No one heard of Save the Date cards 15 years ago, just engagement announcement cards. Now those are quite rare. Today’s wedding guests are busy and they need to reserve your wedding date way in advance. Be courteous and mail out Save the Date Cards five months to a year before your wedding. And no surprises.The word should be out about your engagement. If not, include the news in your Save the Date Card.

Most anything goes with Save the Date Cards. Formal, like your wedding invitations, a card that is simple and casual, or fun stuff like fridge magnets and mint tins. Whatever you send include the location, maybe the theme of the wedding and the address of your wedding website, if you have one.

Be sure to mention that a wedding invitation will follow. Your guests shouldn’t assume that this is the actual wedding invitation. That’s why it’s important that anyone who gets your Save the Date card also receive the wedding invitation.

Mail out your invitations at least six to eight weeks before the wedding, sooner if you’re marrying during the Christmas season. Make sure you include a return address on the envelope. Labels are not acceptable. Encore offers personalized envelope calligraphy in typestyles to match your invitation. It makes a beautiful statement and is reasonably priced.

For guests who are invited to a reception in a different place than the ceremony, enclose a separate invitation card to the reception. These cards are especially important if you’re inviting more guests to the ceremony than the reception.

You should include a response envelope for the reception card. The “respond by” date should be two weeks before your wedding date. Don’t forget to make it convenient for guests by putting a postage stamp on the return envelope.

An M and a black line are usually printed at the top of the response card. There guests will write the title Mr., Mrs. or Miss followed by their surname. (Avoid using Ms. in invitations. It is more appropriate for business.) Then guests put a check by the word “accepts” or “regrets” to let you know if they will or won’t be coming to the wedding.

If you are planning a formal wedding, the word “black tie” should be included in the lower right hand corner of the invitation. Or include “black tie optional” if guests have a choice of formal attire or dressy casual.

You may want to include cards with maps and directions to guide the guests. For destination weddings, you can include a travel card with detailed transportation and hotel information.

Write “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” on the inner envelope for a married couple. Don’t include first names or addresses.

If you are letting your guest bring someone to the reception and you don’t know who that person is, write “Miss Jones and Guest” on the inner unsealed envelope.

Couples who are dating should each receive a wedding invitation instead of writing “and guest” on the envelope. It is up to you to find out each guest’s name and address.

For relatives, addressing them as “Uncle John,” “Grandma Helen” or “Grandpa Max” is all acceptable and shows how much you mean to them. However, the wording depends on who is sending the wedding invitations. For example, if the bride’s parents are inviting the guests, they would not refer the aunt of the bride as “Aunt Lucille.”

It is not appropriate to mail an invitation to Mr. and Mrs. Tom Snyder and Family. Teenagers should get their own wedding invitation with brothers and sisters combined. If you would prefer not to, include the teens’ names on the inner envelope underneath their parents’ names. Any guest over 18 should receive a separate invitation.

You should not include information about where you are registered in the wedding invitation. Even if you don’t want wedding gifts, avoid printing “No gifts, please” or even the charity you would like gifts directed to.

Don’t abbreviate words with the exception of Mr., Mrs., Jr., ect… Avoid nicknames. It’s Richard, not Dick or Andrew, not Andy. Spell out words, contractions and names such as doctor, months and roads like avenue and boulevard. Time and date should also be spelled out and written in the order of day, date and month, followed by the time of day. Roman numbers should be spelled out beyond “the second” Don’t write the word “and” as “&”.

The invitation begins with the name of the host. Traditionally, they are the parents of the bride. But today, there are several socially acceptable ways to word invitations that accommodate different family situations. If the bride’s parents are divorced, but still hosting the event together, you can list both parents along with their new spouses. Invitation wording etiquette for a wedding hosted by the bride and groom is to list both full names, with the bride’s first. You can also begin with “Together with their families” in this situation.

Tell guests what type of ceremony to expect in the next line of the invitation. Use “Request the honor of your presence” for a traditional church wedding and “Request the pleasure of your company for an outdoor wedding or a ceremony in a non-religious setting.

Always use full names, including middle names, on the wedding invitations and use Mr. and Mrs. before the names of the hosting parents. It is also acceptable, but not required, to use Mr. before the groom’s name and Miss or Ms. before the bride’s.

The husband’s title comes first when titles are used. Examples: Doctor and Mrs. Richard Martinez -or- Judge and Mrs. Ryan Howard Franklin. Spell out middle names completely or eliminate them.

Invitation wording can be adapted to fit unique situations and personal test. Here are some invitation samples.