I is for Invitation Suite!
The invitation suite refers to all the paper elements you'll be mailing your guests. It’s usually the first glimpse of your wedding that your guests will experience, and sets the tone for the entire aesthetic of the event! Without careful consideration, this could be a missed opportunity. So without further ado, here are the components of an invitation suite.
Invitation: If your entire invitation ensemble were a college essay, consider the invitation your thesis sentence. On it, guests will learn exactly where, when, and what they’re invited to. This should have your names (or the hosts’ names), the venue’s address, and start time of the ceremony. This is likely what guests will reference a day (or an hour) before your wedding when they start looking up directions.
Enclosure Cards: These are the body of your essay. This includes the wedding website, accommodations, directions, transportation options and anything else that’s relevant to your guests. This is where guests are going if they want more specifics. You can either designate separate enclosures for each of these elements (directions card, accommodations card, reception card, etc.) or you can put everything on one card called the details card. The less formal an event, the less enclosures. The more formal, the more enclosures.
RSVP: Even if you’re tallying everyone up electronically, it’s a good idea to have an RSVP card included in the invitation suite. You don’t want to leave RSVPing vague. You likely won’t get all of the responses by the deadline, so don’t give guests an excuse to miss it. If you’re having guests mail their RSVP back, ask the post office the next time postage pricing will increase. The last thing we want is for your guests to need extra postage because the rates increased before they popped their RSVP in the mail.
Bells and Whistles: Back to our essay analogy, the bells and whistles represent the overall mood of the essay. It’s how it makes the reader, your guest, feel. These can be belly bands to hold all the components together, an inner envelope to specifically address your guest by name, a custom wax seal, or a calligrapher addressing the invites for you.