Wedding Reception Invitation Card: Design & Ordering Guide

So You Need Reception Invitations

Okay first thing—reception invitations are NOT the same as your main wedding invitations and honestly this confused the hell out of one of my clients back in spring 2023 who almost ordered 200 invites before realizing she needed two different sets. Reception invitations are specifically for when you’re having an intimate ceremony (like immediate family only or a destination wedding or courthouse thing) but then throwing a bigger party later for everyone else.

The wording is gonna be different because you’re not actually inviting people to witness the marriage ceremony. You’re inviting them to celebrate WITH you after you’re already married. Huge difference in etiquette terms.

When You Actually Need These Things

You need reception-only invitations when:

• You eloped or had a private ceremony and want a party later
• You’re doing a destination wedding with like 15 people but want to celebrate with your 150-person guest list back home
• You had a courthouse wedding (budget reasons, visa reasons, whatever) and planned a reception for later
• Religious or cultural ceremony was private but the party isn’t
• You got married during COVID restrictions and now want the actual celebration you couldn’t have

I’ve planned so many “post-wedding receptions” since 2020 and honestly the invitation part trips people up way more than the actual party planning.

The Wording Part That Everyone Overthinks

This is where people get weird and formal and stiff. The key thing is you need to make it clear that the marriage already happened or will happen separately. Here’s some standard wording templates I give clients:

If you’re already married:
“Jane Smith and John Davis
request the pleasure of your company
at a reception in celebration of their marriage
Saturday, the fifteenth of June
at six o’clock in the evening”

If parents are hosting:
“Mr. and Mrs. Robert Smith
request the honour of your presence
at a reception celebrating the marriage of their daughter
Jane Marie
to
John Michael Davis”

But honestly? You can be way more casual if that fits your vibe. I had a couple last summer who wrote “We got hitched in Hawaii! Now let’s party in Pittsburgh!” and it was perfect for them. Your invitation should sound like YOU, not like a etiquette book from 1952.

What Annoys Me About Wording Confusion

The thing that drives me absolutely crazy is when couples use ceremony language for a reception-only event. Like writing “request your presence at the marriage of” when the marriage already happened three months ago. It’s confusing for guests and also just… factually incorrect? I’ve seen guests show up thinking they’re gonna witness vows and then being confused when the couple is already wearing wedding rings and there’s no ceremony setup.

Design Choices and What Actually Matters

Okay so design-wise, your reception invitations should kinda match your wedding aesthetic but they don’t need to be identical to ceremony invitations if you had those. Since this is about the PARTY, you can be a bit more relaxed and fun with the design.

I usually tell clients to think about:

• Your color scheme—pull from your reception decor colors
• Formality level of the actual event (black tie vs backyard BBQ obviously need different invitation styles)
• Whether you want to include a photo from your ceremony or not
• Season and venue—a summer garden party invite looks different from a winter ballroom thing

One couple I worked with in 2021 had gotten married on a beach in Mexico with just parents, then did a fall reception at a barn venue. They used a gorgeous photo from the beach ceremony on their reception invites and it was honestly such a conversation starter at the actual event.

Photo or No Photo

Including a wedding photo on your reception invitation is totally acceptable and actually pretty common now. It’s a nice way to share that special moment with people who weren’t there. BUT—and this is important—make sure the photo is GOOD. Professional quality, properly lit, you both look happy and clear in the frame.

Don’t use a grainy iPhone photo your cousin took. I’ve seen this happen and the printed result looks terrible and washes out and… just don’t. Either use a professional photo or skip the photo entirely and go with a clean design.

Ordering Timeline Because You’re Probably Behind Already

Let me be real with you about timing because everyone underestimates how long this takes:

12-16 weeks before reception: Start looking at designs, figure out your guest list numbers, decide on wording

10-12 weeks before: Order your invitations—most quality printers need 2-3 weeks for production plus you need to account for shipping

8-10 weeks before: Invitations should arrive, you need to address them (this takes FOREVER if you’re doing it by hand or even printing labels)

6-8 weeks before: Mail them out—yes this is earlier than you think necessary but people need time to arrange travel, request time off work, find babysitters, etc.

3-4 weeks before: RSVP deadline

I had a bride in summer 2023 who wanted to mail invitations only 4 weeks before her reception and I literally had to… well I basically told her that wasn’t gonna work unless she wanted a half-empty party because people need notice. She wasn’t happy with me but eventually agreed to push the reception date back a month so we could do proper timeline.

Where to Actually Order These

You’ve got options and honestly the price range is WILD. I’ve seen couples spend $200 total and others spend $2000 just on reception invitations.

Online Print Services

Places like Minted, Zazzle, Vistaprint, Etsy shops—these are your budget-friendly options usually. Minted is my go-to recommendation for clients who want nice quality without custom design pricing. They’ve got tons of templates, you can customize colors and wording, and their paper quality is actually really good.

Pros: affordable, lots of design options, easy to customize yourself
Cons: less unique since they’re templates, can’t make major design changes

Etsy Independent Designers

This is where I send clients who want something more custom but don’t want to pay luxury stationery prices. You work with an actual designer who creates something specifically for you. Price range is usually $300-800 for 100 invitations depending on the designer and how much customization you want.

Make sure you read reviews and check their turnaround times though—I’ve had situations where Etsy designers disappeared or took way longer than promised and it’s stressful.

Professional Stationery Designers

If budget isn’t a concern or you want something really special—letterpress, foil stamping, custom illustrations—go with a professional stationery studio. You’re looking at $1000+ easily but the result is gorgeous and completely unique.

My cat literally knocked over my coffee onto a letterpress sample last week and I almost cried because those samples are EXPENSIVE and beautiful.

What Information Actually Needs to Be on There

Don’t overthink this but also don’t forget important stuff:

• Your names (obviously)
• Clear indication this is a reception celebration, not the ceremony
• Date and time
• Venue name and address
• Dress code if you have one
• RSVP details and deadline
• Wedding website if you have one

You do NOT need to include:

• Registry information (that goes on your website)
• Hotel blocks (website or separate insert)
• Your entire relationship story
• Detailed schedule of events

The RSVP Situation

Okay so you need to decide if you’re doing online RSVPs or traditional mail-back cards. Honestly I push everyone toward online now because it’s easier to track, you don’t have to deal with people who forget to include their meal choice or write illegibly, and it’s more environmentally friendly.

Set up a simple wedding website through The Knot or Zola or whatever—they all have free RSVP tracking. Then just include the website URL on your invitation with “Please RSVP by [date] at yourwebsite.com” or something.

If you wanna do traditional RSVP cards that’s fine but you need to include a pre-stamped return envelope and make the card VERY clear about what information you need. Number of guests attending, meal choices if you’re doing plated dinner, any dietary restrictions.

Quantity and Extras

Order about 10-15% more than you think you need. People lose them, addresses change, you’ll think of someone you forgot, invitations get damaged in mail. It’s way easier and cheaper to order extras upfront than to do a second small print run later.

Also order extra envelopes—like 20-30 extra. You WILL mess up addressing some of them. I’ve been doing this for years and I still mess up envelope addressing when I help clients. One smudge, one misspelling, one situation where the pen skips and… you need a new envelope.

Postage Is Weirdly Complicated

Take a fully assembled invitation to the post office and have them weigh it before you buy stamps. Square envelopes cost more to mail (they’re considered irregular). Anything over 1 oz needs extra postage. If you’re using a wax seal or thick paper or multiple inserts, you’re probably over the standard letter rate.

I cannot tell you how many times couples have bought 100 regular Forever stamps and then found out their invitations need $0.88 postage each instead of $0.68 or whatever the current rate is. It’s annoying and then you’re stuck going back to buy additional stamps.

Also hand-canceling—you can request this at the post office for delicate invitations so they don’t get chewed up by the sorting machines. Some post offices are cool about it, others act like you’re asking them to personally deliver each one. Just ask nicely.

Assembly Is Tedious But Whatever

Set aside an evening (or several) to assemble everything. Put on a show you’ve seen before—I usually rewatch The Office or something that doesn’t require attention—and create an assembly line. Invitation, any inserts, envelope, address label or hand addressing, seal, stamp.

Get someone to help you. Your partner, your mom, your best friend. Buy wine or pizza or whatever. Make it less boring by having company and also you’ll finish way faster with two people working.

Digital Invitations Are Valid Too

Look, if your crowd is tech-savvy and you want to save money and trees, digital invitations are totally fine for a reception. I know traditional etiquette says paper only but honestly times are changing and especially for a reception (not the ceremony itself), digital is becoming more acceptable.

Services like Paperless Post, Greenvelope, or even just a really well-designed email can work. You lose some of that tangible special feeling but you gain convenience and cost savings and environmental benefits.

Just make sure if you go digital that ALL your guests are actually comfortable with technology. If you’ve got older relatives who don’t really do email or might miss it, maybe send them paper invitations and do digital for everyone else.

Proofreading Because Mistakes Are Forever

Before you submit that final order, have like three different people proofread everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. Names, dates, times, addresses, URLs, RSVP info, spelling, grammar.

I once had to help a couple deal with invitations that said their reception was at 6:00 PM when it was actually at 6:30 PM and we couldn’t reorder in time so we had to send correction cards which was awkward and expensive and just… proofread thoroughly.

Check the date against an actual calendar to make sure it’s the right day of the week. “Saturday, June 15th” needs to actually BE a Saturday in whatever year you’re getting married. This seems obvious but I’ve caught this mistake more than once.

Read everything out loud. Check the venue address on Google Maps to make sure it’s exactly right. Call the venue if you’re not 100% sure about how they want their name written or their address formatted.

Coordinating With Other Stationery

If you want a cohesive look, think about how your reception invitations will coordinate with other paper goods—save the dates if you sent those, programs, menus, place cards, thank you cards. They don’t need to be identical but pulling the same colors or fonts or design elements creates a nice pulled-together aesthetic.

Some people order everything at once from the same designer or template suite. Others mix and match. Both approaches work, just depends on how much you care about everything matching perfectly versus budget and flexibility.

Honestly though don’t stress too much about this—your guests aren’t gonna be like “oh the invitation font was different from the menu font” unless you’re inviting a bunch of graphic designers or something, in which case… good luck I guess?