InvitationsOrdering printed invitation cards
A printed card is still the heart of a wedding invitation and of many housewarmings, mundans and jubilees. Phone invitations are corrected in a second. A mistake on five hundred printed cards is not. Nearly every printing disaster, the wrong date, a misspelt name, cards that arrive a week late, comes from skipping one of the steps below.
1. Count before you choose
Cards go to households, not to people. One card invites a whole family. Count the households on your guest list, then add:
- cards for people who must receive one by custom, even if they cannot come: elders, the family priest, close neighbours;
- cards to keep: for both families, the couple and the album;
- spares for names remembered late and for envelopes spoilt while writing.
Ordering a few extra with the first print is far cheaper than a second print run of a small number. Ask the printer what a later reprint would cost before you decide.
2. Decide what goes on the card
Write the full text yourself, on paper or in a message, before visiting the printer. The seven parts every invitation needs are in what to write in an invitation, and ready wording for each occasion is on the home page. For a card with several functions, list each one with its day, date, time and venue in the same order.
Agree on the text within the family first, and especially on:
- whose names appear as hosts, and in what order;
- how each name is spelt, in each language used;
- which relatives are named under "with best compliments" or "darshanabhilashi", if your family prints such a list. Leaving out a name here causes more hurt than any other mistake, so ask the elders to check it.
3. Questions for the printer
- What is the price for my quantity, and what does it include: card, inserts, envelope, printing on the envelope?
- Is the price different for one colour, two colours, gold foil or embossing?
- How many days from approved proof to delivery?
- Will I see a proof, and how many rounds of correction are included?
- What happens if the mistake is theirs?
- Can they print in Hindi, Punjabi or my language correctly, and may I see a sample?
- Do they print guest names on the envelopes, and at what cost?
Get the order in writing: quantity, design number, text, price, advance paid and delivery date.
4. The proof is your last chance
The printer will show you the layout before printing, on paper or as a picture on WhatsApp. Never approve it in a hurry or on a small screen in a busy shop. Take it home.
- Read it aloud, slowly, one line at a time.
- Check every date against a calendar, with its weekday. This is the most common error of all.
- Check the time with am or pm, and the year.
- Check every name letter by letter, including surnames and titles.
- Check the venue name, the full address and any phone number by ringing it.
- In Hindi or Punjabi text, look closely at the matras and half letters. Fonts sometimes break them.
- Give it to two more people, one from each family, and to one person who has never seen the text. Fresh eyes find what tired ones miss.
Write "approved" only when all of them agree, and keep a photograph of the approved proof.
5. Envelopes and inserts
- Ask for a few extra envelopes. They are the part that gets spoilt.
- If the card has loose inserts for different functions, decide which households get which, and mark it on the guest list before stuffing envelopes.
- For cards going by post or courier, check that the envelope is strong and that the card with its box is not too heavy or too large for ordinary postage.
- How to write the names is covered in how to address an invitation.
6. When the cards arrive
- Open several packets, not only the top one, and compare with the approved proof.
- Count roughly. A short delivery is easier to settle on the day than a month later.
- By long custom, many families place the first card before the family deity or at a temple, gurdwara or shrine, and give the next ones to the eldest relatives, before any other card goes out.
7. Sending them out
- Sort envelopes by area and deliver in rounds. Outstation cards go first, by courier or registered post, because they take longest.
- Tick each household on the list when its card is delivered, with the date.
- Carry a pen, spare envelopes and a few extra cards on every round. You will meet someone you forgot.
- The customs of delivering cards in person are in inviting in person.
If a mistake is found after printing
It happens even to careful families. If the error is small, such as a spelling in a long list, most people correct it neatly by hand or leave it. If it is the date, time or venue, do not rely on a hand correction: ask the printer for a small printed slip or sticker with the right detail to place inside every card, and send the correct details by phone message as well. Then tell the story at the wedding. Every family has one.
Paper and phone together
Most families now send both: the printed card for elders and close family, and a picture card by phone for everyone, including those who also got the paper one. You can make the picture in the card maker with the same wording, so that the two match.