How to proofread your wedding invitations

When ordering your wedding stationery there is a very important part of the process which needs your utmost attention. If you don’t do this right, then your stationery could be ruined, not as perfect as you’d hoped or you might be looking at expensive reprinting costs.

The process to ensure all of this is avoided is called the proofreading process.

Below I am going to show you how to do this correctly, but also how to help the process along with the information you initially submit to your stationery supplier.

Submitting your wording

Your wedding stationer will be the one to create the artwork for all of your stationery items. So in order to do this, you will need to submit all of the very important details to go on your invitations, the menus and all other stationery that you require for your wedding.

Details you will be asked to submit

your names exactly as you would like them to appear
the day AND date of your wedding
times & locations for your ceremony & reception
dress code
RSVP date and method of reply
your return address for the envelope printing & RSVP envelopes
additional information for your details card
wishing well poem or a note on gifts

But you won’t be required to structure the wording, this is done by White Cherry Invitations

How do you submit your wedding details?
At White Cherry Invitations, you will be given an online form to complete which will prompt you for everything.

This is when it is important to ensure that all of the details you submit are correct. Make sure you have the correct grammar and include absolutely everything you want printed on your stationery. This includes the day of the week for your wedding day, your first names or full names, the ordinals after a number such as th, rd, st for your wedding date, etc). What you submit here is what your stationer will use to build your artwork.

Guest names and addresses
You will be given a template to submit all of your guest names and addresses. Note: your guest names on the invitations are different to the names on the envelopes, such as;
Invitation is ‘John & Mary’
Envelope is ‘Mr & Mrs Smith’ or ‘John Smith & Mary Carter’

It is important that you get the first and last names, and titles correct here.

It is also extremely important to write all guest addresses exactly as the spreadsheet asks. Do not assume that missing states and postcodes will be added. Everything will be printed exactly as per your guest list.

Approve your stationery artwork

Once you receive your wedding stationery artwork to review and APPROVE for printing, you will need to take the time to carefully check everything. I know it will be exciting to know that your invitations will be in your hot little hands very soon, but you don’t want to realise a mistake once they are printed and you are holding them.

Proofreading Tips

At the end of the day, all of the responsibility for your printed stationery & signage is yours.

Before you let your stationer know that all of your digital artwork is approved to be printed, use the following tips to ensure every single phrase, word, letter, number and space is correct.

How to proofread

Print off all copies and grab a red pen to mark changes
Read everything slowly
Read everything backward
Say it out loud when you read it
Check, recheck and check again
Sleep on it and check again in the morning
Once you have checked them, get your fiancé to do the same and then a 3rd person such as a parent or close friend. This 3rd person hasn't been working on your invitations closely, therefore their eyes will be fresh

What to check for

Spelling of all words, including your own names!
Phone numbers are correct
Ceremony & reception names are correct and complete
Verify all addresses (venue locations and guest postal addresses)
Test all website addresses in your internet browser
Dates and times are correct, check this with your venue, photographer, celebrant/priest and wedding planner.
Day of the week and date are correct
Punctuation and grammar are correct
Font types and sizes are consistent
Spaces between words/letters are consistent
Spaces between lines of wording (line breaks) are consistent

If you check the above, then you will be sure to pick up any errors in your stationery before it goes to print.

Take your time, there is no rush! Trust me. One more day in checking everything thoroughly is better than approving a mistake and needing to have your stationery reprinted or worse, entirely remade.

Until next time
Bel x