The Top 5 Etiquette Mistakes in Invitations

Invitations are the No. 1 wedding category where traditional etiquette still holds true to old-world standards of what's proper and what's not. They arrive in all of your guests' mailboxes as the big announcement of your big day, and they convey so much more than the actual words you have printed on them. The list of invitation-wording rules is long (such as 'no abbreviations' and use 'honour' instead of 'honor' only if you're marrying in a house of worship), so we've listed the top 5 etiquette mistakes to help you avoid the biggest offenses that guests and parents take really seriously.

1. Not listing the parents' names when they're paying for the wedding. Yes, we know it can be difficult to get multiple sets of parents' names on an invitation when you have divorced and re-married parents in your inner circle, but that's why they invented tri-panel invitations. When parents are planning for all or part of the wedding - even if you're kicking in the majority of cash - they should have their names on the invitation. It means a great deal to them. So if you're worried about having enough space on your invitation for all of those names - which can be up to six lines in some cases! - choose a tri-fold invitation that allows you to devote a whole panel to the honor of listing them. It also helps some guests recognize who you are if they're among your parents' colleagues, friends, and others from the guest list.