Formal Etiquette For Your Graduation Invitations
Monday, January 19th, 2009
Jeff Fain asked:
Graduation is an exciting time that will only be experienced once. It’s a long road consisting of years of hard work that sometimes seemed out of reach. But it’s finally here and it’s time to celebrate! One of the most important step in preparing for you graduation is sending out invitations to those that you would like to attend. This shows them that they are appreciated and you would love to see them there. As with most invitations, there is a proper etiquette to follow when sending out your graduation invitations.
Preparing your graduation invitations does not have to be complicated or tedious, there a few simple rules that help you through the process. Although these are not grounded in such deep tradition as wedding invitations and the like, there is still a level of formality and procedure that should be followed. Firstly, you must inform your guest in a timely manner to make sure they can attend your celebration. This usually means you should send them out at least six weeks in advance. If it is a less formal gathering such as an all day open house, four weeks notice is usually considered optimal. But if it has a theme, longer than six weeks may be ideal to allow your guests time to locate and otherwise prepare a costume.
When preparing your graduation invitations for guest there is some key information you need to highlight. Make sure you list the names of the party hosts, the name of the graduate, date and time of the event, details on the venue, and dress code. You may also include a map with your invitation to the proper address to make it easier to attend for your guests. When addressing the envelope, make sure they are all hand addressed and don’t use any abbreviations. For instance, put 123 Parker Street instead of 123 Parker St. Also, consider using a calligraphy pen.
Put your return address on the back flap of the envelope, centered, and leave your name off. Make it clear in your graduation invitations as to whether or not a meal is planned. You may also want to consider giving your guests the option not to bring gifts. If you do receive gifts, make sure you follow up with thank you cards to all of those that brought one. Some people think it may be rude to put an end time on your event but if you feel you need to, there’s nothing wrong or rude about it as well.
Lynn
Graduation is an exciting time that will only be experienced once. It’s a long road consisting of years of hard work that sometimes seemed out of reach. But it’s finally here and it’s time to celebrate! One of the most important step in preparing for you graduation is sending out invitations to those that you would like to attend. This shows them that they are appreciated and you would love to see them there. As with most invitations, there is a proper etiquette to follow when sending out your graduation invitations.
Preparing your graduation invitations does not have to be complicated or tedious, there a few simple rules that help you through the process. Although these are not grounded in such deep tradition as wedding invitations and the like, there is still a level of formality and procedure that should be followed. Firstly, you must inform your guest in a timely manner to make sure they can attend your celebration. This usually means you should send them out at least six weeks in advance. If it is a less formal gathering such as an all day open house, four weeks notice is usually considered optimal. But if it has a theme, longer than six weeks may be ideal to allow your guests time to locate and otherwise prepare a costume.
When preparing your graduation invitations for guest there is some key information you need to highlight. Make sure you list the names of the party hosts, the name of the graduate, date and time of the event, details on the venue, and dress code. You may also include a map with your invitation to the proper address to make it easier to attend for your guests. When addressing the envelope, make sure they are all hand addressed and don’t use any abbreviations. For instance, put 123 Parker Street instead of 123 Parker St. Also, consider using a calligraphy pen.
Put your return address on the back flap of the envelope, centered, and leave your name off. Make it clear in your graduation invitations as to whether or not a meal is planned. You may also want to consider giving your guests the option not to bring gifts. If you do receive gifts, make sure you follow up with thank you cards to all of those that brought one. Some people think it may be rude to put an end time on your event but if you feel you need to, there’s nothing wrong or rude about it as well.
Lynn