The wedding invitation card sets the tone of the wedding and contains vital information about any wedding ceremony and reception – whether in Nigeria or abroad. The invite is the very first thing that gives a would-be-guest an idea of the class and style of your upcoming Nigerian wedding.
So, you see, the wedding invite is one of the most important elements of your wedding and it deserves some thoughts and planning before you ever print or purchase them. To help you put out the best wedding invitation, in this post, you will find answers to every possible question that ever crossed your mind about wedding invitations.
How Do I Know How Much to Budget for Wedding Invitation Cards?
Before choosing the design of your wedding invitation cards, first budget an amount for how much you want to spend on invites. This will ensure you don’t choose an invitation card design that is above your price range, as well as keep you from spending more money than planned.
At this point, it’s a good idea to also make a budget for all your wedding stationery (that includes the guest book, the program of events, etc).
Invitation cards are usually priced on quantity, and so the printers would always start by asking you how many invites you want to print. Know how many people you want to invite and use that number as a guide when discussing with your wedding invitation card supplier.
Again, as per the cost of the invitation cards, it’s important to note that some printing paper and print types are more expensive than others, so be sure to ask your printer what the types are and the various prices – to enable you to choose the ones within your invitation card budget.
Although, there are no two weddings with exactly the same budget priorities, but from our experience, many Nigerian couples spend about 6% of their total wedding budget on the invitation cards – so, you may want to start by allocating 6% for the invites (later on, you may want to increase or reduce that to suit you – but start somewhere). In case you have not broken down your wedding budget to major expense types (dress, food, flowers, etc.), read how to do that here.
How Many Wedding Invitation Cards Do I Need to Print/ Order?
The number of wedding invitation cards you need to order entirely depends on how many guests you plan to invite. For how to know how many guests you should invite, read this.
Budget for extra invitation cards: Once you have an idea of how many invitation cards you will need to order or print, we highly recommend ordering an extra 20% to 30%. That means if your guest list has 100 names, plan to order extra 20 to 30 more invitation cards.
As you know, in Nigeria, everyone that knows you or lives near you assumes they’re invited just because they heard you are getting married. Besides, you may want to resend to a guest that didn’t receive the one you sent via NIPOST, or there may be one forgotten person and you’d want to send a last-minute invite. And, you’ll want to keep one or two copies in your wedding album.
- RELATED: 5 Reasons Why You Should Make a Guest List
- How to Make a Guest List
- How to Reduce Your Guest List to Match Your Budget
How Should I Write Invitation Cards to Groups of People?
Here are some guides to follow when writing your guest list and wedding invitation cards:
- Address one invitation card for families who live together (e.g. Father, Mother, and their children);
- Send only one invitation card per married couple (Mr and Mrs. Lagbaja);
- Address one invitation card for two adults (in relationships) living together;
- Give only one invitation card for every person older than age 18 (young adult) even if they live with their parents;
When Is the Best Time to Send wedding invitations to Guests?
Wedding etiquette demands that invites be sent out at least 8 weeks in advance, before the wedding – in order to give guests a good enough time to put your wedding into their personal schedules, and for out-of-town-guests to make travel arrangements and hotel bookings. However, if you plan to have a destination wedding abroad, send out your invites at least 12 weeks (3 months) in advance – to give guests enough time.
In any case, it’s a good idea to send your guests a reminder a few weeks before the wedding. Follow up with text messages (bulk sms are cheaper) or calls or emails.
We highly recommend stepping up your game by sending guests post-wedding ‘thank you’ messages in the form of thank you cards, bulk sms, emails – that will show you’re a classy couple.
- Related: Get all our pro wedding planning templates and worksheets here – they make wedding planning easier
Still Have Questions About Planning Wedding Invitations in Nigeria?
That’s it for answers to the frequently asked questions we received about Nigerian wedding invitations. If I didn’t answer your own question, please leave it in the comments box below.
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