Wedding Invitations|Cheap Wedding Invitations|Wedding Invitation

Aside from being one of the most important events of your life, your wedding will also be one of the most awaited celebrations for your family and friends. For this reason, it's essential that you're able to impress them even before the big day by sending out creatively done invitations. Using cardstock with unique silhouettes is one way of doing this.

To create such wonderful invitations, you can purchase creatively pre-cut stationery, look for plain cardstock that can be professionally die cut or laser cut, or create your own creative invites using custom wedding invite kits and DIY ideas.

Creatively Cut Cardstock
Many online stationers offer creatively cut cardstock. The bloom cardstock style with four "flower petals" that fold open to reveal the actual invitation is one of the most common designs.

For this cardstock, you can apply different design techniques such as the tone on tone or the ombr矇 effect to make them more interesting. You can also choose one color in different tones for each section or part of the invite. For instance, you can choose dark blue for the envelopes, royal blue for the blooms, and light blue for the invites.

Printing Methods
If you'd like to achieve a more interesting silhouette for your wedding invites, purchase sturdy cardstock and have them die-cut or laser cut. You can create your own design and add a personal touch to achieve a unique silhouette and deviate from the usual rectangular-shaped invites.

By using die-cutting or laser cutting techniques, you can create invites with uncommon geometric outlines such as rounded or zigzagged edges. You can also choose to have unique shapes such as a wedding dress or a tuxedo, a Victorian fan, an old scroll, a heart, and other designs related to your wedding theme.

If you're looking for something more unique and intricately made, you can take inspiration from lace and create intricate cardstock for more romantic-looking invites. On the other hand, if you want to go for a more subtle take on these printing methods, you can use a symbol such as a single flower or a small heart, and use it as a recurring accent in all your wedding stationery.

DIY Ideas
If you are feeling crafty, you can learn different paper-folding techniques and apply them to your invitations. One of the simplest ways to do this is to transform your cardstock into pleats similar to those seen on skirts and dresses. On the other hand, you can also get inspiration from origami techniques and fold cardstock into flowers, wedding dresses, tuxedos, windmills, and other unique designs to add a whimsical touch to your invites.

Through creatively cut cardstock and different design techniques, you can turn your budget wedding invitations into unique and treasured keepsakes that will wow your guests in anticipation for your big day.

Many Mobile Discos have made the change from a conventional CD or Vinyl based system to a software based one, usually running on either a full sized pc or a laptop. The fundamentals of both systems are largely the same, and so you shouldn't simply be taken in by reading other DJs horror stories about how their laptop overheated during the first dance at a Wedding or how their full sized PCs power supply exploded halfway through a gig. There are pros and cons of using both systems, but largely whether to use a full size pc or a laptop comes down to personal choice, practicality, budget and space, and you'll often find that DJ's criticising the opposite machine, have never actually used the system that they are criticising!. If possible visit a DJ who already uses a system to that which you intend to use yourself, nothing can sell an idea better than actually seeing it in use!, for the record, I have watched Mobile DJ's use both PC's and Laptops to DJ from, and neither, in my opinion, was more reliable or better than the other, so it should only be personal choice, rather than rumour or scaremongering which makes the decision on that score!.

Is running a Mobile Disco from a PC or Laptop reliable?

Anybody who has ever encountered the windows blue screen of death, or worn out the Ctrl+alt+del keys on their keyboard will possibly dread the thought of using such a system as a platform to their DJ'ing!. In essence, a decent dedicated pc or laptop with a clean install, good quality hard drive and a reasonable amount of memory will out preform most typical home pc set ups which may be running several applications at a time, be infiltrated with virus or spyware traces, and have a hard drive and registry full of corrupt enteries and partly uninstalled files.

The key to running a successful software based DJ system, is to buy a dedicated pc / laptop for the task, and to only run the operating system and DJ Software on there, and never allow it to run other applications or even connect to the internet. This way the installation runs and remains clean and largely error free, will rarely have a corrupt file, and won't get infiltrated or bogged down with several other applications. This advice is given by DJ's who have been using software and PC's for many years, and have found this method of DJ'ing to be just as reliable as conventional DJ'ing from CD's.

The advantages of using a Laptop or Pc to DJ

The advantages of converting your material to music files and using a Pc or Laptop to DJ from are many. The first is the most obvious, gone are the days where you are carrying several heavy boxes of CD's around with you, most DJ's CD collections can easily be converted to MP3 and will fit onto a 80gb - 200gb hard drive!. By converting to Software Dj'ing you also rid yourself of that long search through several hundred CD compilations in order to find that elusive requested track that you just know that you have got somewhere!. With most DJ Software, you can type in part or all of the artistes name or song title and find it within seconds!. It really is possible to find and cue up a request within 5 seconds - something which just can't be done easily or quickly with a CD or vinyl collection.

Other advantages of a software based DJ system, include the possibility to create playlists from frequently used tracks, and you could create playlists from all genres, for example a playlist for background music, one for dance music, one for the 70s and one for the end of the night slowies. Of course you can also group the tracks together and catalog them according to Genre which also makes finding tracks from particular era's easier too. Some DJ Software will also allow you to group tracks together which have a similar BPM - a boon for DJ's who mix.

Which DJ Software should I choose?

There are many different brands and types of DJ Software about, again it comes down to personal preference which type you choose. It is always a very good idea to check out reviews and discussions on DJ Forums and if possible to find a DJ who uses a system based on the software which is of interest to you, so you can actually see it in action, in a disco environment.

Some DJ Software comes with a free trial, which enables you to download and install the software on your system and try it for for free for a time limited period (usually 10 - 30 days). Depending on the cost of the software, there can be differing features. Some Dj Software will simply allow you to cue up and play music using 2 "players", others will have more comprehensive features, such as being able to fade between tracks, alter the pitch and tempo controls in a similar manner to conventional CD and Vinyl turntables, some of the more expensive software will even allow you to mix, or add a USB controller which looks and functions like a twin cd controller!, some Software will even mix the tracks for you!.

Remember that a feature is only worthwhile if you have a use for it!. Carefully consider what features you need, and which will be the ones that you will have any use for. It would be pointless buying a Dj Software package which allows you to mix, if you are a mobile dj who rarely has the requirement to beat mix. Most Software in its basic form, also comes with the option to add and install plug ins which give you additional updates and features, so its worth starting with the basic packages and then adding new features if and when you require them!.

My advice at this stage, if you are new to, or considering Software Dj'ing is to download the free trials of the various software which is available, try them for the time limited period, and then buy the one which suits you, and which is the most comfortable to use.

Some dj software titles which are currently popular and well reviewed by Mobile DJ's include OTSDJ, DSSDJ and PCDJ

What type of PC do I need to run my DJ Software package

When you have decided on a software package, it is then time to consider what pc or laptop to use it on. Contrary to rumour, you don't need the latest brand new pc or laptop to successfully run DJ Software from, and neither do you need a huge CPU processor. Most DJ Software will happily run on a pentium 3 processor with 600mhz speed or higher, many of the newer 1.2ghz+ celerons will also flawlessly run DJ software with no problems and without breaking into a sweat. Try and buy as much memory as you can afford, ideally 512mb of memory or a minimum of 256mb for most applications.

How big should I be :o)

A decent sized hard drive is the next consideration. Remember the bigger the hard drive the more individual tracks that you can fit on there. An average music file ripped at 192kbps is around 5mb in size and so a 100gb hard drive should fit around 20,000 tracks on there. However if you increase the quality of the track in MP3 format, then the file size rises also, so a 320kpbs mp3 could be as large as 11mb in size and so the same 100gb capacity would be reduced to holding only around 9000 tracks. Don't forget to factor in space for your operating software, drivers and DJ software when working out hard drive capacity!. You can of course expand your hard drive capacity by fitting external hard drives to USB ports, and these are also reliable. If possible try and use a system which runs USB2.0 or even firewire since these run at faster data speeds than conventional USB1.1 although many Dj's report no issues with hard drives and soundcards run from older 1.1 systems.

Give me Sound!

Using a good quality soundcard is a must!, many laptops and motherboard based sound chips on full sized pc's rarely do justice to sound quality or are designed with full time high quality audio playback in mind. Consider installing a pci sound card in your pc, or investing in a good quality USB external soundcard if you opt to use a laptop. Most 2 channel soundcards will suffice for DJ'ing in most mobile applications, where the audio is mixed between the players on the laptop and the single output is then fed through a pair of "L" and "R" connectors on the soundcard, and then into the mixer or amplifier.

However, if more creativity is required, or the software is to be used for mixing applications or the use of a crossfader between channels on a conventional mixer is likely to be utilised, then you need to buy a 5 channel soundcard. This allows the soundcard to be set up, in a manner which allows one pair of "L" and "R" outputs to be used for "Player 1" on the soundcard and fed into an individual channel on the mixer, and the same for "Player 2" - this allows each software player to have its own fader on the mixer - just like a conventional twin cd player.

What Quality?

Some Dj Software packages come complete with the means to "Rip" a cd. "Ripping" means placing the original Cd into the PC's CDROM and the process of converting the original music on the CD to MP3 Data, which is then stored on the hard drive as an MP3 File. In the case of OTSDJ, the option is also there to convert to a file called OTS, this is a custom files regonised only by the OTSDJ software, however it sounds just as good as MP3 and is also a slightly smaller file size, meaning that more OTS files can be stored on a hard drive when compared to conventional MP3 files.

If you use a DJ software package which does use conventional MP3 files, then you will need to select the quality at which to "rip". This figure is measured in "Kbps" and often ranges from 32kbps and 320kbps. Lower ranges are not recommended for professional use over a PA system since they can sound dull and even distorted. Ideally for professional use, the DJ should be looking at ripping their CD's to Mp3 files at 192kbps or greater.

192kbps is considered reasonable quality, however 320kbps is near cd quality and may be preferred by some Dj's - however on smaller audio systems the difference may be hard to detect. As the quality is increased, so does the file size, and a 320kbps file may be several mb larger than its 192kbps counterpart, it may also take longer to rip an entire CD at 320kbps than at lower rates.

For Dj Software which doesn't have ripping capability, Musicmatch Jukebox may prove to be an alternative for this process,

Are there any disadvantages to being a Digital DJ?

Now the disadvantages!. Obviously the initial cost of buying a PC / Laptop, a good quality soundcard, large hard drive and the Dj Software itself is likely to total far more than buying a conventional CD Player or turntables. It also takes time to "rip" your cd collection to Mp3 and store them on your hard drive. In some jurisdictions it is also illegal to convert original material to MP3 format for digital use without a licence, and this can prove to be expensive, if the Dj is to work on the right side of the law. It is the possible licence requirement that we discuss next.

Do I need a licence to play music from a laptop?

At the time of writing this article, an annual licence is required in Canada and the UK in order to use a PC or laptop to DJ from. In the UK, a further licence and possible royalty payment is also required for the conversion process. Although no fees have yet been advertised (April 2006) these controversial laws are likely to make this form of DJ'ing unattractive when compared to more conventional, and "licence free" alternatives.

Finally, my tips for Software Djing

* Always buy and use a dedicated pc / laptop purely for Dj use, do not be tempted to use the family pc or run other applications on the machine you use to DJ from, and do not allow this machine to connect to the internet. On a pre-used machine, also start from scratch with a format and fresh install of the operating system.

* Use a good quality soundcard, even if you need to upgrade or buy an external USB one

* Always rip the music direct from an original CD at 192kbps quality or higher. 320kbps is advised for higher quality pa systems and is near cd quality. 192kbps is okay for smaller systems used by the Mobile DJ.

* Don't be too concerned about buying the latest top of the range PC to run from. Most Dj Software will happily run from basic P3 600mhz machines, but do check out the minimum requirements on the software authors website.

* Read reviews on the various software packages available. Stick to the features that you will use, since you can always upgrade extras later. Take advantage of the free trials of DJ Software which are available and use the time to find the best software to suit you

* If you choose a full sized PC make sure that it is professionally flightcased - pc's are not designed to be carried around.

* Select a high capacity 100gb - 200gb hard drive from a reputable manufacturer. Where practical and legal always back up your data

* Fit your machine with at least 256mb of memory, and ideally 512mb.

* Check out the legal aspect of converting original music to MP3 and whether a licence is required to operate such a system.

The wedding invitation business is huge. But how do you start a wedding invitation business?

Here are some steps to take:

• If you don't know about wedding invitations it is a good time to learn as much as you can before you decide if this is the home business that you want to start. There are a lot of invitation sites. Check them out. Look at wedding sites.


• Learn the wedding invitation etiquette. Most brides will ask how to word their invitation. You need to become familiar with this. There are guidelines to follow if the parents are divorces and other situations, knowing the proper wording for wedding invitations can make your future bride more comfortable in using your services.


• Decide what type of invites you will provide. Chances are you can not be all things to everyone. Will you make computer generated invites and do layered invites. How many types will you offer. Get your supplies to start. You can add later but have some to practice with. Get a good relationship started with your local print shop. They may save scrap for you that will save a lot of money. See if they have odd envelopes they will sell you. They don't do much with 75 envelopes in pink but you may have a bride that would love that. You never know.


• Check to see what type of business license you need. You won't be taken serious if you don't have a license. If you call your Chamber of Commerce they can tell you where to get this. The Chamber will be a good contact also. If the fee to join is in your budget it may be a good idea. You can usually get some advertising from them in the process.


• Once you have a business license you will want to get established. Make some nice business cards and start distributing them. If your town has a wedding fair or expo try to get involved in that. A good place to promote might be the local florist. If they will allow put your cards in their shop. Maybe you can offer a commission if they send an order your way. If a restaurant has a place to put cards by all means this is a good place too.


• Determine what your costs are for so many invitations and set your prices so that you will make a good profit. You don't want to sell yourself short here. Setting your prices can be difficult. You should have a good idea what your area can bare. If you have a card shop or something that offers invitations see what the cost is there. You must know what your costs are before knowing what you will charge. Dont forget to add your time to calculate the cost.


• Set up or get someone to set up a website. Make it SEO or search engine friendly. This will increase the traffic to your site. Make sure if you have someone set it up they are familiar with this. If you just want local traffic this might be easier to target for.


• Put together a nice portfolio. If you have samples to look at future brides can determine what they want. Make sure these look good. You should have at least 5 samples. With each invitation include an RSVP the envelope and the reception card. Decide if you will include a map card. With so many GPS's the need for these has decreased but some may want them. Put them all together so each set is a matching page of invitations.


• If you can offer envelope addressing. This is something that brides will love. I make my envelope addressing match the invitation itself. Placing a piece of wedding clip art on the envelope will dress it up. Put these sample in your portfolio also.

I hope this gives you some idea of starting a wedding invitation business at home. It can be fun and profitable.

When people hear the word "catering," the first thing that comes to their mind is an individual or a company that provides the food for different occasions such as wedding receptions and parties. However, catering covers a wide range of people who are in the food business, including those that sell food in parks and other public places via a "catering" truck.

Types of catering trucks

There are two types of catering trucks; one of these types is the Mobile Food Preparation Vehicle (MFPV), where food can be prepared as customers order. Usually, these catering trucks offer various types of sandwiches and other food that can easily be prepared. These trucks are usually driven by a driver and are staffed with a cook.

The other type is the Industrial Catering Vehicle (ICV), which are trucks that sell only pre-packaged food. Usually, these trucks are only staffed with a driver given that it is a self-service vehicle. However, some operators of these trucks also provide another person, who can help customers.

Cost and insurance

The usual price of these kinds of trucks range from $50,000 to $100,000 depending on the equipment that are installed on the vehicle. Given the high costs of these trucks, operators and owners of these trucks need to protect their investment through insurance, which are now available from a number of insurance companies.

Permits

Apart from getting insurance, the owners of these trucks also need to meet a number of requirements from different government agencies so that they could operate the truck. One of these government agencies includes the Health Department, who would inspect the truck annually for licensing purposes. This is because these trucks must be able to pass certain health standards so that would be allowed to sell food to the public. Lastly, operators also need to get approval from the Department of Building and Safety, as it is the approving agency for the selling of goods on public streets and sidewalks.

The term caterer is not only limited to individuals who provide food for parties, as the term also covers people and companies who sell and serve food in various places. One of these are the catering trucks that we buy our sandwiches and some of our packaged food. For these caterers, the most important equipment that they have are their trucks, which are government sanctioned mini-restaurants" wherein they can sell their food.

When brides are looking for modern wedding invitations, many are considering using the pocket fold style. This style of wedding stationery is sleek, impressive and stylish. There are many different things you can do to ensure that you have modern invitations, from using photos, vivid colors, unique fonts and designs, but the pocket fold may very well be the most modern of the wedding invitations available on the market today.

Even though this type of stationery is beautiful and wonderful in many ways, the price tag is also higher than standard stationery. Just like any other product you buy for your wedding the pricing is varied from store to store across the internet and in local shops. Even with differing prices the majority you will see is in the range of $3 - 5 per invitation. That can quickly add up, especially if you have a large wedding in mind. Of course for some the price is worth it.

If you spend some time looking online you may be able to find cheaper styles available or you could choose to design your own or purchases a DIY kit for your pocket fold wedding invitations. The choice is up to you.

Outside of the price there is really no other deterent for choosing this type of stationery for your big day. This style is not only beautiful but it is practical. Let me explain. The most common invitation used in weddings is the flat invitation. There is certainly nothing wrong with this style, it can also be beautiful and modern as you so desire. The difference comes in the presentation.

When you send out a typical flat invitation the only thing printed on the invitation itself is the wedding details. You still have to add inserts for various things including when and where the reception is, food choices for the reception, RSVP cards, direction cards, Registry Info and more. These inserts have to either go in front or behind the invitation. This means that you do not have the crispest, most streamlined presentation you can have. Using The Pocket Fold Invitations changes everything.

This type of invitation shows beauty and elegance on the outside and the guests unwrap it to reveal the wedding information. Depending upon the style of the stationery itself you can either just have the typical info printed on it or you can also use some of the space on the inside to print other information. Anything you choose not to print on the invitation, all the inserts you have left, go neatly in the pockets on the inside. This creates one stunning masterpiece of wedding stationery, one which you can be proud of. It will certainly be a keepsake you will cherish along with the rest of your wedding mementos.

So lets start with window light. Place your subject close to the window to get the most diffused light, You will need to have a net curtain on your window. Or you can use a translucent shower curtain. You will see the light is beautifully diffused & soft on your subject. This is one of my favourite ways to quickly and very easily light up my subject and take the images. You will be pleasantly surprised at the results you achieve using light from a window.

When shooting outdoors in harsh sunlight or the midday sun, never have your subject facing the sun, you must shoot into the sun with either a fill-in flash or use a reflector to throw light back onto your subject. You can also use a diffuser between the sun and your subject. This creates a very soft diffused light and ideal when shooting in the midday sun. This also eliminates the harsh shadows under the eyes and the subject does not need to squint into the sun.

When using your flash, the best way to get the most creative results is to get the flash away from the camera. So instead of placing the flash on the hot-shoe, place it on a light stand and use an umbrella. Now most new cameras like Nikon have the capability to trigger the flash gun remotely. This gives us our directional lighting we are looking for. You will be amazed at the results you get. The flash can be triggered by the built-in pop up flash or by a dedicated trigger which Nikon makes.

This article will find out what to look for when you are in the process of buying a wedding suit. It is very important to get every detail as near to right as possible as your Wedding Suit will be one of the main components to make your day one to remember.

Firstly it's a good idea to work out what your suit will become after the event. By this I mean is it something you plan to use again and again or is it going to be a one off which you then keep as a memento. Maybe you are looking to hire a suit for this single occasion. This will all help in making the final decision and the task will become a whole lot easier.

Next I would recommend some window shopping. This is the best way to see what is currently out there on the market and you will come across a whole range of wedding suits. You will then be able to home in and pick a style that you like. Whilst doing so have a look at the price tags on each suit so you get an idea of the cost. This means when you actually come to purchase your own suit you will have a good idea of the amount you should expect to pay and can judge if the suit is over priced.

The material and its quality are the next area to look at. By now you should know what the suits long term needs are. If you have decided to buy a suit which will be your Wedding Suit, then something you can use time again, then you will probably want a suit with a high quality material. Some thing that will maintain its glamor and style in years to come without looking old. This of course will be reflected in the price and some see it more as an investment. If you suit is a one time outfit that will never be worn again then you might be willing to go for a lesser quality material which will reduce costs. Be aware that this may also decrease the comfort factor at the same time. The benefits are that the suit will look good on the day with out the biggest price tag in the shop.

Now think about colour and theme. Every couples wedding generally has its own colour scheme or theme. You will obviously need to match this so taking along sample colours if possible is not a bad idea, to see if you Wedding Suit matches. If you are going for a suit to use time again then you will be best to find a relatively neutral colour which can then be matched to the wedding colour scheme with the colour of your waist coat. This enables you to use to suit for more formal occasions after the event. On a one time used suit you can be a bit more daring with colour and pattern.

It's generally never a good idea to buy the jacket of one suit with the trousers of another so if you have found a suit that is not 100 percent perfect don't worry. The cloth can be altered in most cases and meet your requirements. The main things are style, colour and sizing as best as possible. Taking the trousers up and altering the jacket are a lot easier than changing the over all style.

Now you should be ready to start trying on a few suits. A good idea is to take some one with you, probably your best man. Try on more rather than less and try on suits that you think will look terrible. Some times you will be pleasantly surprised with their look and feel. Get the best mans opinion and start to narrow down the choices. Look at price, style, colour, pattern and then size. Hopefully you are starting to get somewhere near to your goals.

When you think you have made a decision place the suit back on the peg and walk out the shop. This is the best thing to do. You should tell the shop keeper that you will be back to buy this suit later and ask him to put it by so it doesn't get sold in the meantime. The reason for doing this is because 80% of the time people will buy a suit then see something else more to their liking. So carry on shopping, check out department stores and individual retailers to see if they have the same suit or similar outfits that might be to your taste. Try them on, then compare with the original one you have chosen. If at the end of the day you are still set on buying the first one then this is probably the correct choice for you and you will be safe in the knowledge that you have bought the best Wedding Suit in your budget and to the style, taste and colour you require.

Investment is the part of your income that you spend in order to generate more income or profit. A profit is a form of income, which can also be earned in the shape of peace of mind and soul. One of many reasons behind making the investment is to get some kind of a security in a monetary term against future mishaps and catastrophes. This is so because no one wants to fulfill his requirements by begging.

The concept of wedding insurance is basically derived from the act of investment. Wedding insurance policy is a kind of investment by which you get an accumulated amount of money to finance your needs along with the profit of the protection of mind.

It is your investment because it returns your money back with a profit in the shape of the serenity of your mind. You start planning your wedding day since your first date. All this planning is worthless if you do not insure your wedding day because uninsured wedding is vulnerable to all kinds of disasters.

Wedding is a big and a beautiful day of your life on which you have to make many intended and accidental expenditures. Though you make a rough estimation of expenditures of the wedding day but most of the time it proved a huge failure. This financial breakdown in the beginning of your marital life can further generate many big and petty issues.

The commencement of any relation defines its cohesion in the future, and you could not expect harmony if you begin your nuptial life with the burden of debt. A debt can accumulate if you do not make prior planning of your wedding day. Think for a while what you will do if you fall short of money right on your wedding occasion. Of course you will borrow from your friends or relatives.

A debt is one of the biggest hitches of all problems that arise when the wedding day passed. This is so because the amount of your daily expenditure has been increased after marriage due to costly gifts and travel. The tension in your relationship starts when you start paying off debt right after wedding by ignoring the wishes of your partner.

So it has proven that one wrong step can ruin your wedding day. On the contrary, a single right decision can give you unlimited advantages. To cut a long story short, it is entirely in your hands whether you want to spoil your relationship in paying back debt or enjoy fully enriched life by getting the best wedding insurance policy.

Whether you are looking for a bold statement or an elegant invitation, you will find thousands of different Bar Mitzvah invitations and ideas online. Making a statement with your invites has never been easier than it is with the wide selection that you can find on the internet today. This is a big deal and it deserves more than a standard birthday invitation or boring cheap invite. You need to wow your guests and show how important this event really is by getting the best invitations that you can find. It's easy, affordable, and hassle-free to shop for invitations online.

Making a statement is a lot of fun with Bar Mitzvah invitations. You can choose from many different styles, themes, and designs to get the best impression, no matter what you are going for. There are sophisticated, elegant styles, fun and funky styles, classic religious invitations, and so much more to choose from. Whether you want to be proper and high-class or just want to shout it from the rooftops with loud, fun invitations, you can find exactly what you need. Either way, your guests will be sure to get the message and see just how important this event really is.

Bar Mitzvah invitations set the stage for your event. Whether that is a fun party, a family gathering, or even a formal religious ceremony, you need to make sure that your invitations reflect both the occasion and the child that is celebrating. You should take the time to check out all the options that you have online because it will be easy to find what you need if you take the time to look. When a boy becomes a man, the last thing on his mind is the invitation. However, as the party planner it will be up to you to care about the little details so that everything is perfect.

Someday, he'll look back and appreciate the effort that you put into his Bar Mitzvah invitations. For now, you might be the only one who appreciates the affordable prices and selection of customizable invites that you can find online, but that's okay. You will be able to get the attention of your guests with ease when you find the perfect invitation to let them know that this is a big deal. Just take the time to look and see what is out there so that you can get the perfect invitations for your big celebration.

Couples planning a wedding often become so preoccupied with the bridal entourage, the reception, wedding outfits, music, pastor and honeymoon details until they realise, often too late, that the wedding invitations should be given as much attention as the other decisions. It is not just a question of going to the stationery store and signing a purchase order. A myriad of details go into wedding invitations, so you should allot the necessary time and effort for them to avoid snags and undue stress.

To assist you with your wedding invitations, let these scheduling tips and checklists guide you. The following is a wedding invitation plan that is split into four important stages:

o Deciding the preliminaries
o Ordering
o Preparing
o Mailing

This is only a guide and is based on the assumption that you have six months before your wedding date. There is a considerable degree of flexibility, and a lot depends on your circumstances, and how much time you have before the big day. You and your future spouse, along with family members, may want to help out, relieving you of the pressure of doing this task on your own.

Deciding the Preliminaries

Time frame: Six months before the wedding

1. The first question to settle is: should you order save-the-date cards? Save-the-date cards are useful for weddings that are scheduled during holiday periods when people usually make travel plans. If your wedding falls around Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, Easter, or during the summer months, you may want to consider sending save-the-date cards six months before the wedding so that you give people enough time to adjust their travel and vacation plans.

2. After you have announced your engagement, sit down with your future spouse, his parents, and your parents, to create a tentative list of people to invite. This tentative list gives you a good idea of how many wedding invitations to order.

3. Create a document that is going to contain these details: date and time of the ceremony, name and address of ceremony's location, name and address of the reception hall, correct spellings of invitees' names and updated addresses. It would be a shame and a waste of money if fifty invitations were "returned to sender" because of an incorrect address. You or a family member should call each invitee to verify civic numbers, street names and zip codes.
Time Frame: Five months before the wedding

1. Review lists and the details in the document, and make any changes if necessary.
2. Finalize invitee list.
3. Divide the invitee list into out-of-town guests and local guests. You may need to send out invitations earlier to out-of-town guests.

Ordering the Wedding Invitations

Time Frame: Four months before the wedding

1. Decide on these details: response cards, wording, map and directions sheet, monograms, motifs, ribbons, font, ink color, seals and envelope liners.
2. Ask three different suppliers for quotes. Then compare them with respect to discount, customer service, delivery, guarantees, efficiency and payment options.
3. Decide if the supplier you have chosen will also do the thank you cards, place cards, menus, personalised napkins, and rehearsal dinner invitations.
4. Ask the supplier for a sample invitation so you can proofread it, making sure that all specifications were followed correctly and then finalize your order. Order 50 extra invitations in case of mistakes and last minute additions to the guest list. You may want to keep a few as souvenirs as well.
5. Take a sample of your wedding invitation to the post office and have it weighed. You may need to set aside a budget for postage. Remember that the fancier and heavier your invitation, the more postage money you are going to spend.

Preparing the Wedding Invitations

Time frame: Three months before the wedding

1. Assemble all invitations and your supplier should deliver them flat and unassembled. unless you request them to put the invitations together for an additional fee). Do not forget to insert the map and directions sheet.
2. Address them. Begin with the out-of-town guests. You can choose a calligraphy artist or you can address them in your own handwriting.
3. Do a final check. Make sure all envelopes contain the RSVP card, map and directions, seals, ribbons and other enclosures.

Mailing the Invitations

Time frame: Two months before the wedding

Some people say four to six weeks is ample time, but you should leave at least eight weeks. This allows you to give those who live out-of-town the opportunity to make changes in their personal schedules. This also give you time to sort out the RSVP cards which, unfortunately, some people forget or delay mailing back. You need to tell the caterer how many people are going to be attending. Eight weeks should be a comfortable time frame for ensuring that you have the final and correct number of guests. Some people mail their invitations even as early as 10 weeks before the wedding date.