Photo: Corbin Gurkin
You've just received your wedding invitations from the printer — yay! Now, it's time to set up an assembly line at home and get to work stuffing those envelopes. But if your invitation suite involves multiple cards and pieces, what's the proper way to assemble them all? Our wedding etiquette experts are here to answer your invitation questions in our daily post.
We just got our invitations from the printer, but I'm not sure how to assemble them. Please advise.
If your wedding invitation involves multiple cards and enclosures, it can be confusing to figure out the proper way to assemble them all. To help, follow our steps below (and refer to this illustration for a visual guide):
Assembly Order
•For the most part, wedding invitations are assembled in size order, with each card placed face-up. Start with the invitation.
•If a sheet of tissue paper came on top of each invitation, it's your choice whether to leave it in or not. Traditionally, it was used to keep the ink from smudging (while most inks used these days won't smudge, the tradition has continued). If you decide to send it, place the tissue on top of the invitation.
•Place the reception card face-up on top of the invitation.
•Place the remaining enclosure cards—i.e., map card or hotel accommodations card—face-up on top of the reception card.
•Place the reply envelope face-down on top of the enclosure cards. Then, insert the reply card under the reply envelope flap, face-up so that the printed side is visible.
•If the invitation is a folded style, enclosures are placed within the folded invitation (not on top).
•If you're using two envelopes (an inner envelope and outer envelope), insert the fully assembled invitation suite into the inner envelope (left edge first for a single-card invitation; folded edge first for a folded invitation). When the envelope flap is opened, you should see the printed side of the invitation. Then, insert the inner envelope into the outer envelope so that the handwritten guests' names you've put on the inner envelope are visible when they open it up.
•If you're using just one envelope (an outer envelope), insert the fully assembled invitation suite into the envelope (left edge first for a single card invitation; folded edge first for a folded invitation). When the envelope flap is opened, you should see the printed side of the invitation.