The Pen or the Printer

Etiquette, I'd like to kick you in the (__I__) right now! There is absolutely no way I will hand address all our wedding invitations after the Save the Date debacle (I found out that a good number of our Save the Dates did not travel to their intended destination). So yes, I had to resend a few more Save the Dates because I foolishly failed to put a return address on the postcard magnets.

Our Save the Dates were relatively inexpensive and easy to put together. But our wedding invites are a true labor of love. We rather not run the risk of ruining them with my not too shabby hand writing and Pepe's chicken scratch penmanship. Hiring a calligrapher was not in the budget but I didn't want tacky wrap around labels put on our elegant invitations. In the end we conceded to computer printed calligraphy. The results look better than I expected.


I found a faux calligraphy font on abstractfonts.com called Beautiful ES that was simple to read. The tricky task was setting up the envelope and labels in MS Word 03" because it did not allow for configuration of vertical spacing so everything typed looked double spaced. We tried to single space with little success until I stumbled upon a envelope template for our A7 (5.25 X 7.25) envelopes. Through a little trial and error and proper centering of feeding the envelopes, our old ink jet printer was able to print out the envelopes with no problems.

Notes
- Martha Stewart & The Knot has given their blessing in terms of computer printer calligraphy
- Tape the flaps to prevent the envelopes from jamming the printer..
- Addressing guests can be a tough task especially if cultural customs and practices play a part in the etiquette process. For instance, it is customary to include "& Family" in Cambodian culture because you usually invite the entire family (including older children, elders in the family or single parents with children). It is also very common for women in Cambodian culture to retain their maiden name. So it is important to note that when addressing invites to the couple.
- For general etiquette guidelines in Western culture, click the link below.
Wedding Invitation Envelope Etiquette