WEDDING INVITATIONS
something I never understood

So here's something I really never understood when it came to wedding invitations:

1. That 8 months prior to your wedding date, you should send your "save-the-date" cards to all guest (not just guest who had to travel)
   
2. That 2 to 3 months prior to your wedding date, you should send your REAL INVITATIONS to all your guest.

Really? What's the purpose?

I also wondered:

1. Why do wedding companies have to make wedding date information, so ineffective, in the name of being fancy. Instead of writing something easy-to-read that can be pasted on the fridge such as:
   
   When: March 27, 2010 5pm
   Place: Lanikuhonua Estate, on Ko'olina Property (see map)
   Time: 5pm
   
   The wedding invitations companies write something like this:
   
   We would like to invite you to the union between ____ and____ on the twenty-seventh of the month of march in the year of two thousand ten at five o'lock at Lanikuhonua Estate, on the property of Ko'olina.
   
   HUH? Imagine reading that on the fridge. No wonder people forget to show up for weddings.

It seems to me that wedding invitation companies have completely forgot the purpose of invitations which apparently was at one time to convey information quickly and easily, so loved ones can RSVP promptly and show up on time.

But my golden question has always been "Why can't you just send out your REAL INVITATIONS" 8 months prior to your wedding day? So your save-the-date cards, were actually your wedding invitations? If you did this, you could:

1. SAVE MONEY - since you don't have to send out two invitations
   
2. START THE RSVP'ing PROCESS EARLY - your friends and family, will hardly ever RSVP to your wedding. They are all lazy people who just assume that you know they are coming.
   
   If you send out your invitations the traditional way, two to three months before your wedding date, you will be scrambling in the final days of your wedding, calling your friends to see if they are coming, so you can get a final headcount for your reception.
   
   If you get out your invitations as early as possible, you can get a final headcount months before your wedding, giving you a solid budget for your reception!

And, if you made your invitation practical, meaning, without all that wordy stuff.... Guest would be less likely to forget about your wedding date!

Many wedding invitation "specialist" told me that the reason why you would send your wedding invitations 2 to 3 months prior to your wedding date is so that guest would remember that they hard a party to go to.

But wait a minute. When I have a special event to attend, say the Superbowl, I made sure I don't forget about it. I sometimes would book airline tickets 5 months in advance, and I didn't forget about that. I bought concert tickets 1 year in advance...and I didn't forget about those.... Are we really going to believe our "specialist's" insults about your family, and let them lead us to believe that ALL OF YOUR GUEST, are ignorant?

The point of this article. As soon as you figure out where and when your wedding is going to be, send out 1 clean-cut invitation, and that's it. If they don't RSVP within the next month, call them. From there on out....if they forget to come, it's their loss. But trust me, they won't forget your wedding....

Just my two cents

Steve Young
The Hawaii Wedding Reporter
http://www.dreamweddingshawaii.com/