Wedding announcment vs. an invitation

It's interesting:
"I think you'll all agree that it's been a wonderful wedding so far. ... But I never received a formal invitation to the wedding, so I just hope I haven't eaten a meal ..."

Getting married is big news. It is one of the single biggest changes that a couple will ever make in their lives, and is worthy of much fanfare and proper announcement to the world. Spreading the word is traditionally accomplished through the use of wedding announcements. Often confused with wedding invitations, announcements serve a different purpose and are more universal than their better-known counterpart.

1. Definition

   • A wedding announcement lets people know that you said your "I do's."

     Although they may appear very similar and even sound practically the same, the difference between a wedding invitation and a wedding announcement is huge. A wedding invitation is a formal means of both announcing your intent to get married and of requesting for someone in particular to attend the festivities. A wedding announcement in contrast is a means of informing anyone who was not invited to the wedding that you have exchanged vows.

   History

   • Many centuries ago, weddings were announced by the town crier.

     Neither the invitation nor the announcement is a particularly new development in wedding trends. Church-mandated announcements of pending marriages once served as a means of allowing the general populace to bring to light any reasons why the couple should not be wed. It is unclear when post-wedding announcements first became popular, but wedding announcements have appeared in newspapers and other periodicals for several centuries. It is still proper and customary for a family to make an announcement in the local papers about the nuptials.

     As for wedding invitations, it was once the job of the town crier to announce that a wedding was going to happen. He would stand on the corner and shout the news, and all who heard were thereby invited. Written invitations emerged among those who were literate, and the modern iteration of the wedding invitation owes its origin to the advent of the printing press and the increase in literacy of the general public.

   Wording

   • There is a very specific formula to wording invitations, and much of that same formula is used in wedding announcements. For either document, it is imperative that the names of the bride and groom, the date of the event and the names of the hosts be included. All words must be spelled out, in their entirety, and the bride's name always comes first. The biggest difference in the wording is that an invitation specifically states that the honor of your presence is requested at the nuptials, whereas an announcement states that the sender is pleased to announce that the nuptials have taken place.

   Etiquette

   • Both invitations and announcements should be hand addressed.

     Wedding invitations and announcements share many of the same rules of etiquette. The hosts of the wedding send out both documents. If the bride's parents are paying for the wedding, it would be their right to issue both the invitation and the announcement. In short, "Mr. and Mrs. John Doe request the honor of your presence" or "Mr. and Mrs. John Doe are pleased to announce."

     Wedding invitations set the tone for the wedding, so should be every bit as formal as the occasion itself. The same is true for wedding announcements. If you have a black tie affair for your wedding, your wedding announcements should reflect that. In both cases it is proper etiquette for the envelopes to be hand addressed. At no time should a printed mailing label be used.

   Time Frame

   • One of the biggest differences between invitations and announcements is when they are sent. A wedding invitation is sent out anywhere from four to eight weeks prior to the wedding. An wedding announcement is sent out some time in the first two weeks following the wedding.

   Considerations

   • The use of announcements can cause some confusion, as some people mistakenly believe that an announcement is merely a way of asking for a gift. The recipient of an announcement is in no way obligated nor expected to provide a gift to the happy couple. An announcement is simply a means of informing those who were not in attendance at the wedding that the couple has in fact married. Announcements can be especially helpful for couples who elope or who hold small, intimate weddings. Wedding announcements also are an effective way of announcing to colleagues that a woman has changed her last name.

Source: www.ehow.com

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