Invitation Tips

Because the invitations reflect the tone of your wedding they should be considered early on in your planning activities.  Once you have developed your guest list, selected your ceremony and reception venues and decided on the degree of formality you wish to express throughout your wedding, you can comfortably begin to search for your invitations and other printed materials. Do not be overwhelmed by the myriad of choices that are available for you.  At one time, there were few options in paper and print styles.  Today’s bride has a wide range of both from which to select. 

Consider these points as you shop for your paper trousseau.

• Take your business to a store that specializes in wedding papers.  The staff there will have the expertise and experience to help you with paper selections and correct wordings.  Their advice can end up saving you time and often money as well.
• You will likely be ordering more than just invitations so consider these other items as well:

Save the date cards, insert cards (directions or other information) RSVP cards, place cards and table assignment charts, menus, thank you cards, programs and of course the invitations.  Figure in all of the options as you look at pricing.

• When you place your order, be sure to order extras of every item.  Make sure that you send one of everything to yourself when the rest go out so you can monitor the delivery dates.
• Be sure that you allow enough time to order, address and send the invitation packages.  Double check with your print specialist on the time frame required for satisfactory order completion.  Most experts agree that invitations should go out 6-8 weeks prior to the ceremony.
• Consider purchasing special issue postage stamps rather than just ordinary stamps.  Check with your local postal service for the options that may work for you.  Be sure to check on delivery times if you select a personalized stamp pattern.  Always take a sample of your fully “loaded” invitation package to the post office to verify the amount of postage to put on each.  How embarrassing to have it arrive at your guest’s home with “postage due”.
• Always, always double-check the proofs of the invitation copy.  Have someone else double check you as well.  It is easy to skip over and not notice errors in copy with which you are so familiar.  A misspelled name can cause unnecessary delays and expense.
• If children are being invited to the wedding and reception, their names are usually included on the envelope, clearly letting the parents know that the children are invited.  If children are not to be included, just the invited guest’s names are on the invitation.  This lets the parents know exactly for whom the invitation is intended.  If children are not being invited to attend – for whatever reason, plan how you will handle requests from guests who wish to bring their children.  Have alternative plans in place in case this becomes an issue.

When you are ready to begin the selection of your invitations and paper trousseau, be sure to book an appointment at TriniWeddings so that you can make sure you have a perfect invitation for your perfect wedding.

SOME IDEAS FOR MINIMIZING WEDDING PLANNING STRESS!

With all the planning that must happen, and all the aspects of a wedding to consider, taking pains to keep the process flowing and your planning more joyful, experts advise brides to consider the following:

* Make realistic plans at the start.
While you may dream of a celebrity style wedding, be real. "design a day that allows you to reach your goal of marriage without undue stress and complications." (Wedding Planner Jacqueline Smith)
This is accomplished by looking at who you are as a couple, how much time you have to plan and how much money you will have for this wedding. Advice from a Certified Wedding Planner from TriniWeddings can be a valuable upfront investment.

*Be organized and disciplined.
With plans in place,stay focused on your objective and you will avoid wasting time, energy and resources. pay attention to the details. Frequently it is the little things that get overlooked. Deal with them early and keep them from becoming major problems later on.

*Keep a positive outlook.
Brides who are happy and joyful at the prospect of their wedding day are pleasant to be around. They remember what this is really all about and make this the true focus. All the rest of the activity is to support this. Do not let yourself get sidetracked by meaningless issues. Be thankful for and happy with the help others offer to give you. Remember that you are a part of a couple. Share the joy and include the groom on plans and decisions.

*Make those decisions.
Know that this is a milestone event in your life and it requires a myriad of decisions to be made on a wide range of issues. Trust your instincts on many of those decisions, confer when necessary, seek advice on the most difficult, decide and move on to the next item on the list.

*Be flexible.
Remember Murphy? Uninvited, Murphy and his "law" usually attend most weddings. Just be prepared to make changes when needed. Do not let problems throw you over the edge. Know that even the best plans have ways of becoming unglued, so be prepared to deal with them as creative challenges. Let yourself be flexible enough to adjust when faced with the obvious. This is much easier to do when you have a plan "B" tucked away "just in case".

For help with your plans, contact TriniWeddings and talk over your wedding ideas and dreams with us. We are here to  help you create the memorable wedding of your dreams.

Welcome to Trini Weddings

Welcome to Trini Weddings

What Should a Bride do when........?

Here atTriniweddings we gladly help our brides with awkward situations that do not necessarily make their way into etiquette books. In spite of all the advice available from so many resources, brides like to have an experienced specialist - a knowledgeable consultant - a certified wedding planner - available for face-to-face problem solving. We are available for your unexpected problems and issues. Every wedding is unique and so can the problems presented by the people factor. This is a question we are repeatedly asked.
“How do I handle guests who have responded to our invitations and state on their RSVPs that the number of guests planning to attend is larger than the number invited?”
If your count and budget can handle the number of “extras” indicated, chalk it up to bad manners of those guests and just greet them with as much grace as you can muster.
If your count is already pushing you over the budget and you truly cannot absorb the extras, we suggest that you turn to your maid of honor, tactful bridesmaid or family member who knows the offending guest well. Ask this person to call the guests in questions and explain that the bride would love to be able to expand her guest list, but unfortunately it is not possible. The reason? Budget, or space concerns! If the person makes it known that they are offended - and trust me, some will - they are not your true friends and are clearly overstepping etiquette boundaries.
Often, the ‘extras” are uninvited children. You can keep this from happening if the invitation reads, “Adult only reception”. Or you can choose for the children to be at a “separate” reception somewhere at the same venue. You can provide a number of “sitters”, a giant screen TV, movies, lots of craft items and separate menu handled by family members.

Invitation Etiquette

We at Triniweddings have invitation specialists to help brides choose the wedding invitations which set the tone for the wedding. It is an early indicator for the guests as to the type of celebration to which they are invited. We are knowledgeable about the various paper styles, font types and wording variations that brides are seeking. We are also asked about the appropriateness of certain wording choices. We know that more and more brides are making selections that blend the historically formal with the contemporary feel of today’s preferences. However the rule of good taste does still have punch and invitation specialists are being asked if it is ok to ask for gifts of money on the wedding invitation. The answer is a clear and consistent NO!
There is no socially acceptable or tactful way to include in an invitation the fact that the couple would prefer cash in place of gifts.
The situation is more likely to occur with a couple in their late 20s or early 30s who have been living together for some time prior to the wedding. They tend to have all household necessities and are not inclined to establish a traditional gift registry. They may be planning to buy a house and would prefer cash gifts. This is a worthy preference but the invitation is not the place to spread the word. For that they need to rely on word of mouth. the couple needs to tell their parents, friends, and members of the wedding that when asked about gift preferences, cash is the couple’s preference. But as Emily post reminds us, “there is no dictating to guests what they must give; it’s their prerogative to choose.
As wedding specialists, we recommend that if you are asked directly what you want for a wedding gift, be polite and say, “We’re saving for a down payment on a house, so if you’d like to give a cheque, that’s how we would use it. But whatever you decide will be appreciated. Thank you for asking”.
Not everyone is comfortable giving cash. Some people prefer a tangible gift and because there are guests with this preference, we suggest that brides also set up a traditional gift registry to accommodate these guests.