Those who want to know what are wedding announcements can use the name itself as the clue. They are printed announcements to let your family and friends know about your union.
That being said, it’s understandable for some to feel confused about the difference between save the dates, wedding announcements, and the invites themselves. We will help you understand them in more detail below.
But first, do you know when to send the wedding save the dates? Then, there is the proper timing for sending these important cards before the wedding.
What Are Wedding Announcements: Everything To Know About Wedding Announcements
The wedding announcements are printed announcements usually purchased by the couple with their wedding invitations. However, not all weddings have them as wedding announcements are more commonly seen in destination weddings and elopements.
They’re used to notify people about the couple’s union after it happens. The wedding announcements match the formality of the invitations, and you mail them out the day after the wedding.
You will prepare them before the wedding day so your trusted person can mail them out after the wedding ceremony. So a quick trick to remember wedding announcements is that they are used to announce the wedding to selected individuals after it happens.
What Is The Difference Between A Wedding Announcement And An Invitation?
How they are used
A wedding announcement is used to notify a select guest list that you and your partner are married. On the other hand, a wedding invitation is what you’ll send to the people or guests you want to attend the wedding.
The announcement is sent after the wedding, while the invitation is sent before the wedding. Therefore, quick weddings and spur-of-the-moment ceremonies usually have wedding announcements to notify the couple’s closest family and friends.
How to respond
Another difference worth noting between the two is how you’re expected to respond when receiving them. If you receive a wedding invitation, you’re not obligated, but it’s common to send a wedding gift.
But when you receive a wedding announcement, you are less expected to give a gift since the union already happened. Overall, gifts shouldn’t be forced, and only send one if you genuinely want to.
Here is when to send wedding gifts so you’ll know the etiquette.
How they are sent
Before sending the wedding invitation or announcement, talk with your partner if the guest list is final. First, you don’t want to invite someone and then accidentally uninvite them.
With wedding announcements, on the other hand, it would be confusing for anyone to receive them before the wedding. So make sure that you will mail the announcements a day or after a week from the wedding, depending on your schedule and capacity.
It’s also worth noting that wedding announcements are sent to anyone close to the couple, especially if they can’t be included in the guest list. You can also send them to acquaintances, colleagues, and extended family members.
This way, they’ll be notified of your name change.
What Should A Wedding Announcement Include?
Before anything else, you will usually fill out a form when having your wedding announcements submitted to the paper. But in general, the wedding announcement needs the following:
- The full name of the couple who just got married, including their hometown
- The names of each person’s parents and their hometown
- The names of each person’s grandparents
- Location, date, and time of the wedding ceremony and reception
- Officiant
- Attendants and their relation to the couple
- Sometimes, you will also include where you’ll live with your spouse
How To Write A Wedding Announcement?
- Make sure you’ll write your full names, especially when you’re changing your last name
- Mention where and when the wedding took place
- You can also include other information such as your parents’ names, officiant, attendants and their relation to you, honeymoon plans, or in some announcements, you can mention a separate event where they can join you, especially if it’s an elopement wedding
Sample wedding announcement wording
- Just Married!
John and Ana Smith
February 14, Hawaii
- Surprise!
John and Ana Smith eloped on February 14 in Hawaii
Check our photos in xxxxxxx
- Dearest family and friends, we are excited to announce that we are now officially married. We had our ceremony in xxxx. But we are planning on celebrating with you, so be on the lookout for our wedding reception invitation.
John And Ana Smith
How To Announce A Wedding?
You can mail the wedding announcements like sending wedding invitations but make sure that it’s after the wedding to avoid confusion. But if you want to notify a significant number of people in your hometown, you can submit to a paper.
They’ll usually require you to provide the details for the wedding announcements as early as six weeks before the wedding.
Conclusion
And that’s it! To recap what are wedding announcements, they are sent after the wedding to notify the family and friends of the couple about their union.
They are usually sent by couples who had an elopement or any quick ceremony where they didn’t have the time to invite guests. You can also ask your local paper about posting wedding announcements.