Sending the Wedding Invitation

The following was contributed by Ericka Kammerer, eek@umich.edu

1. Start by placing your invitation face-up in front of you. If you want to use the tissues (that came from the printers as part of the packing), place the tissue over the writing. The tissues are absolutely not necessary — they were originally packing material used when engraving inks were oily and wouldn’t have dried by the time they were shipped, so the tissues kept the inks from smudging until they dried. They were supposed to be removed before assembling the invitation for mailing. However, over time, using the tissues has become “proper,” so you’re welcome to use them if you would like. If you have printed your own invitations on your own printer, you might find that the tissues do indeed serve a purpose — printer inks often smudge during mailing.
2. Layer the enclosures on top of the invitation in order of size, with the largest enclosure nearest the invitations.

   Enclosures are placed on the pile writing-side up.

   Enclosures with accompanying envelopes (like r.s.v.p. cards) should be tucked under the flap on the envelope (so the triangle covers part of the writing on the card) and then placed on the pile with the partially-covered writing on the card face up (and consequently, the writing on the front of the envelope face down).

   If your invitations are the sort that need to be folded in half to fit into the envelope, you fold the invitation from top to bottom, with the writing on the inside. Enclosures go inside this second fold (the first fold is the one that turns the invitation into a little “booklet” shape).

3. Pick up the pile in your right hand. Pick up the inner envelope in your left hand. Stuff the pile into the envelope with the first fold of the invitation at the *bottom* of the inner envelope, and with the writing on the invitation facing the *back* of the inner envelope.
4. Put the inner envelope in your right hand and turn it over so the writing on the inner envelope is facing you. Stuff the inner envelope into the outer envelope with the bottom of the inner envelope to the bottom of the outer envelope and the front of the inner envelope facing the *back* of the outer envelope.

The purpose of this whole elaborate scheme is to ensure that when your invitees receive the invitation, they open the outer envelope and immediately encounter the inner envelope with the writing facing them as they withdraw the inner envelope. Then, when they flip the inner envelope over and pull out the invitation itself, the enclosures are on top (so they won’t get lost hidden in a fold somewhere) and the writing on the invitation will be in the appropriate orientation for them to read without twisting it about.