Wedding

Addressing Wedding Invitations/Announcements
Whether you are having your addresses printed or they are being hand-written, nothing should be abbreviated according to traditional wedding etiquette. However, many things are changing such as one envelope versus the traditional outer and inner envelopes, full address of wedding location verses simply city and state (on the invitation), a sheet of tissue to protect the printing, thermal (raised letters) printing verses digital. So when asking the question of how to address wedding invitations, one must know what type of wedding they are hosting. If you have chosen one of our modern designs, you will want to follow our etiquette guide for modern invitations. 

Modern
Since our modern designs do not include outer and inner envelopes, many of the traditional etiquette styles simply will not work for our more modern look. We recommend addressing modern wedding invitations or announcements the following way:

Married couple, children not invited:
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Rutherford
10983 Nottingham Lane
Atlanta, Georgia 39829

Married couple with children:
The Rutherford family
10983 Nottingham Lane
Atlanta, Georgia 39829

Married couple with different last names/unmarried couple at same address:
Mr. Michael Rutherford and Mrs./Ms. Lana Keys
10983 Nottingham Lane
Atlanta, Georgia 39829

Unmarried Woman:
Ms. Brittany Sparks
10983 Nottingham Lane
Atlanta, Georgia 39829

The Return Address
This should be the mailing address of the wedding’s host. In most cases, this is the bride’s parents. Names are not necessary, but may be used if preferred. It is customary to place the return address on the back flap of the outer most envelope. Guests who are unable to attend or who wish to send their gift before or after the wedding date will use this address for sending packages. For your convenience we offer return address printing for an additional fee.

When to send Save-the-Dates
In order for Save-the-Dates to serve their purpose, it is best to send them four to six months in advance. This is especially necessary for destination weddings, weddings where there will be many out-of-town guests or weddings that will take place during or near major holidays. Your guests will need the advanced notice to arrange hotel reservations and babysitting services.

When to send Wedding Invitations
Wedding invitations need to be sent six to eight weeks prior to the date of the wedding. If Save-the-Dates were not sent prior to the invitations, eight weeks is highly recommended.

Baby

When to send Birth Announcements
Time flies very quickly after your bundle of joy arrives. Ideally, announcements should be sent within the first three months after the birth or adoption. However, there is no set length of time in which birth announcements must be mailed.

Including Registries on Invitations
Registering for baby wants and needs has become as commonplace for baby showers as it has for weddings. Guests appreciate knowing that what they are purchasing will be useful or enjoyable for the honoree(s). By including store registries, guests will be left with less guesswork and the honoree(s) won’t be faced with lengthy returns. Most of our baby shower invitations include a specific section for store registries. If, however, you feel more comfortable informing guests where the honoree is registered when they RSVP to the event, simply leave the Registry section blank.

Wording of Adoption Announcements
You will find that For Keeps Design offers specific adoptions announcements. However, we hope that you will feel free to change the wording on any of our birth announcements to fit your situation. Whether you are announcing an adoption or the birth of multiples, all of the wordings on our designs are simply a guide. Please make the design your own by inserting your own personalized wording, if you wish.

Party and other Celebrations

When to send Party Invitations
When it comes to mailing party invitations, the timing is left up to your personal preference. A good rule of thumb, however, is to mail the invitations two to four weeks in advance to allow guests optimal time to make arrangements.