The seemingly simple task of sending out those wedding invitations can be fraught with possibilities of committing social blunders and making major offenses if one is not quite familiar with the wedding invitation etiquette. Since you definitely don’t want to mar the joyous occasion and the most important day of your life with some ill wills and hurt feelings, once you have rounded up your list of invitees, its time to polish up on the do’s and don’ts and get acquainted with the proper etiquette for wedding invitations. So here’s a quick guide for every bride-to-be on the rudiments of the invitation etiquette:

Who should send out the invitations? Tradition dictates that the bride’s parents should send out the invitations. Thus, its imperative that their names should appear on the very first line called the invitation line, even if the couple shares equal cost of the wedding. But what if the bride’s parents are divorced? Invitation etiquette guide orders that the mother’s name should be on the first line and the father’s name would fall on the second line. However, if it concerns the older or senior couples, it is only fitting that the invitation should come directly from them. The common problem with the invitation that most people have to contend with is placing the order for your invitations. The right approach to this is to order them as soon as possible, especially if your wedding invitation designs are quite complex and intricate. The average time frame to produce those invitations would range from four working days to three months. So unless you want to sacrifice the quality, provide ample time for the calligrapher.

Etiquette for wedding invitations also dictates that the said invites should be mailed at least eight weeks ahead of time, most especially if the wedding is scheduled on a holiday or summer season since you generally don’t want to mess up their plans, if they have any. You can also opt to send ‘Save the Date’ card in advance to the mailing of your invitations, as courtesy for people who are particularly busy.

Remember, its not proper to include any information pertaining your wedding registry since you wouldn’t want to presume that you will actually be expecting gifts from every guest who attends, even though we all know its customary. Its also part of the invitation etiquette to include specific direction or map of the exact location of the ceremony and reception if you are inviting out of town guests. Once you already have all the cards ready, proper addressing invitation etiquette becomes stricter since any misspelled or wrong address can potentially offend invitees. Tour outer envelope should not have any abbreviations other than the Mr., Mrs. and Ms., this means you have to spell out the street name and all location details. For married couples, you should address them together without their first name and for single ones who is bringing along an escort, the proper way would be to give them both separate invitations, unless they have been living together or in a long-term relationship. Couples who have children should be addressed with the name of the couple along with the ‘and family’ to indicate that children are welcome to attend the wedding. If your guest list includes a youngster above 18 years old, he or she should receive a separate invitation from the one given to his/ her parents.

If the ceremony and the reception will be held in separate places, a reception card should be included in your invitation to indicate the time and place of the reception and whether it’s a dinner or luncheon party so your guests would know what to expect.

Remember to keep a checklist to ensure that you will not miss out giving someone an invitation. You will be normally busy keeping track with the other wedding preparations but this does not constitute a valid reason for missing out someone. While your invitations may not as important as the wedding ay itself, you need to approach it with the same diligence and meticulousness to properly jumpstart your way towards married life.