Wednesday, March 31, 2010

The Invitation

The invitation is your guests' first exposure to your event. It's what sets the tone, generates the excitement, and provides all the details. This is where they discover that this is no ordinary bbq they have been invited to, but rather the hottest outdoor adventure since their fourth grade field day. It's where they discover that they will want to wear the color blue to fit in or where they read that they don't need to bring a gift.

So before you send out your invitations you want to know the overall details of the event:
- Date
- Time
- Location
- Theme
- Any additional information or requests

Once you have the general information decided, you will need to pick which form of invitation best suits your needs. There are three main forms of invites:
- Mail
- Email
- Hand-deliver

Mail invites:
Pros: Your guests have a hard copy event reminder in their house
Cons: Sometimes your RSVP is a little weak because people forget to call or email

People love getting things in the mail, and there are so many types of paper and fonts that it is easy to set your theme in a mail invitation. Visit any local craft or paper store for fun paper and try downloading new fonts from the web. dafont.com is one of my favorite sites where you can download fonts for free.

Email invites:
Pros: These are quick and easy to whip up, and it's easy for people to RSVP and add the event to their calendar
Cons: A hard copy invitation may be better for some guests

Email invitations are great, but they are most commonly used for more casual events. For those who use google calendar or outlook email invites are great because it can be added directly to their schedule. Websites such as evite.com are also a great tool because they are a free and easy way to send out the word in a fun, yet organized format.

Hand-delivered invites:
Pros: You can have total creativity; no rules apply
Cons: These take a lot more time considering you have to deliver them yourself.

Nothing sets an event apart faster than an original invitation. Hand-delivered invites don't have to be paper; they don't even have to be in an envelope. It can be a tin can or a large fortune cookie; it can be a flowerpot or a cupcake. Hand-delivered invites provide you the opportunity to break the rules and wow your guests even before they arrive

1 comment:

  1. Any ideas for a baby shower? My friend wants to have a "Baby Brunch" where men and women are invited to an open house in the morning. If the men are coming I don't want to make it overly frilly, but I want to make it creative and exciting....

    ReplyDelete