Finding the Words: Helpful Resources

Mr. Hawk and I recently went through the arduous task of developing our invitation wording. Although I ordered the design of our invites months ago, I kept putting off sending the finalized wording. When we finally got down to business I think I found out why I was stalling. The process sounded simple enough, but I kept thinking about how our invitation was going to be one of those items that I intend to keep forever and hopefully will display in our home. I wanted it to be perfect. Here are some tips that may help you as you work on your invites. I jumped in head first, and in hindsight I wished I had been more methodical about it.

1. Learn the elements of invitation wording. Although invites aren't always in this exact format or order, I found it helpful to know what I was looking at when reading samples. (This also helped me later to make sure I was hitting all the necessary marks.)

Chart via Basic Invite

2. Before writing anything, read examples and get a sense of what wording or feel you like best. Are your invites traditional or casual? Are you having a religious ceremony? I found the Invitations Consultants to be a great resource for samples. While I was reading examples, I made notes of varying request lines and introductions that I found might best fit our style.

3. Decide who will be named on the invitation. This is a very personal choice and can be a tricky decision. My advice is make sure to involve your families! Even if you're footing the bill for the whole shebang, it's very possible that feelings may be hurt if no mention of your parents' names are made on the invitation.

4. Piece together the elements of the examples you liked best or write something unique. I had a hard time imagining how the different options would sound, so I ended up writing close to ten different options out completely and then eliminating the ones I didn't like.

5. Once you think you have something that you love, have someone else read it. I sent it off to Momma Hawk several times with slight variations. I also had her read it aloud to me. This made a difference and actually helped me adjust the wording to flow more naturally. Another pair of eyes also helps with any missed grammatical errors.

What resources did you find most helpful when developing your invitation wording? Did y'all pain over every word like I did?