The Parts of a Wedding Invitation

The basic wedding invitation can consist of just a card sent in an envelope to invite people to your wedding.  It does, however, tend to set the tone of your ceremony and the later celebration you are planning in honor of your marriage, and should be selected with care.  Wedding invitations, by the way, should be sent out four to six weeks before the wedding date.

Here's a list of components for a wedding invitation, and their uses:

• The invitations themselves

• Inner envelope (optional)

• Outer envelope

• Reception cards (optional)

• RSVP cards/envelopes (optional)

• Tissue (optional, and often not used any more)

If you are using inner envelopes you may notice that they do not have an adhesive; in other words, they are not meant to be sealed.  The name of the person or persons being invited are written on the inner envelope, but not their address.

If you are planning to invite some guests to your wedding but not to your reception, you can accomplish it by enclosing an additional card with your invitation, and these are listed below.

An RSVP card is used if you wish to have a response to your invitation to the reception.  The RSVP card should be placed in its own envelope, have a postage stamp, and be addressed back to whoever has charge of the responses.  It must measure at least 3.5" x 5" so that it can be mailed back to you, and should be placed, already in its own envelope, in the inner envelope with the invitation.

A reception card is used when an RSVP is not required, but you are not inviting all of your guests to your reception.  Additionally, you can use such an enclosure card if, for instance, you are planning a limited function after the reception, such as an additional party meant strictly for family.  A reception card need not be enclosed in an envelope, and need not measure at least 3.5" x 5", because it is not meant to be mailed.  It may, for instance, be of business card size.  The reception card, if used, should also be placed in the inner envelope with the invitation.

A new innovation in reception cards is to send a refrigerator magnet that has been preprinted with the details of your wedding date and reception.  Your guests will find it a helpful reminder of your wedding date, and they're much more likely to remember it!

The tissue is cut to the size of the invitation and is placed on its face.  It is a holdover from the days when the ink on invitations could "bleed" and stick to the inner or outer envelope, especially in damp and/or warm weather.  Recent improvements in the printing process make this enclosure unnecessary.  Tissues have a tendency to crease and look worn when handled and can be difficult to keep fresh when you are assembling your invitations; that is one major reason why their use seems to be going out of style.

Which of the optional parts of a wedding invitation should you use?  Your invitations are designed to serve a purpose--they invite your guests to your ceremony, and optionally to other parts of the celebration on your wedding day.  Enclosures such as the RSVP card and envelope or the reception card are used to alter the terms of the invitation.

If everyone is invited to the reception and you don't need responses, simply add that part to the bottom of your invitation and don't use an enclosure at all.  This is typically worded as, "Reception immediately following the ceremony/Mike's Truck Stop/34 West Motorcycle Road/Hammsville, Pennsylvania."

If not everyone will be invited to the reception, leave off those lines from the invitation, and add it to either a reception card or an RSVP card, depending on whether or not you require responses.

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