You may be surprised to learn about all of the different types of wedding invitations and accessories that are available to you.  In fact, searching through your options can be a bit overwhelming, particularly if you have never helped with planning a wedding or other major social event before.  While making a trip to the local stationary store and browsing through invitations online can help you get an idea of the types of invitations you want, it is a good idea to start your search with a little basic knowledge regarding what is out there for you to purchase.

The Seal and Send Invitation

One type of invitation you can choose to purchase is the “seal and send” invitation.  Just as the name implies, these invitations do not utilize an envelope.  Rather, they are self-sealing invitations that are folded once and then mailed off to your wedding guests.  The respond postcard is attached to the invitation and can be easily removed by your guests from the perforated line.  Not only are these invitations convenient to use, they can also save you money because the respond card is a postcard that requires less postage than a response card that needs to be sent back in an envelope. 

Reception Cards

If you plan on restricting who you invite to the reception or if you simply don’t have the space to provide reception information on your wedding invitation, you may want to purchase separate reception cards.  You can generally order reception cards to match your wedding invitations, so you will still be able to maintain your theme and color scheme when adding these cards to your invitation.  Reception cards will add to the weight of your invitation, however, so keep in mind that adding them to your invitations may increase your postage costs.

Response Cards

If you aren’t using a seal and send invitation, you will also need to include response cards with your invitation.  If using these cards, you will need to include the card as well as a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelop with your invitation.  This way, your guests simply fill out the card and mail it back to you.  Getting these response cards back as quickly as possible is important, as it helps you with finalizing your plans and making certain you stay within budget.

Direction Cards

You may also wish to include map cards with your wedding invitations.  While direction cards are not an etiquette requirement, they can be quite useful to your guests - particularly if your wedding ceremony or reception is taking place at a venue that is difficult to find or if you have many out of town guests.