Sarah Meyer Walsh: Hi! I am Sarah Meyer Walsh of Haute Papier and I am showing you how to make wedding invitation.

We are almost to actually making the invitation, but first let's talk etiquette. There are few timelines that you should be aware of when determining what pieces that your wedding papery to send, when. Starting with the Save the Date. If you decided to send the Save the Date to your guest, allowing them to book travel and get the day on the calendar, you want to send it about nine to twelve months before the event. The next sending deadline you should be aware of, is not necessarily so much for you, but that's for someone who maybe hosting a party for you. This includes the engagement parties and the shower, bachelorette party, bachelor party, any of those events before the wedding. Typically, those invitations should be mailed about one month prior to the event.

Now, let's talk about the wedding invitation. If you have not send a Save the Date, it is imperative to send your wedding invitation eight weeks prior to the event. You want to make sure your friends and family can be there and eight weeks is a good amount of notice, so they can get it on the calendar. If you have sent your guest a Save the Date notice, you can wait till about six weeks. I would say no later than six weeks to get your invitations in the mail, but generally, think six to eight weeks, and you will be on time.

Let's talk about the Thank You card. Thank You card should be mailed no more than two months after receiving the guest and the Thank You card must be send for absolutely every guest you receive for the wedding. Though, it's rumored that you have a year to send your Thank You card, it's not a good idea. People are very thoughtful in buying gifts and want to show your appreciation by sending a Thank You card as soon as possible.

One last tip of etiquette; when deciding what you want to actually write on the invitation, it's important to think about who is hosting the event. The copy for the invitation typically includes the names of the host of the event, usually the parents of the bride, requesting the honor of your presence at the marriage of their daughter, the daughter's name, to whomever she is marrying, the date of the event, the year of the event and the time all written out, along with the location of the ceremony and the city and state.

Here's an example of a little bit more contemporary of an invitation. The bride and groom have their favorite quote put on the band on the outside of the invitation and then it's very casual, they are extending the invitation themselves. There is no mention of their parents on the invitation. As you can see, it says, we'll be married, please join us, very casual, evening breakfast to follow. So when choosing the wording for your invitation, remember, it's all about you and the person you are marrying and whatever wording is important to you, is what you should include on your invitation.

So now let's get started by putting together a Save the Date.