Creating your own wedding invitations

In order to add a very personal touch to wedding invitations, and save money, prospective bride and can create their own wedding invitations.

Invitations can be addressed using neat handwriting or calligraphy.

Handwriting can be done by a group of friends and family, selecting those with the neatest writing. Calligraphy pens can add flair to and make the addressed invitations look more professionally done.

For the best appearance, but at an increased cost, a professional calligrapher can be hired to use artistic script, special pens and ink.

Computer-printed labels are tempting to use for the computer-savvy bride and groom; however, the invitations addressed using these labels will appear much less personal. Writing the address yourself or using a calligrapher will add a personal touch.

For a home wedding, more discrimination can be shown when issuing invitations. Intimate friends and relatives of both families are invited, yet often, no casual acquaintances. In sending out the invitations, the bride-to-be and her mother should take into consideration the number of people who will fit comfortably into the reception or drawing room, or yard.

If the wedding is to be a large affair, not only their friends but the friends of their parents as well, and business acquaintances of both families should be invited. If the wedding is a small one, great care should be taken lest the guests are so numerous as to overcrowd the church or home.

Traditionally, handwritten invitations should come from the home of the bride, even those that are for the personal friends of her husband. They should be mailed about one month prior to the day set for the wedding.

If the bride is an orphan, invitations should be sent in the name of her nearest relative. If there is an older brother, invitations may be issued in his name, or in the name of any older, or married, sister. If the bride has lost one parent and the other has remarried she may use her own judgment as to whether to send the invitation in the name of her parent or in the names of them both. The latter is usually preferred, as a matter of consideration toward the stepparent.