Your invitations can be as uniqually personal as your own taste and can help set the mood for your entire event.

Every couple who considers marriage has certain challenges to overcome but there are many insights and professional planning tips that are available to help make the process a little easier.

First, Plan Ahead. When you’re selecting a location, caterer, florist, attire, and of course invitations, decide what the tone of the ceremony will be: Formal, informal, outdoor, family-only, etc. Keep in mind that the first contact your family and friends may have about the Big Day is the invitation. With a multitude of invitation selections to pick from, it can be a daunting task to narrow your choices. However, there are many ways to incorporate your event theme into the design. Remember that color, style and paper should match the overall theme for your wedding plans. Your guests will take their cue not only from the design, but also from the wording of your invitations, for decorum and attire.

Gay and lesbian weddings, civil unions and commitment ceremonies are becoming more commonplace; however, the semantics of the invitation can be a point of uncertainty for many couples. As a general rule, following standard wedding etiquette will suffice. See sample 1A for an example of the traditional wedding invitation.

Numbers, such as the time, street address and year, are traditionally spelled out on the invitation. The “half after four” can be substituted with “four-thirty” or for whole hours, the number should be followed by the word “o’clock” as in “four o’clock.” No punctuation should be present on the invitation, nor should there be any capitalization with the exception of proper nouns and the first “t” in the line denoting the year of the event.

For others, who decide not to hold their ceremony in a place of worship, the wording will vary, see Sample 1B.

Note the change in the line from “request the honor of your company” to “request the pleasure of your company.” The “honor of your company” is usually reserved for houses of worship, whereas the “pleasure of your company” can be used for any location.

The above wording samples are typical formal invitations. Many couples today prefer to write their own verse to make their invitation even more personal. Others choose to use more lighthearted and informal wording to reflect their own personalities. Enjoy this opportunity to set the tone for Your Day!

Here are a few samples of alternative wording:

To liven up an invitation for a less formal event, choose bright papers, lively inks or fun thematic graphics. Be as bold, splashy and creative as you’d like your event to be.

Perhaps the most complicated invitation situation occurs when the ceremony has already taken place in another location, and the invitation is serving as both a wedding announcement and a reception invitation. See Sample 1C for the most common phrasing.

Some couples also choose to be even more specific in their wording, replacing “recent” with “February” or, in another case, “Canadian” in order to give their guests a better sense of the nature of their ceremony. If your ceremony was a romantic seaside one, feel free to share that information with your guests -- it will make them feel even closer to you and your joyful occasion. Your invitation could begin with “In celebration of their recent commitment ceremony under a beautiful Barbados sunset....” Remember, this is your special day, so customize your invitation to fit your style!

This article serves only as a basic guideline to help create your perfect invitation. For more answers to your etiquette questions, visit http://www.outvite.com/home.asp?CoBrand=DT0F6M and click on Wedding Etiquette.

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