The Most Common Wedding Invitation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Wedding invitations set the stage for your special day. They're how your guests figure out the who, what, where and when of your celebration, which is why it is common for couples to worry about making wedding invitation mistakes. With organizing systems such as The Knot Guest List Tool to track guests' RSVPs and advice from two industry experts, we hope to eliminate any potential wedding stress stemming from the wedding invitation process.

So, to get ahead of any potential faux pas, Katherine Glattard of Calligraphy by Katherine, based in Chicago, and Kimberly Gottuso of Kimberly's Ever After Planning in Anaheim, California, shared their expertise on how to avoid any mistakes on wedding invitations and how to fix them if they do pop up.

In this article: Common Wedding Invitation Mistakes | How to Fix Wedding Invitation Mistakes

Common Wedding Invitation Mistakes

From wedding invitation etiquette to hunting down addresses and finalizing the guest list, so much goes into the invitation process. Here are the most common mistakes on wedding invitations that others have made—and how to fix them—so you can get them right the first time.

1. Not Hiring a Professional

Photo: zhukovvvlad | Shutterstock

Whether you want to make your budget stretch further or think you already know just what to do, many couples forgo a professional stationer and regret it later on. These industry experts know all the ins and outs of formalities, formating, expectations and when to send wedding invites. The best part? They are professional proofreaders and make things look gorgeous.

What to Do Instead: Hire a professional stationer, calligrapher or graphic designer to help you with every step of your invitations to ensure they are exactly what you want from the start. You can search for all kinds of talented stationery designers near you on The Knot Vendor Marketplace.

FEATURED VIDEO FROM THE KNOT

2. Using Nicknames and Abbreviations

While you might have called your friend by a nickname for decades, it's still important to use their full, formal name on a wedding invitation. Glattard shares her passion for this, highlighting that "nicknames are fine for BBQs, bachelor parties and bridal showers, but not for a formal wedding invitation."

What to Do Instead: Ask your guests the correct spelling of their given name. Not only is it a fun topic of conversation, but you'll ensure they are treated with the utmost respect. Glattard loves to talk with her couples about proper wedding etiquette and the sacred milestone of marriage, but she also shares, "I always stand by my motto that 'the bride is always right,' and I will always do what she wants, regardless of my stance."

3. Not Ordering a Test Invitation

Often, couples are so excited to hold their wedding invitations they don't order a sample or proofread it out loud. However, when they've spent the money and a hundred invitations show up—all with typos—there's a sense of dread that sets in.

Gottuso notes that "sometimes what you see and design on the computer might not be exactly what you get. (Think: colors and spacing!) For example, a specific hue of purple might look darker online versus in person."

What to Do Instead: Gottuso tells all her clients "to order a sample or test invitation before ordering your full amount. This gives you a break from looking at your invitations online and allows your brain to reset. When you get your invitation, you have the opportunity to catch any spelling or grammar mistakes you missed before. This also allows you to catch any missed information like parking info or guest clarifications." Plus, this way, you'll be able to double-check that you have everything included in your wedding invitation suite, and it all flows together nicely.

4. Providing Too Much Information

While it can be tempting to dump all the information about your wedding onto the invite, wedding invitation wording should be limited in its scope. Having too much can crowd the invitation and cause certain details to get lost in the noise.

What to Do Instead: Keep an invitation simple, with only the necessary information like who, what, where and when. Leave off adding your registry to invitations as that is seen as impolite. The wedding website will explain everything in detail (including where the to-be-weds are registered), and it can match the paper invitations, too.

5. Using Unhelpful or Vague Language

While it might sound like fun to write "Dress Code: Fabulous," this vague language is not helpful to guests. Instead, stick to tried-and-true language for times, locations and dress code on the invitation to avoid this common wedding invitation wording mistake. If you need to explain something more in depth, point guests to your website for a longer explanation, keeping in mind that there are different details for invitations versus websites.

What to Do Instead: To avoid this wedding invite mistake, Gottuso tells her clients to avoid phrases like "in the morning" and instead be explicit, writing "Brunch will be at 11 a.m." She notes that "the more direct and specific you can be, the less likely your guests have any confusion."

6. Using Incomplete or Incorrect Info

Sometimes, couples submit an incomplete guest list to their calligrapher. Glattard emphasized that sometimes there is "info missing, such as names, incomplete addresses, missing apartment or unit numbers and zip codes." She noted that she "can't afford to make mistakes that are due to info missing."

What to Do Instead: Write a list and check it twice before sending it to your pro! Glattard shared that "details are important, and they show your guest that you care enough to spell their name or street name correctly. Always double-check, as there are many ways to spell a name—you need to get it right!" This will keep preventable mistakes and delays at bay.

7. Using Tiny or Extravagant Fonts

While fonts with curly cues and unique styling might look fun, Gottuso highlights that "elaborate or fancy fonts may not be legible to all your guests reading your invitation."

What to Do Instead: Stick to clear, easy-to-read fonts to ensure there is no confusion over the important times and dates. In Gottuso's words, "sometimes less is more!"

8. Ordering Too Many Invitations

Photo: Ale_Koziura | Shutterstock

At first glance, it makes sense to order one invitation per guest. However, that would likely leave the nearlyweds with plenty of extra invitations as many guests come together. Thankfully, The Knot Invitations has a wide range of invitation suites in different styles, colors, seasons and prices in case you do need to order more.

What to Do Instead: Gottuso's best money saving tip is "to order one invitation per household. You could have one hundred guests and not everyone needs an invitation. One invitation per couple or household could save you a lot of money!"

9. Not Being Clear About Who Is Invited

When addressing wedding invitations, it might feel simpler to keep an invitation broad and just use a family name, but that is a big mistake. You likely don't know all your guests' living situations, so you need to be specific about who is invited.

What to Do Instead: Gottuso tells couples that "if kids aren't invited, make sure your wedding invitation properly states that. You don't have to be harsh with how you say this, but something like, "Although we love your children, we ask that only the adults listed on the invitation attend." Bonus tip: Include this information again on your wedding website.

10. Misjudging Postage

There's nothing worse than getting a dreaded "not enough postage" stamp right across the front of all your wedding invitations. Most wedding invitations are heavier than a simple first-class stamp will allow for, and you do not want a return to sender stamp slowing down your timeline.

What to Do Instead: Glattard tells couples to "make sure you weigh all your wedding invitations pieces (envelope, response card, response card envelope, invitation, details card, etc.) at a postal station. Postage will be extra if your invitation is rigid, square or oversized." Plus, you can pick out beautiful stamps to match the invitations.

11. Abbreviating Words

A calligrapher's job is to make words look beautiful, and that is most easily done when words are not abbreviated. Plus, it's not good etiquette.

What to Do Instead: Blvd and rd are not formal, so Glattard asks couples to opt for the full spellings, such as "road, street, boulevard, court and place."

12. Sending the Invitations Late

Photo: Deyan Georgiev | Shutterstock

Between designing, proofing, printing, addressing and actually sending invitations, the process can get lengthy. Some couples let it stretch out too long and do not give enough time to get RSVPs back before a final headcount is necessary.

What to Do Instead: Gottuso says, "It's a general rule of thumb to have your final headcount at least four weeks out from your wedding day." This means you need to chase down all the last RSVPs before you have to give the final numbers to your venue and caterer.

How to Fix Wedding Invitation Mistakes

Mistakes happen. They're simply a part of life and weddings. Thankfully, many wedding invitation mistakes are preventable if you follow the steps our experts outlined above. If you've still found yourself with some issues, be it typos, grammar issues or incorrect information, there are some ways to move forward.

First and foremost, if it is a mistake, like a misspelled name or address, speak directly with the recipient. Apologize for the wedding invitation typo and ensure their name will be correct at the reception when they look for their table. If their address was incorrect, double-check that they received it and offer to send them another if the invite did not make it.

If you've run into a problem with your invitations that you received from a professional, double-check your wedding stationery contract. This usually outlines how you should work out any disagreements or discrepancies. Go directly to your stationer and bring up whatever issue arose to hear their point of view.

Any spelling mistake on a wedding invite has the opportunity to be turned around, although that could mean ordering more envelopes, a second round of invitations, or simply offering a heartfelt apology to an invitee. But remember, in the end, if you send an invitation with a typo, that is okay! Your wedding day is about you, and guests will not get hung up on a simple size error or typo on your invitation.