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Mailing and Assembling Invitations
As a
general rule of thumb, invitations should be mailed six to
eight weeks before the event date. However, if the event
date falls on a long weekend (Labor Day weekend, for
example), they should be mailed eight weeks before the event
date since people tend to make their holiday vacation plans
far in advance. You might even consider sending
“save-the-date” cards.
Before
applying stamps, one completely assembled invitation should
be inspected and weighed by the post office to determine the
correct amount of postage.
Assembling the
invitation ensemble:
The
diagrams below illustrate the proper assembly of an
invitation ensemble. When inserting a foldover invitation
into an envelope, the fold goes into the envelope first. The
insertion order is as follows: Invitation, reception card
and respond set. The respond card should be placed face up
on top of the respond envelope which is face down, with its
flap overlapping the respond card (see diagram 3).
Accessories are never inserted inside a foldover invitation.
Inner envelopes are inserted into outer envelopes so that
when opening the outer envelope, the inner envelope
immediately shows the guests’ names (see diagram 4).
Diagram 1: The proper insertion of
a foldover card into an envelope.
Diagram 2: The proper insertion of a foldover card and
accessories into an envelope.
Diagram 3: The proper placement of a respond set into an
envelope.
Diagram 4: The proper
insertion of an inner envelope into an outer envelope (when
double envelopes are preferred).
Joan's note: The rules
of etiquette are specific, but each invitation has it's own
characteristics. Follow the basic assembly to start with,
but don't be afraid to move things around and use what looks
best.
In a square envelope,
where the invitation is straight up, I often stand the
response card up on it's short side so it is not lost at the
bottom of the envelope. Sometimes I put the response card in
its envelope and tuck the reception card under the flap to
form a small accessory packet. This goes on top of the
invitation.
Some position the
response card/envelope and the reception card side by side
on top of the invitation.
If you have an
enclosure with your invitation, it should be about the size
of the invitation and placed behind it in the envelope. (see
my page on
enclosures)
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