10 Tips to Consider Before Ordering Wedding Invitations
Beautiful Long Island wedding invitation on a bed of flowers. © Dan Wagner 2023
Reprinting wedding invitations is expensive! That’s why you should read these 10 Tips to Consider Before Ordering Wedding Invitations! When it comes to ordering wedding invitations, there’s so much to consider. Do you want custom calligraphy, embossing, foil stamping, or laser cutting? Deciding on a budget before meeting with your wedding invitation printer, or ordering online will help you keep costs from spiraling out of control. Although, it’s worth remembering that your wedding invitation will become a treasured family heirloom. For this reason, what’s a few more dollars? And, you’ll definitely want to order extras!
Design by Laney — Wedding Invite Printing Methods Explained! (Letterpress + gold foil!)
Here’s a great video that explains most wedding invitation printing methods. Having an understanding of how the wedding invitation printing process works, and what your options are, will help you have the best wedding invitation ordering experience. You’ve spent time preparing every other aspect of your wedding, so why not devote a few minutes to watching this video and reading this helpful Long Island wedding invitation blog article? You’ll be happy you did!
Long Island wedding invitation with embossed flower design. © Dan Wagner 2023
One of the main reasons photographers like to photograph wedding invitations is for use as an opening spread in the bride and groom’s wedding album.
3 Tips for Wedding Invitation Photography
It’s a great idea to make sure your photographer has a pristine copy of your wedding invitation. The invitation is a good background for photos of your wedding rings, and small items such as cufflinks.
Give the photographer the invitation when they arrive at your home or wedding venue—whenever you first see them. As a Long Island wedding photographer, I like to do a few shots of your wedding invitation with your bouquet and wedding rings.
Wedding invitation photos are very useful as the main background for your wedding album’s opening spread. Think of the wedding invitation as a movie’s title and opening credits.
Hamptons, Long Island wedding invitation. © Dan Wagner 2023
10 Tips to Consider Before Ordering Wedding Invitations
When should you send your save-the-date postcards and wedding invitations? Save-the-date postcards should generally be sent 12-months prior to your wedding. Send your wedding invitations 3-months prior to your wedding.
What information should you include on your wedding invitations? While it’s not all set in stone, you’ll want to generally include the names of the hosts and couple’s names, wedding date and time, ceremony and reception locations, wedding attire, wedding website url (although it’s probably better to email this with a clickable link), and any special wedding invitation such as whether or not children are allowed. To avoid any confusion, be specific regarding who’s invited.
Have your local post office weigh, measure, and provide the exact first-class postage for your wedding invitation before buying stamps. The last thing you want is having your wedding invitations returned postage due! And even if the mistake is caught before mailing—you don’t want to look like an “amateur” by having to add a bunch of extra stamps to make up the postage shortfall. It happens!
Selecting a beautiful postage stamp is the proverbial icing on the cake of wedding invitations! For this reason, you’ll want to ask your local post office to hand-cancel each wedding invitation. Hand-cancelling helps prevent your wedding invitation envelopes from being “mauled” by postal machines. It also looks a lot nicer, too. Be sure to visit your post office when during times of the day that are less busy.
Should you include supplementary information sheets with your wedding invitation? Including supplemental information such as location and contact information for your ceremony and reception is very helpful. Nothing fancy is needed. GPS compatible addresses are vital.
Don’t forget to include a stamped RSVP card!
Consider the colors of your wedding palette dresses, decorations, flowers, and centerpieces in your choice of invitation colors.
Have your wedding invitations reflect your personal style. Type, paper, and other choices can be modern, vintage, or anything that you identify with.
If saving money, or being environmentally friendly is at the top of your priority list, you can even send digital wedding invitations. But with this method, you’ll miss out on having a family heirloom, and most likely upset your parents or other relatives. You can however do a smaller wedding invitation print run for the immediate family.
Before hitting the “ready-to-print button," wait a week and proof, proof, proof your invitation for any mistakes. Better yet, ask at least three detail-oriented friends to help with the proofing.
If you’re looking for a great place to order wedding invitations in Huntington, Long Island, I recommend you contact Medici Invitations at 4 Green Street, Huntington, NY 11743.
Stay tuned for more Long Island wedding photography blog articles!
“Dan Wagner was the best money spent on our wedding. He was nice, professional and did a great job. He took great candid photos—which I love. Not only did we get every picture he took, but the photos were full size and without any writing on them, and they arrived just a few days after we came back home from our honeymoon. We got to choose many pictures for our album. Because everything was digital, he e-mailed me exactly what the layout of the album would be before it was printed, and I was able to make changes. Our album was the nicest I have seen, and everyone who has seen it wishes they had hired him.”
—Genevieve and William
Every Bride and Groom Deserve Beautiful Wedding Photos!
Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences about ordering wedding invitations in the comment box below. Have a wonderful wedding, and many thanks for visiting my Long Island wedding photographer blog!