When it comes to deciding upon what type of invitations you want to have it is important to consider the wedding invitation envelopes first. The reason why you should think about this first is because the envelope will determine what size you make the invitation.

Whenever it comes to actually choosing the envelope that you are going to use, you need to understand that there are a few different types of envelopes to choose from. There are the envelopes that have a pointy flap and these are called Barnonial envelopes and then there are the envelopes that have a square flap and these are called A-style envelopes. There are also a style envelopes that have a square flap with rounded corners. If you look really hard you could probably find some envelopes that have a decorative shape for a flap. If you plan on putting your return address on the flat of the envelope then using the Barnonial envelopes will probably look best for this.

Why Use Inner and Outer Envelopes?
You may be wondering why people use inner and outer envelope for their invitations. You might be thinking that you’re breaking some sort of rule if you don’t go ahead and do this but this is not the case. Inner and outer envelopes are primarily used to keep the inner envelope from getting dirty. Another reason for their use is to allow more space so that all of the guests from that household can be more written on the envelopes and not crammed on one envelope. The way that this is normally handled is the person’s name that is being invited is put on the outer envelope and then this is reiterated along with the name of the guest or the words and guest are used if this is unknown. If children are being invited their names are put on the inner envelope. If there is a child in the house that is over 18, they should receive their own invitation. The inner envelopes can be difficult to acquire because they are not of a typical size but if you can usually get these from a wedding supply company.

Where the Envelopes Should be Addressed From
You should also know that all of the invitations should be sent from the bride’s place a residence. This is the way this is traditionally handled. Of course if you are planning on inviting distant relatives on the groom’s side, perhaps it may be a good idea to break this tradition so that they have some idea of who the invitation is coming from.

Wedding Invitation Sizes
The typical wedding invitation sizes are either 4 x 6 (which I feel is a bit small) and 5 x 7 although there are many different variations of sizes available and more and more people are choosing uniquely sized invitations.

These are the sizes of common envelopes used for invitations and their names:

**A2 Envelopes (4 3/8″ x 5 3/4″)
*A6 Envelopes (4 3/4″ x 6 1/2″)
*A7 Envelopes (5 1/4″ x 7 1/4″)
A8 Envelopes (5 1/2″ x 8 1/8″)
A10 Envelopes (6″ x 9 1/2″)
Slimline Envelopes (also known as Tealength) (3 7/8″ x 8 7/8″)
4 Baronial Envelopes (3 5/8″ x 5 1/8″)
5 Baronial Envelopes (4 1/8″ x 5 1/2″)
5 1/2 Baronial Envelopes (4 3/8″ x 5 3/4″)
6 Baronial Envelopes (4 3/4″ x 6 1/2″)
*Baronial Lee Envelopes (5 1/4″ x 7 1/4″)
*These are the most commonly used. **The A2 is used for the RSVP Card.

The RSVP Envelopes
Whenever it comes to the RSVP card and envelopes you need to keep in mind that the envelope need to be at least 3.5 by 5 inches wide so that it can be sent back through the mail. You are also expected to provide the postage for this envelope. Most people don’t realize that you can get one ounce stamps for these and it will help cut the cost of the postage.

What you Should Know About Colored Envelopes
If you are thinking about using colored envelopes and you are planning on doing the printing yourself or at a place like Kinko’s then you will need to make sure that you will be able to print on these with plenty of contrast. The reason I mention this is because your printer cannot print white. The way a typical printer work is that it relies on the white color of the paper to create any lightness in the image. This is important to keep in mind when picking out dramatically colored envelopes. Make sure to do a test print before committing to something that you are unsure of.

Envelopes and US Postal Regulations
Whenever it comes to US postal regulations there are a few things that you need to keep in mind when sending envelope. The first thing is that these typically go through a machine so you need to be careful about what sorts of things you put on the outside of an envelope. You don’t want anything that can easily fall off and you might want to think twice about using a real wax stamp because it may melt if it encounters any heat during transit.

The guidelines for envelope sizes are that the envelope must not weight more than 3 ounces nor can it be smaller the 3.5” by 5” or bigger than 6 1/8″ by 11 1/2” wide.
You will also want to make sure to weigh your invitation before stuffing all of them because you would not want to end up not having your invitations delivered because they were too heavy. You should weight the entire envelope and you should also weight the RSVP envelope separately to make sure that it is not over one ounce.

What you Should Know About Lined Envelopes
If you plan on using lined envelopes there are a few things you will need to keep in mind. If you plan on handwriting the addresses for your envelopes it is important to keep in mind that it will be much more difficult to hand address lined envelopes. The reason for this is that you need some sort of a guide that can be seen through the envelope to help you create straight lines. When you use lined envelopes this makes doing this near impossible to do. I would suggest hand creating liners, printing your addresses on the envelopes not using the envelopes or one last option. The last option would be that you create yourself a guide of three straight lines the way that you want them. Then take a pencil and draw over the lines. Now you can press the side with the pencil marks on the envelope and transfer a faint guide onto the envelope. You would then have to erase these when you were done. This is very tedious and not recommended. If you happen to do well at writing in straight line then you are in luck!