COVID-19 has forced many couples to rethink their wedding plans, postponing their weddings or opting for smaller, more intimate ceremonies with larger celebrations to follow. With that comes even more questions about handling wording scenarios properly and effectively. We’re here to help answer any of your wedding etiquette questions, so please don’t hesitate to reach out! Below we provided examples of COVID-19 wedding wording scenarios from our etiquette guide that might be of help:
SENDING NEW SAVE THE DATES:
Your original wedding date has changed, and you need to send a new save the date to your guests:
Please save a NEW date to celebrate Alex and Kate September 21, 2021 San Diego, California www.alexandkate2021.com
or
Save our new date The wedding celebration of Sarah Collins and Andrew Mitchell in Palm Beach, Florida has been rescheduled for December 12, 2021 Formal invitation to follow
SENDING UPDATES AFTER SENDING INVITATIONS:
Your original wedding date has changed, and you need to send an update to your guests:
Dear friends and family, We have made the decision to move our wedding celebration to the weekend of October 10-12, 2021. We can’t wait to celebrate with you! Love, Carolyn and David For more information and to RSVP for the new date, please visit our wedding website: www.carolynanddavid2021.com
Your wedding has been postponed without a new date, and you need to send an update to your guests:
During this challenging and unprecedented time, We regret to inform you that Carly and Frederick’s wedding Has been postponed. We will keep you updated when more information is available. The Campbell and Monterey families
HOSTING A VIRTUAL WEDDING:
Your wedding ceremony will be live-streamed so that guests can join virtually:
Change of Plans Due to the current public health crisis, we are unable to share this day in person with all of our friends and family. We would love for you to join us virtually and witness the celebration of our marriage. Please visit our website for details on accessing our special day. www.loisandandy.com
DOWNSIZING OR CANCELING YOUR WEDDING:
You’ve sent invitations but have decided to host a small ceremony with your closest friends and family and will celebrate with the rest of your guests at a later date:
Considering the uncertainty arising from the ongoing pandemic and to ensure the wellbeing of our loved ones, we have made the difficult decision to abbreviate our wedding ceremony and celebration. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our intended guests. We will be married this year in an intimate ceremony and look forward to celebrating with you all in the future.
You can find more examples via our etiquette guide so be sure to check that out for ways to solve these scenarios. Again, we are here to help take the stress out of wording and put the excitement back into wedding planning!
Congratulations – you’re planning a wedding! Wondering when you need to order your save the dates, wedding invitations, and other stationery goods for the big day? We’ve pulled together the most important information to create a wedding stationery timeline to guide you. We’re covering all the basics like when to send your save the dates and how long you should wait before sending out your thank you notes (spoiler alert: don’t wait!). This is a really exciting time in your life, and we want you to be prepared to enjoy the entire process of working with us. We’ll offer etiquette suggestions, customization ideas, and we can even help you choose your dream invitations.
Still have some questions? Please feel free to contact us – we would love to chat!
If you just got engaged and have your wedding date set, the next step is to think about save the dates! If you have questions like: When should I send my save the dates? Do they have to be formal if I am having a formal wedding? What design should I choose? — don’t worry, we’re here to help!
When should I send my save the dates?
Typically sent anywhere from 6-12 months before the wedding, save the dates are the perfect way to make sure that guests have advanced notice of your wedding date, and they can also be an excellent way to set the initial tone for your celebration. Save the dates are a nice courtesy for your guests — especially those who will be traveling for your special day — as they’ll have a much easier time arranging for time off and making travel & accommodation plans. Once upon a time, save the dates were used primarily for destination weddings or weddings with a lot of out of town guests, but nowadays they’re popular for all types of weddings.
Who do I send save the dates to?
If your guest list hasn’t been finalized yet, send to as many people on your list as possible. Anyone who receives a save the date absolutely must receive an invitation, so keep that in mind while you’re planning!
What information should the save the date contain?
The bare essentials for a save the date are the names of the couple and the date. We do recommend including the location so guests can plan accordingly, though if you haven’t narrowed down to a specific venue yet you can just provide the city & state. Some couples also choose to include accommodation information, wedding websites, and even information about local attractions. If you plan to invite all of your guests to additional activities on the dates surrounding your wedding (such as a welcome barbecue or a farewell brunch), you can ask that they save the weekend and provide appropriate dates.
Do they have to be formal if I am having a formal wedding?
The wording for a save the date is typically less formal than an invitation, so you can really have some fun with it! Writing the date as 06.05.13 or June 5, 2013 is perfectly acceptable and even more common than “Saturday, the fifth of June, two thousand and thirteen.” It is totally okay to include your wedding website and is actually a great way to introduce your website to your guests. It’s traditional to put “invitation to follow” or “formal invitation to follow” on the save the date, but it’s not necessary if you choose more streamlined wording. If you have any etiquette questions you can see our suggestions or contact us – we’d love to give you more advice!
Any tips for making my save the dates extra unique?
Get creative! There are tons of ways to customize your wedding stationery when you order with Bella Figura (think edge painting, cool custom envelope liners, or corner rounding!) but you can make your save the dates extra special by adding your own personal touch! Have a really cool story about how the two of you met? Include it on the save the dates! Did your photographer take amazing engagement photos? Have your save the dates designed with a “frame” so you can mount prints of your engagement photos to each one!
What design should I choose?
We have save the dates for every style – whether your wedding is vintage, formal, modern, rustic, art-deco or completely unique – you name it, we have a style for you. All of our designs are completely customizable, so we have even more options than what you see on our web site (a lot more options!). If you are totally stumped on what design to choose, consider taking our personal shopper survey! Our survey gives us the opportunity to learn more about you, your wedding, and your style, and then we can tell you what designs and customizations we think would be a perfect fit for you. Plus, we can keep the conversation going until you find exactly what you were looking for!
Our stomachs rumble on a daily basis when we read the delicious menus that our lovely clients (you!) choose for their wedding receptions. With choices like organic greens and crabcakes, spicy tuna and beef tenderloin, we see tasty options for everyone. For all the foodies out there, feast your eyes on these gorgeous letterpress wedding menus!
[Keep things sweet with our colorful Somersby, a whimsical design by Beth Ann Seal.]
Our standard menu size is the A6, which measures in at 4.625 x 6.25 inches. We can also print tea-length menus (3.875 x 9.25 inches) for an additional charge.
Last week, we shared invitation wording tips for same sex couples with some pointers from Mark Kingsdorf (esteemed wedding planner and etiquette expert), and now we’re back with more advice from Mark and tips on program wording for same sex couples. How do you recognize parents, grandparents, honor attendants, and other guests on the program? Luckily, there are lots of ways to do it — read on to see some of Mark’s tips.
For parents:
– Simply say ‘Parents’ and list both sets of parents (as opposed to the traditional “Parents of the Bride” or “Groom’s Parents”). You could also say “Mark’s Parent’s” or “Kyle’s Parents” – this applies for grandparents, too!
For attendants:
– Your wording for attendants can be determined based on the formality of your wedding. In our example below (a tea length program of our Austin Traditional design), each groom’s best man was listed, and the rest of the wedding party was listed under “Honor Attendants”. If you’d like, you can divide the attendants into two columns, placing names on the left or right side depending on which side they’ll be placed on while you’re at the altar.
As with invitation wording, the program text should really fit your style as a couple — if you’ve got a more casual or laid back wedding planned, you can say “Mark’s friends” or “Kyle’s friends” when recognizing your wedding party. Of course, bridesmaids and groomsmen may also be used as well, but if you’ve got men and women in your party, an alternative option would be to list your “Bridesmates” or “Groomsmates”. You can even get creative and incorporate your wedding colors and tie in subtle recognition that way. While there are many possible ways to word your program, it’s important to give recognition to the friends and family members supporting your marriage – so word your programs in a way that best fits your personality and your wedding day.
Our thanks again to Mark for sharing these great tips!
Invitation wording can be tricky – knowing who to list and where to list them can sometimes present a challenge. With an increase in same-sex weddings (woohoo! go New York!), we’ve had some inquiries about wording for when you’ve got two brides or two grooms. So, we decided to speak with wedding pro Mark Kingsdorf of Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants (an etiquette expert and contributor to several books by the esteemed Emily Post Institute) to get some tips for same-sex couples on the best way to word their invitations.
Mark said it best: “Proper etiquette is what makes the largest number of people feel most comfortable” — and we couldn’t agree more. So, when it comes to your wording, be sure to decide on the following factors:
1. Who should be listed? This depends entirely on the couple and their family. If both sets of parents are contributing, both sets of parents can be listed. You can list all parents, one set of parents, one parent, or no parents – it really comes down to your personal preference. If you have a lot of family members contributing to your wedding, a great alternative option would be to simply start by saying “Together with their families”, and proceed from there. Here’s a traditional example that lists both sets of parents:
2. Who goes first? Unless one family is contributing more than the other, Mark advises that alphabetical is the best way to go. Again, personal preference should reign, and your wording should be what fits you best as a couple.
The rest of your text should fall into place based on the type of ceremony and reception you’ll be having – let the formality of your event guide you. For even more tips on how to finalize the text for your invitations and other wedding stationery, click here, or feel free to get in touch with one of our client coordinators for assistance!
The important thing to remember is that your invitations and wedding stationery should set the tone for your wedding while highlighting who you are as a couple. Many thanks to Mark Kingsdorf for these great tips!
Don’t forget – our promotion for free envelope liners ends September 25, so there’s still plenty of time to order!
In recent months we’ve been fielding a lot of questions about cool reply card ideas and wording options, so we thought it’d be fun to round up some of our recent favorites to share with you. From traditional reply cards with envelopes to cool reply postcards to petite-sized reply cards requesting a response via email or a website, the options are limitless. Go modern or traditional, but don’t be afraid to make your reply card your own!
