6 subtle hints on a wedding invitation that can tell you how formal the event will be
- Wedding invitations contain subtle hints about the level of formality and overall fanciness of the celebration, according to event planners.
- Those hints include the size and thickness of the paper and the time the event is called for.
- Once you know how grand the affair will be, you'll have a better idea of what to wear, how many guests will be there, and generally what to prepare for.
Wedding invitations aren't just pieces of paper that languish on your dining-room table until the day before the event. Couples put a lot of thought into elements such as the font, the paper size, and the number of envelopes enclosing the card, since the invitation sets the tone for the entire affair.
That means guests can take a quick look at a wedding invitation and figure out just how fancy, formal, and traditional the celebration will be. Read: You'll get a better sense of what to wear, whether you can show up late, how many people will be there, and generally what to prepare for.
We spoke to three event and wedding planners - Melissa McNeeley of Events by Melissa McNeeley, Amy Shey Jacobs of Chandelier Events, and Andrea Freeman of Andrea Freeman Events - and got the lowdown on these subtle cues and what they convey.
For their best insight on what you can learn from an invite, see the graphic above.