The Anatomy of a Wedding Invitation Suite

Designing your wedding invitations can get confusing, there's so many little cards and so much information! Together we will walk through each card to help you determine what information goes where and which pieces you'll need.

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Basic Suite

My suites are available in sets of 25 and include your invitations, invitation envelopes, response cards, and response envelopes.  

Invitation

Standard invitations are A7 (5x7") but don't let that hold you back! Invitations can be any size or shape you want, just keep in mind odd size envelopes generally cost more to mail (and yes, that includes squares).

Next think about how formal you want your text to be. Do you want to include parent names? Or use the modern approach, "together with their families"? Or no parents at all? 

Are you inviting people to the celebration of your marriage? Do you want them to honor you with their presence? There are literally a million ways you can word your invitations, have a look around the internet and you'll find all the inspiration you need. Take into account the general feel of your wedding. If it's a backyard wedding you'll want to go a little less formal, if it's a black tie affair you'll likely want to follow all etiquette protocols. In the end it should reflect the tone of your special day.

Make sure you include:

• Your names
• Date
• Time
• Ceremony Location

You may also want to include:

• Wedding website (optional)
• "Reception to follow" (optional)
• Dress code (optional)

Invitation Envelope

The standard is an A7 (5.25x7.25") envelope of thicker quality paper than you'd use to send a letter. There are two standard flap options, Euro flap and square.  Euro flap envelopes have a long triangular flap where as squares are, you guessed it, square. I always suggest euro because they add a little more class, but it's really personal preference, I know some people only like square. 
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Invitations and other formal correspondence used to be sent with an inner and outer envelope according to etiquette protocols. However in recent years the outer envelope has been ditched and is now merely an added expense. That said, if you are using wax seals or some other embellishment on the envelope I do suggest them to make sure everything arrives as intended.

Response Card

Standard response cards are 4Bar (4.875x3.5") but like invitations can be as large or as small as you want. They can be quick and painless; yes, no, how many. Or they can be labor intensive with doodles to create, mad libs to fill out, and a million questions
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So how do you go about determining your response date? Download my Wedding Invitation Suite Timeline to help you determine it and many other stationery dates you'll need.

Make sure you include:

• Response date 
• Name line
• Yes? or No?

• ​Number attending line

Other things could be:

• Meal choices
• Allergy restrictions
• Song preference

• Child preference

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Accessories

Details Card

Details cards are where you put the additional information you don't already have included on your invitation or response card. There is no real standard size, but they typically run somewhere larger than the response card but smaller than the invitation, most of mine are 4x6".

​With the popularity of wedding websites details cards aren't always needed anymore, but that doesn't mean you can't have any! Do you have a lot of older relatives who don't use technology? Or friends who procrastinate and you don't want them to miss an important detail? Then you may want to include one or many!

There's no real right or wrong when it comes to details cards. WAIT, stop, that's not true. There is one wrong, one really wrong. Do not include your registry information on your details cards or anywhere in your invitation suite. That information needs to be on your wedding website and circulated by your family and friends, most etiquette rules have been tossed out the window but this is one hard fast rule that isn't going anywhere.

So back to what to include, like I said, it can be pretty much anything, here are some ideas:

• Accommodations/room blocks
  
• Directions
  
• Maps
  
• Reception location if different from ceremony
  
• Wedding website

Envelope Liner

Liners are one of my favorite additions to invitation suites. They can add an extra dose of excitement the moment your guests open your invitations. 

Belly Band

Belly bands add a finished look to pull all of your pieces together. Belly bands come flat and unscored. To use them you’ll wrap them tightly around your suite and secure them in the back.

Address Wraps

Address wraps are a modern way to address your invitations. They include design elements from your suite as well as the addresses of you and your guests. They are printed on sticker paper so they are easy to apply. An advantage to note for address wraps is they can be attached to any color envelope, including dark ones where you'd have to pay exorbitant fees to print in white.

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SERVICES

Printed Addressing

Address wraps are great, but what if you want a more traditional look? That's where printed addressing comes in. But don't think of it as boring! Printed addresses can be just as exciting and interesting as address wraps.

I like to do the response address and the return address with a custom made rubber stamp. This eliminates printer issues and also serves as a nice keepsake for you.

Guest addresses are printed in house and can be as plain or as exciting as you want. Think large last names, script fonts, classic angles, anything at all (as long as it's legible for the post office).

Assembly

You've spent your hard earned money to have the perfect invitations created for you, now make sure they arrive exactly as you've pictured. I can take care of attaching your belly bands, wrapping twine around your suites or any other embellishments that you might think of. Buttons, lace, doilies, stickers, if you can dream it, we can figure out a way to make it happen. 

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And that's it, I've covered all of the standard parts of an invitation. I hope you'll find my anatomy of an invitation suite helpful. Are there any pieces I didn't cover that you'd like to see? Feel free to comment below and let me know so I can add them in.

xoxo
​Erin