Wedding invitations are a key part of your wedding stationery suite and can vary based on your personal style, location and events. They’re an opportunity to share your love story with family and friends, so it’s important to get it right.

A formal invitation is a letter that formally invites guests to attend your wedding and includes all the information they’ll need to know, such as date and time of ceremony, reception, accommodation details, directions and travel information and gift registry. Traditionally, these invitations are sent five to eight weeks before your wedding date.

Depending on your personal preference, you may choose to send out Save the Dates before you send the formal wedding invitations. This is especially helpful if you’re planning a destination wedding, as guests can make travel plans and book accommodation well in advance of your wedding.

The wording of a wedding invitation is crucial, and if you’re not sure where to begin, take a look at our guide to writing your wedding invitations. It’s packed with tips and etiquette, so you can be sure that your wedding invitations are as formal as possible without offending anyone.

In addition to the actual invitation, your wedding invitation suite will contain several enclosure cards. These cards can be anything from a map and directions insert to an itinerary card for your wedding weekend.

Response cards (sometimes called response envelopes) are a way for guests to respond to your invitation, giving you an accurate guest count for the reception. They’re usually included as a part of an invitation suite and are engraved or printed in the same style and paper stock as the actual wedding invitation.

You may also include a return envelope and postage, which makes it easier for guests to mail back their responses. A variety of options are available, including embossed lettering, interesting paper, and stylish fonts for the return address.

Your wedding venue and any additional evening venues should be listed if your ceremony and reception are held in different locations. This is particularly important if your ceremony will be held in a different city or country from your reception, so it’s imperative that you include the full address of each venue.

Some couples prefer to include a map on their wedding invitations, while others opt for a simpler design and leave this element off. It’s up to you, but a map is definitely worth considering if your venue is a bit remote.

If you have a lot of out-of-town guests, it’s also helpful to include some form of accommodation information on your invitations. You can even create a separate enclosure with this information or list it on your wedding website for easy access.

A map is also a useful reference for guests who might be new to the area and will need to find their way around. Adding your venue’s address on the map will make it easier for them to locate the venue and arrive in good time for your ceremony.