The Favor of a Response......

A wedding starts and ends with paper; the Save the Dates, the Invitations and finally, the Thank You's.

An Invitation is a very important piece of paper that you will send to your guests. Not only does it tell them the obligatory who, what, when and where, but your invitation also lets your guests know how to dress and act. It also lets them know who are the hosts, what they will be doing after your ceremony and other pieces of information.

So -- the crazy and zany lettering on a pink invitation means fun and your guests will probably arrive in khakis and shorts, but send the same guest a letter pressed piece of paper on heavy card stock in an envelope that has been to the calligrapher, and you will undoubtedly have your guests arrive in black ties. All of this from one piece of paper; your style and character transformed through ink and words.

In addition to the invitation, you will also enclose a response card. You know, the little card that asks your guests to check off yes or no for their attendance. This is where we will differ - I am not a fan of the check marks. They require very little effort, are not personal and have no character when it comes to sharing in each other's lives.

Long ago, a response card was a blank piece of paper that the guest wrote on telling the engaged couple that they would be happy to attend and can't wait to see you, or no, they are unable to come to your wedding because they will be vacationing in Europe. In short, response cards were tiny notes of love and well wishes. Where has this lovely tradition gone? By way of hurry and scurry, a mark by the chicken box and a drop in the post box. I have even heard of e-mail RSVP's now. This, too, is very sad.

How fun would it be to receive a beautifully written little note expressing the guest's pleasure of having been invited to such a wonderful affair. Still better, how about displaying the response cards at your wedding? Letting your guests who attend share in the lives of your family and friends; revealing yet another gem of the day to share.

I think that some traditions are meant to be kept.

The two top pictures of invitations are from www.Imprintcopies.com

The response card tree is from www.Projectwedding.com