Channel your inner Lucy and get ready for some chocolate factory-style fun. Hopefully minus the mishaps, of course.

ORDER OF ENCLOSURES

Wedding Etiquette: Assembling the Invitation Enclosures - Crane Post ScriptFor the most part, wedding invitations are assembled in size order. The invitation itself is first. Stack enclosure cards on top of the invitations, not inside. Following the enclosure cards, place reception cards on top of the invitation. Then place the reply envelope face down on the reception card. The reply card slips face up beneath the flap of the reply envelope.

Add other enclosures face up in size order (usually these include at-home card, directions card, accommodation card, pew card, etc.). Place the single-fold invitation and its enclosures into the inside envelope with the fold of the invitation at the bottom of the envelope and the engraving facing the back of the envelope. You can tell whether or not you stuffed the envelope correctly by removing the invitation with your right hand. If you can read the invitation without turning it, it was stuffed correctly.

The procedure for assembling traditional invitations (those with a second fold) is similar. Place the enclosures on top of the lower half of the invitation’s face in the same order described above. Then, fold the invitation from top to bottom over the enclosures. Place the invitation into the inside envelope with the fold toward the bottom of the envelope. As with other invitations, traditional invitations are correctly stuffed when they can be read without being turned after being removed from the envelope with your right hand.

After stuffing the inside envelopes, insert them into the outside envelopes. The front of the inside envelope faces the back of the outside envelope.

It is easy to tell which envelopes are which. The outside envelopes have glue on them; the inside envelopes do not and they are also a bit smaller. To avoid confusion when addressing envelopes, it is best to work with one set of envelopes at a time. Address all the outside envelopes first. After addressing those, start addressing the inside envelopes. That will make it almost impossible to address the wrong envelopes.

TISSUES

Wedding Etiquette: Assembling the Invitation Enclosures - Crane Post Script

All wedding invitations were once shipped with small pieces of tissue separating each invitation. This prevented the slow-drying ink from smudging. Before mailing her invitations, the bride removed the tissues, as they were merely packing material and served no point of etiquette.

Through the years, many brides, unaware of the impropriety of sending tissued invitations, left the tissues in. As this practice grew, tissued invitations became as proper as non-tissued invitations.

Today, wedding invitations are properly sent both ways. Tissues are starting to serve an important function again, as the postal service’s sorting equipment can cause smudging on invitations sent without tissues.

Since the tissues prevent smudging, place one over the type on each invitation and enclosure.

If you’re sending invitations without tissues, you may be able to ask your local post office to hand-cancel them. Hand-canceling also prevents the postal service from printing their advertising, disguised as part of the cancellation mark, on your wedding invitations.

2 Comments
  1. What happened to the information that used to be on this website about the exact wording for wedding invitations? That was useful. It was here two weeks ago, now it’s gone? Where did it go?

  2. I would like to order one of your Blue Books about addressing wedding invitations; can’t find on this site.
    Help!
    Dr. Kitty Niebuhr

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