you know what you’ll be getting. It’s also a good idea to check portfolios to find a designer whose style matches yours.

DIY wedding invitation cards
Making your own invitations is another option - letting you get creative, giving you complete control over design and usually costing you less than a professional designer. Find wedding invitation ideas online and in craft books. You’ll also find inspiration at craft shops and art supplies stores, selling handmade papers, specialty metallic and patterned papers, translucent paper (vellum), pre-cut card and envelopes.

If you choose to make your own invitations, buy enough materials to allow for five or six extra invitations – you’ll probably have a test invitation and a few throw-away’s along the way! A number of stores selling wedding invitation supplies also offer a print, cut and crease service.

Wedding invitation designs and ideas
From classic cream and gold to bold, contemporary colour combinations, the possibilities for wedding invitation designs are limited only by your imagination. Your invitations should pick up on the colour, mood and overall style of your wedding ceremony, so when designing your invitations (either at home or with your designer) bear in mind:

• The colour of your dress
• The colour and type of your chosen flowers
• Your wedding ceremony theme
• The colours of your, table settings and other decorations

You’ll find wedding invitation ideas online, in books, at wedding supply stores and in wedding magazines.

Wording for your wedding invitations
The wording of your invitation should be warm, welcoming and personal. Whether you want to add a touch of fun, some romance or keep it simple and classic, is up to you. The wedding invitation traditionally comes from the bride’s parents, but it can also be direct from the bride and groom themselves.

This traditional wedding invitation template can be altered to personalise your wedding invitations:
Jill Rachel Smith and Jack Robert Brown request the honour of your presence at their marriage on Saturday, thirteenth of October, 2007, at four o'clock in the afternoon at St Joseph's Cathedral, 78 Hill Lane, Wellington.

Remember to:

• Check that you’ve got the correct day and date
• Check the guest’s name and address
• Get a friend or family member with a good spellchecking eye to look over the draft before getting your invitations printed
• Include a response card and self-addressed envelope, with spaces for guest name/s, number of people attending and menu choices if required
• Provide a map if your wedding venue is out of town or potentially difficult to locate

Wedding invitation etiquette
Your mail-out should ensure that guests receive their invitations six to eight weeks before the day of your wedding. Make sure you enclose a response card and let guests know an RSVP date (you’ll need to let your caterer and venue know how many guests to expect). Remember, too, it’s good etiquette to send out ‘thank you’ notes or cards within three weeks of your wedding day, thanking guests for attending and for their gift.

Looking for more information? Find New Zealand wedding invitations in the NZS.com directory.

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Family images from Flickr: Baby Boots, Kids Classroom and Hands.