You must consider the number of invitations you will need based on your anticipated list of invitees. There will always be last minute invitees or people you initially forget to add to your list. Aunt Peggy, Uncle Al….Allow for a small percentage of extra invitations. The wording of your invitations can be casual or formal, routine or exotic. It is your party, plan it to your satisfaction. Here are some preparation questions to ask and answer. Who will address the envelopes? Will you hand write them? Or, have a professional calligrapher address them? You can also use a word processing program with a calligraphy font to address them.
Remember to add a return address to track any invitations that did not reach their anticipated destination. Return addresses can be printed on the envelopes, decals (clear are best) can be used, and address embossers are still available. Your choice depends on how formal you want to be.
Will you select special postage stamps to color coordinate with your invitation or theme? Special postage is available with the party celebrant's (or others') picture on it. If you pick this option, first check with the post office to determine what selection is available. Also, remember large sized envelopes and heavier invitations (over one ounce) require additional postage. You also need postage for the return envelopes.
It is always best to take a complete invitation set to the post office where you will be mailing from to determine the postage according to size and weight. Then you will know the total cost of each mailing so invitations are not returned to you for insufficient postage. You should mail out invitations seven to eight weeks prior to your event. The response time should be set three weeks before your event to give enough time to follow up with non-responders. Yes, there will be some of those. A contact call should be made to find out whether the response, or even the invitation, was lost in the mail.