Wedding Invitation Wording: First word on the great event

Indian wedding has always been a fun, frolic and fiesta for the family involved and guests who attend the grand event. Everything from invitation to reception to honeymoon has a stroke of splendor. As real wedding ceremony starts with invitation, I will tell you about the wedding invitation wording.

Gone are the days when people used to send simple invitation cards to their relatives, friends and acquaintances. There was an age when elders of the family used to send wedding invitation cards to the concerned – most of them were relatives and well-wishers of the family, and friends of bride and groom. But now the trend has changed, and brides and grooms have taken the rein in their hands, after all they are going to marry, and not their parents.

Drafting an invitation is not a child’s play for any couple. The copy should look a statement you make about your D-Day and at the same time, you want to communicate everything in a single note: names of your parents, venue, date, time, address and other stuff. The language you use tips off the wedding's level of formality, informing guests what to expect and to wear. So here is a standard wording sample:

Because you have shared in

our lives

by your friendship and love, we

Vikas

and

Himani

together with our parents

invite you to share

the beginning of our new life

together

when we exchange marriage

vows

Sunday, the nineteenth of May

Two thousand two

five-thirty in the evening

The Grand Bhagwati,

Ahmedabad – India

Reception to follow

Be Creative

Love can make you a poet, and you can use your poetic excellence in drafting your invitation cards: use the most attractive language with catchy words and phrases. If possible, coin new words. You can also use funny language to tickle the ribs of recipients. But, you should send such invitation cards to your friends and colleagues only. Use formal style while you are sending invitation cards to your relatives and acquaintances.

Create a Wedding Website

A personal wedding website is a great way to share all your wedding details and memories with your friends and family. You can not only invite your near and dear ones but also can share all your stories, events information, photos, maps, videos and more with your friends and preserve your wedding website forever. More importantly, it’s ultra-cool and unique b’coz it’s e-invitation card.

You can choose your wedding site according to the theme of your wedding.

All in all, your wordings should sound convincing to the recipients; they should feel the warmth of your heart by your words only.

Wedding Invitation Tips

Recently a friend invited me to his wedding. He called beforehand and had mentioned that I'd be receiving a wedding invitation. I got it two days hence and it seemed to be a pretty grand affair, beautiful card and excellent wording (more about that in a later post). However, after reading thru' I was confused. He had mentioned my name in the wedding card but not of my sister, who he knew was visiting. While I knew him just well enough not to be offended, I was confused nevertheless.

Huge wedding, beautiful card, well-worded and delivered. And yet, thanks to the faintest of mistakes, I wasn't feelin' right...

Wedding Invitations, especially when it comes to our Indian shaadi, are probably one of the most laborious tasks, and easily one of the most important. So, here are a few tips for you to keep in mind, while you do yours.

Why does it matter?

A Wedding Invitation is the first preview to your wedding. And first impressions go a long way. Your guests are probably going to take a few days off & spend a few thousand rupees to be at your wedding. And a good well-delivered card will well make it worth the hassle for them.

When?

With schedules getting busier these days, the most respectful thing to do for your guests, is to give them enough time. Start shopping for invitations at least 3 months before the wedding. You'll always find tons of excellent local shops offering some great variety to choose from.

For out-of-town guests, be sure to send out your invites at least 4 to 6 weeks before the wedding date. If your wedding falls around a major festival, you might want to send them even 8 weeks in advance. Always follow up your mail with a phone call to confirm receipt.

It is always a good idea to do your wedding date announcement sooner than later. And of course, nothing beats a wedding website to do so.

How?

Take a guest count and engage all your family members in the process. Then add 10% more cards to the final count, so you have some for the ones you missed or to preserve a few as keep-sake.

It’s always a good idea to maintain a list of guests and their addresses in a diary. If you, like us, are not a paper person, then be sure to use the guest-list tool from our home page. You can keep a count of your guests, maintain their addresses, collect their RSVPs (through your wedding website) and track your invitation status.

Always include a return address on each outer envelope. This way, undeliverable invitations will be returned to you (this is a non-issue if you are couriering). Also, always have a few extra outer envelopes – in case of addressing errors (believe me, it does happen ).

Encourage your guests to RSVP their attendance. Getting a perfect count of your wedding will save you a lot of money – in accommodations, food and drinks. You can either include a separate self-addressed RSVP card or list your wedding website address in the invitation card and have your guests RSVP through the wedding website.

Finally, if your guest list is going over-budget, it might be a good idea to separate them into a “must-invite” and “nice-to-invite” lists. As you get “No’s” or "Regrets" from the former, you can start sending out invites to the latter.

Oh yeah, I did ultimately take my sister along to the wedding. And we thoroughly enjoyed it. Cheers!

Wedding Invitations

Invites are technically the very first word on your great event. If your invite has a warm and gorgeous character, your wedding will have one too, at least in so far as your guests expect it. Send a dry and typical invite and chances are your wedding is more of the same. Thankfully, a stunning invite doesn’t have to cost a fortune; rather just a few moments of thought and creativity will do. But first, we suggest you take the reins in your hands rather than delegating it to your parents.

Invitation Styles

First, the colours and design of your wedding invitation create the first impression and therefore both these features are crucial. Red, Maroon, Yellow and Orange are all-time classics, however, cadbury or brown are the pick of the day, says Ajit Rajdev of MyShadiCards. These wedding invitation cards are made of imported metallic boards as well as handmade papers. If you are doing a theme wedding, then your color and style should be well-coordinated with the theme.

Among card styles, handmade cards are in vogue and contrary to the popular belief, these can work to be less expensive than printed ones. These range from Rs.7 to Rs.100. If you are feeling a little adventurous on the colors; experiment with a new look using purples, greens or array of pastel colours. In fact, most couples are looking for something new lately. Vaishali Parikh, the designer we found who does awesome customized invitation cards narrates that most recent works of her have involved more paper cut designs backed with brocade, tissue cloth or metallic papers.

Fusion of different materials can also provide a distinctive look with processes like foil transfer or embossing. Shining metallic paper whether handmade or machine made are more preferred as they are available in a wide range of unusual colours like sage green, lilac, dusty pink, burgundy, etc. However, if you want to play it safe by going traditional and yet want a classy look, go for the scroll wedding invitation printed on velvety red or gold cloth. Experts will bear out that it’s the hottest selling style this season, albeit a tad expensive.

While designing an invitation card, less is definitely more. Avoid stuffing in tons of religious symbols and borders and focus instead on the paper type, color and the style. A single religious symbol or motif is generally adequate. Use borders sparingly. A card insert with just your invitation text and a background design or texture will look more wholesome than one crowded with borders.

Finally, if you have the budget, go for a completely custom designed card and create something that conveys your hobby and likes. For example, one couple made their invitation cards in the form of table coasters with bright martini colors of black and purple. A Bollywood junkie could do one that looks like movie post-cards with the invitation printed on the backdrop of a movie scene. The actor and actress, obviously, will be illustrations of you. And if humor is your thing, how about playing a little parody on the unsurpassed Mars vs Venus battle? The possibilities are endless; just need a tiny bit of imagination.

Wordings

When it comes to wordings, most families tend to run into a writer’s block. If you are going the traditional route, just ask your invitation vendor to serve you with its huge inventory of past samples; and it’ll be a piece of cake. But if you are doing something unique, a hatke script is in order. Here, again – less is more. Remember that all that’s really needed is your names and the event details.

A welcome message at the top and a short list of hosts at the bottom is all that’s required. Most couples these days also seek professional services of writers, who can provide them with a beautiful copy for their cards. These writings are sometimes most eccentric, amusing and creative in nature. Some also come with a hilarious dose to guests, while others are really poetic expressions on paper that touch the hearts of your guests. Another trend these days is to hire special services of calligraphers to write guest names on envelope. This gives the card a very warm feeling and will feel precious to your guests. And for those who stayed up to date on the hoopla surrounding Ash and Abhi’s wedding last year, a small poetry upfront is another way to add warmth to your invitation cards.