Soon after you've decided who you plan to invite, you should plan how you are going to invite them. Your invitations should be in line with the main theme and tone of your wedding celebration. Invitations are your guests' first impression of your wedding. Invitations can be expensive, but you don't have to spend an excessive amount of money to convey the style and tone of your special day.

There are thousands of invitations available in stationary stores, on-line and from "discount" catalogs. You can also opt to create your own, an increasing trend for today's wedding couples. Explore all these options and go with the one that best suits your style and budget. If you can, use the same kind of stationary for everything in your wedding. Order all your supplies at one time and order more than the number of guests you plan to invite. Invitations are normally sold in increments of twenty-five or fifty. If you're creating your own invitations, order extra paper, velum, envelopes and whatever else you would like to create them. It's cheaper to order extra the first time than to have to make a small reorder because you don't have enough.

There are many things you should be aware of when choosing your invitations or browsing around to make your own invitations. Evaluate the weight of the paper, the color tint, font and size of wording, size of invitation and envelopes, general style and postage restrictions and costs.

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Research buying your invitations on-line. You can many times find the same invitations on-line for much less than you'll pay at your local stationary stores. Regardless of whether you plan on buying your invitations online, browse the web for ideas and price points. It's the perfect spot to research ideas without leaving your home.

Determine the materials you will be ordering and including with your invitation. There is no "wrong" or "right", but normally most brides order invitations, inner and outer envelopes, a reception card, response cards and response card envelopes. Other options include: pew cards, tabletop cards, and accommodation information cards, even bridal registry cards.

Invitations would normally be mailed six to eight weeks in advance of the wedding. Address all invitations by hand. If your handwriting isn't acceptable, recruit some family members or friends with nice penmanship to to assist you. You can also opt to have your invitations written by a calligrapher.

Your invitations need to include everything your guests need to know to get to your ceremony and reception: date, time, address, exact name of site and reception room along with a map of directions.

Etiquettes have changed as far as whose names should be mentioned on the invitation. It used to be that invitations were issued in the name of the bride's parents, even if she did not live at home or had been previously married. If the bride's parents were divorced, the name of only one parent appeared on the invitation. If the parent remarried, the step-parent's name was listed on the first line followed by his/her daughter's to indicate relationship. These are still good rules to follow but they are definitely no longer thought to be the only way to word your invitations.

John has been a licensed and ordained minister for 41 years. He has served as wedding officiant for more than 1,000 Maui weddings with his wedding planning business, Maui Me Inc. All of his ceremonies are original and he performed his first wedding 35 years ago. John has written almost 50 Christian books (which have been translated into eight languages). In addition to performing the ceremonies for Maui weddings, he shoots most of the photography.

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