I get a lot of inquiries and questions about wedding invitations; when they should be sent out, what information should be included, color choices, etc. Perhaps you have started the search for your invitations yourself, but find it difficult to decide what you really want and how to proceed?

Then I hope this post can give you some good tips on the way!

When should you send out the wedding invitations?

It is important to let the guests know about the wedding date well in advance, then you make sure that as many people as possible mark the date in the calendar and have the opportunity to come. We recommend sending out the invitations 4-6 months before the wedding.

If you are getting married abroad or there are many visitors, you should give the guests the date as early as possible. Preferably one year in advance. Many may have to apply for time off work and if they have to cover travel and accommodation themselves, it is an advantage to give them some time to set aside money and plan. Then you can send out a "Save the date" card 10-12 months before, as an early warning.

What should I write in the wedding invitation?

It is important that the guests receive a clear invitation with the information they need to be prepared for the wedding. Below is a list of all the things that should be included in all invitations.

• Date
• Name of bride and groom
• Place of marriage
• Time for marriage
• Place for dinner/party
• Tentative time for dinner/party
• Outfit
• Toastmaster
• Contact information for the toastmaster
• Any website
• * Gift wishes
• * Response deadline/Allergies
• * Travel
• * Accommodation

* Gift wishes - We always recommend that our customers write something about gift wishes in the invitation. You should preferably not list exact wishes, but show where the guests can find their wish list if they wish. Even if you don't want anything, the guests will not come to the wedding empty-handed. By writing a sentence or two about this, you will save yourself and your guests a lot of trouble afterwards. If you get married abroad, there will be some expenses for the guests in relation to travel and preferably accommodation. Then it can be enough of a gift in itself.

*Response deadline/Allergies - The response deadline often depends on when those preparing the menu (often the party venue) must have a final number of guests. But 1-2 months before the wedding is usual. By setting the response deadline to 2 months before the wedding, you give yourself time to be able to change table placements etc. if it should become necessary. Guests with allergies are asked to inform about this when responding to the invitation.

*Travel/Accommodation - If you have a number of visiting guests, it may be a good idea to include information about travel and accommodation. By writing such things on a separate information card, you keep the invitation itself clean and clear. 

What should an invitation package consist of?

This depends very much on how much you want to inform about in the invitation. If you are having a wedding abroad with many visitors, there is often a lot of information to be included, for example it is good to attach a separate information card. Here is a list of typical invitation elements:

• Invitations
• Info card
• Answer card
• Tag - to tie around the invitations. Preferably with their monogram or the name of the invited guests.
• Program
• Map
• Envelopes
• Pocket envelopes (if you want to collect all the cards in pockets)

How much do wedding invitations cost?

It is with printed matter as with everything else; you get what you pay for. You can get affordable wedding invitations as low as NOK 20 per item and up to NOK 80 per item. So here it is most important that you find a supplier that can satisfy your needs.

Here are some factors that help influence the price of wedding invitations:

1. Quantity usually plays a role in price with most suppliers. But if you order, for example, tailoring, a fixed price is often set when ordering, this usually pays off in terms of price if you are going to have a large wedding with many guests.
2. Invitation package. If you only want invitations or a full invitation package with, for example, info cards, pocket envelopes, ribbons, wax seals, etc., this also helps to influence the final price.
3. Supplier. Here the differences are big. If you order your printed matter from a large supplier, often located abroad and who mass-produces their printed matter, the prices are often a good deal lower than if you order from smaller suppliers who work closely with each individual bride and groom throughout the design process and who produce and complete the final product for hand. Remember that the vast majority of small suppliers spend a lot of time on each individual order, so even if the prices may seem high compared to the large suppliers, you are paying for proper, local, high-quality handiwork.
4. Production methods such as letterpress, gold foil, specially cut shapes, etc. are time-consuming processes and help to influence the price, as this type of work is very manual and requires some customization for each individual customer.

Theme and colors

In addition to giving the guests all the information they need for the big day, the design and wording of the invitation also hints at the type of wedding the guests are invited to. It is therefore wise to have an idea of ​​what style you will have at the wedding; classic and elegant, rustic and relaxed or perhaps glamorous and extravagant?

By thinking this through, it will be easier to choose invitations that suit you and your big day. The same applies to the color palette. A classic wedding often has light and or few colors combined with gold and silver, while a modern wedding often uses dark colors such as deep blue, black and burgundy. Perhaps you want to incorporate the pink color of the peonies in the bridal bouquet or the color of your future husband's tie? All this can be good to take with you.

Tip: Read proofreading!

When you have found a design you are happy with and have received a draft from the supplier, proofread! Also feel free to get your fiancé and mother-in-law to read through so that you are sure that there are no errors in the information being sent out. Tip! Read the invitation from right to left, word for word. This way you can make sure that you read all the words and not just the sentence. 

Tip: Order extra

Sometimes you want to invite more guests than first thought. Then it can quickly become expensive if you have to print extra invitations.

You would like to take care of some copies yourself or maybe someone you have invited can't come so you can invite someone else? By ordering 5-10 extra invitations, you are sure that you have enough.

The same applies to envelopes. If you are going to send out 50 invitations, what are the odds that you will be able to write on all the envelopes without a single typing error? So always order a couple of extra envelopes.

Remember that you should not order invitations for all the guests, if you invite for example 70 guests, you usually order around 45-50 invitations as many are couples and live at the same address.

Tip: Envoy

When you have to send out many wedding invitations, it is easy to find that some of the addresses are incorrect/outdated. It is then important to write the return address on the back of the envelopes so that guests who do not receive the invitation are caught.

If you have attached a response card to the guests, you should also send it with an associated addressed envelope with a stamp so that the guests can easily send the response card back to you.

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I hope these have been some good tips to take with you further!

Should you have any further questions, please email me at post@heypaperie.com

Warm hugs from Maren