Wedding Wednesday: Inner and Outer Envelopes – purpose and etiquette

©521 Designs

People often ask the questions, "What is the purpose of having two envelopes when mailing wedding invitations?" and "Do I have to use two envelopes?" Today, I hope to clear the air and break down the purpose of using two envelopes.  

What is the purpose of an inner envelope?

The inner envelope simply holds all of the pieces of the wedding suite together. As we all know, those envelopes can be jam packed full of wedding goodness. 

The inner envelope is also important as it is the host/hostesses opportunity to clearly state which members of the house-hold are invited to the wedding. 

In addressing the inner envelope, use only titles and last names. *Avoid using the phrase "and family.

What is the purpose of an outer envelope?

The outer envelope is for mailing purposes. 

On the outer envelope guests should be referred to by title, first names, and last names.  *Titles may be abbreviated.

For more detailed information and scenarios for addressing envelopes, this is a infographic: "Why two envelopes?"

Do I have to use two envelopes?
The answer is simply no. Often times cost is a hinderance when deciding between one or two envelopes. Be sure to do the research because the cost for two envelopes might not be as expensive as you think.

It may seem like "just etiquette" to you, but keep in mind the inner envelope is a great opportunity to clearly state who is invited to the wedding and prevent more guests than you were planning on!

Inspiration: Color

The days are longer and the weather is finally warmer! With that, it seems like there are showers galore – wedding and baby showers! 

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you probably saw an article that I reposted from Brides.com showing off some gorgeous poppy bouquets.

Since most of my work is completely custom, that means not only is the design custom, but also the color palate. 

As I mentioned regarding the article from Brides, a lot of my inspiration for custom color palates comes from bouquets.

Sources 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

All of the images you see to the left are images that inspired the color palate for a recent baby shower invitation. 

For this particular baby shower invitation, I knew that I wanted the colors to be vibrant and scream "CELEBRATION!" 

As you can see, I gathered inspiration from a table scape, an outfit, a bouquet, and surprisingly – a tea towel. 

When you are trying to establish a color palate for a party, a wedding, or even printed pieces, keep you eyes open because inspiration is all around you. 

Below is the custom color palate I created to use for the baby shower invitations. As you can see, each of the images on the left inspired the use of teal, pink, and yellow. Though those were the three main colors, I also used various shades of the main colors.

© Copyright 521 Designs

I hope that this post provides you with a resource for inspiration and reminds you to keep your eyes open because you never know when you might find inspiration! 

Source: 521 Designs

Wedding Wednesday : Kick-Off

Today, I am kicking off a new blog series entitled "Wedding Wednesday." Each week I will cover topics ranging from invitation wording etiquette to RSVP card wording, answering questions such as, "Why is there an inner and outer envelope?" and everything in between.

Photo Courtesy of NadiaD Photography

There seemed like no better day to kick-off "Wedding Wednesday" than today, because it just so happens to be our anniversary.

Photo Courtesy of NadiaD Photography

Our wedding and the day we got married, were two big factors in starting 521 Designs (please check out the "About" section for the full story). First, the company's name in part comes from the day we said "I Do" – 5.21.11. Second, I took the risk of completely designing our wedding suite and in the meantime fell even more in love with letterpress printing (Stay tuned for a post all about types of printing).  I decided to take that risk because I wanted something that was classic and timeless but had a few unexpected twists.

Below are images showing each part of our wedding suite. If I had to pick a favorite piece of the suite, it would either be the coordinating envelopes for the reply cards or the tiny little star showing the wedding location on the accommodation card.

Photo by 521 Designs

Photo by 521 Designs

Photo by 521 Designs

The program (pictured below) was the only piece that was digitally printed. It took quite some time to finalize the design and layout for the program, but the end result was well worth the effort. 

Photo by 521 Designs

In hindsight, I would not change a thing about our wedding suite. It may not be on par with today's trends, but that is just how I wanted it.

Photo Courtesy of NadiaD Photography

Takeaways from Our Wedding (3 years later):
1. Figure out what are the things that are of highest value to you, focus your attention on those, and try to delegate other things. For example: Music for our ceremony was not a high value to me, nor am I musically gifted, so I asked my mom to just make the final call for music.

2. Focus on your future marriage more than the wedding. Wedding planning can be overwhelming at times, and it is best to be able to take a step back and remember why you are planning a wedding in the first place. Have people in your life that can point you back to that! Make the investment in pre-marital counseling (and after for routine "oil changes").

3. Have fun! Simple as that.

4. Pinterest can be your worst enemy and friend. It may sound crazy but when we got married Pinterest had not made it mainstream, so I didn't have hundreds of pins to sift through. For that, I am extremely thankful. I didn't get caught up in all of the trends brought about by Pinterest, but made choices based on things I really liked. On the other hand, Pinterest can be a great tool for fleshing out details such as your wedding colors or bouquet styles.

Be sure to stop by next week for the Part Two of "Wedding Wednesdays."

Photo Courtesy of NadiaD Photography