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A invitation is a letter asking the recipient to
attend a wedding. It is typically mailed six to eight weeks
before the wedding date. Wedding invitations may be printed
using one of the following methods: engraving, lithography,
thermography, letterpress printing, sometimes blind
embossing, offset printing, and more recently, on laser and
inkjet printers as many do-it-yourself brides are printing
on their home computers. Invitations can be ordered from an
artist, or vendor specializing in invitations. For the
artistically inclined, they can be handmade.
Traditionally, wedding invitations are mailed in double
envelopes. The inner envelope may be lined, is not gummed,
and fits into the outer envelope. The outer envelope is
gummed for sealing and addressing. Tissues are often
provided by manufacturers to place over the engraved text,
originally this tissue protected the engraving against
smudging or blotting, but improved printing techniques mean
they are now simply decorative. More recently, the inner
envelope is often left out in the interest of saving money
and postage. In some cases, a pocketfold takes the place of
an inner envelope. Traditionally, the mother of the bride
addresses the wedding invitations. However, if she chooses
not to, the mother of the bride may outsource this
responsibility to a professional calligrapher or a friend
with good penmanship. With computer technology, some are
able to print directly on envelopes from a guest list using
a mail merge with word processing and spreadsheet software.
In countries that issue them, the envelope may be franked
with love stamps. The United States postal service issues a
love stamp each year specifically denominated to cover the
double weight of the invitation and reply (a rate slightly
less than the cost of two regular stamps).
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