Wedding Weekend Events: What to Include in Your Main Invitation vs. Enclosure Cards

The wedding is quickly approaching, and while you’re in the throes of picking out floral arrangements and save-the-date cards, you decide to plan a few extra events surrounding the big day. After all, ancillary wedding events can help to bring loved ones together when they’re already in town for your wedding weekend.

However, there’s the conundrum of who to invite and how. Do you include the information on a details card in your wedding invitation suite? Or is it more appropriate to mail a separate wedding itinerary card outlining you’re hosting a welcome party, rehearsal dinner, and farewell brunch?

Zola’s wedding experts recommend a centralized approach to wedding planning, so letting specific guests know the schedule of events is paramount while ensuring you can keep track of separate guest lists. Hint: Zola’s RSVP tracking can do that, too!

Here’s what you need to know about what to include in the main wedding invitation vs. what to put on a separate card within your invitation suite.

What to Include in the Main Wedding Invitation

Of course, you should include standard information about your big day, such as who is getting married, the date, time, location, and what exactly everyone is invited to—this can be either the ceremony only or include the wedding reception.

There are standard ways to word your wedding invitation, depending on the formality of your big day. However, invitation etiquette says that your main card should only focus on the primary ceremony and reception details.

When considering invitation hierarchy, the wedding invitation is the main component in your wedding communication strategy. A details card (or wedding itinerary card) can help communicate the wedding weekend schedule to your guests. So, no, not all events should be included in the primary invitation.

When to Use Enclosure Cards for Additional Events

Extra Celebrations Typically Added to the Schedule of Events

What extra events should you consider? Here are a few to choose from. Depending on your budget and wedding weekend timeline, feel free to do one, all, or even none.

• Welcome Party - Hosting a pre-wedding get-together, such as a welcome dinner, to greet out-of-town guests is a nice idea to make them feel at ease in a new location. Not up for a full dinner? Have a small cocktail event, brunch, or something casual. Sample wording: We’re hosting a welcome party for our out-of-town guests. Please join us at (date/time/location) so we can say hello before the big day arrives.
• Rehearsal Dinner - A meal following (or preceding) the wedding rehearsal is typical and sometimes expected. Invite out-of-town guests, in addition to those involved in the wedding, to this event. Sample wording: Please join us after our rehearsal at (date/time/location) to celebrate our loved ones and say our thank yous before we get married.
• Farewell Brunch - Want to say goodbye to everyone after the big day? Add the farewell brunch to the wedding details card vs. the main invitation. That way, you can invite select folks and bid adieu. Sample wording: We’re hosting one last celebration before we head off on our honeymoon. We’d love for you to join us at (date/tlme/location) for a farewell brunch so we can say goodbye.

Other Events You May Consider

Depending on your beliefs or customs, there are a few other events you may need to add to your wedding weekend timeline. These also require a separate card in your wedding invitation suite.

• Aufruf - This Jewish celebration is typically held the Saturday before the big day and can be added to your suite or be a separate, mailed invitation.
• Mehndi Party - As an Indian tradition, this event involves applying henna to the body. It’s best to apply three days before the special day, so this can be included on a details card within your invitation suite.
• Wedding Shower, Bach Party, Bridesmaids’ Luncheon - If most of your guests are traveling from out of town, holding some events close to the wedding day is appropriate. These can also be mailed separately or included on a card within your invitation suite.

How to Invite Guests to Multiple Wedding Events

You may wonder what to put on a details card instead of just adding the information to your website. It all depends on how close you are to the wedding date and how formal your wedding is. Here are a few tips for communicating the wedding weekend schedule to attendees.

When to Use a Details Card in Your Wedding Stationery Suite

Adding detail cards for each event is appropriate for a very formal wedding. When wondering how to invite guests to multiple events, adding separate cards when you mail your invitation suite is a lovely consideration. Whether hosting a rehearsal dinner, farewell brunch, or welcome party, adding it to your initial mailing will grab attention.

Note: When using separate cards within your invitation, keep your piles separate and double-check that you invite the correct people to various events. The last thing you want to do is make a faux pas and mail invites to the wrong folks.

When to Add a Wedding Itinerary Card to Your Invitation Suite

When each of your guests is invited to all of the events, add a wedding weekend events invitation to your suite. When couples have an intimate event, cultural festivities, or destination wedding coordination, they often plan a fully packed itinerary for their guests.

Sending an itinerary instead of separate invitations is the best plan for everything from a welcome party to the farewell brunch and everything in between (such as tours, catamaran rides, and wine tastings). Tradition in your culture may also dictate several events surrounding the wedding day, so an itinerary card is also appropriate when that is the case.

When to Mail Out a Separate Invitation

Wedding showers, bach parties, and bridal luncheons are best handled with a separately mailed invitation, especially if they occur long before the wedding day. Also, if the rehearsal dinner is hosted by someone other than the couple or the wedding host, they may wish to send an invitation.

When to Use a Wedding Website for Wedding Timeline Communication

If you have an informal wedding or are short on time, send digital invitations to events via your wedding website. Beyond the paper wedding invitation, you can send digital invitations to other wedding-centric events.

Whether you send e-invitations or separate cards within your wedding suite, Zola’s digital invitation suite allows seamless integration with your wedding website. Our guest experience management system lets guests RSVP online, and you can easily track who is coming to which event—no matter your timeline.

Zola’s wedding weekend planning tools make communicating all your events easy while helping you send reminders to attendees. Whether you need to make updates or nudge them to RSVP, use your wedding website to keep track of everything. Don’t forget to add your site address to relevant invitations so your guests know where to let you know if they’ll attend.

FAQ About Using Wedding Details Card vs. Main Invitation

How do I tactfully indicate which guests are invited to which events?

It’s best not to confuse folks with your wedding timeline communication when having multiple events. For example, suppose you invite an entire family to the ceremony and reception, but children aren’t invited to the welcome party. In that case, it’s best to handle that via a separate invitation to state on the details card that children aren’t allowed to attend. You can also put the names of only the invited guests on individual envelopes for each event.

How do I handle plus-ones for ancillary wedding events?

When inviting a plus-one to the wedding and extra events, you can address the entire invitation suite to the guest and a plus-one. Don’t want a plus-one at the rehearsal dinner? Only address the envelope for that separate event to the invited guest.

What if my budget doesn’t allow for separate details cards or itinerary enclosures?

Weddings can be expensive, so if you’d rather use digital communication, feel free. Mail out paper invitations to invited guests and use your wedding website to send invitations for other events. Zola’s wedding weekend planning tools make communicating all your events digitally easy.

How cohesive should my wedding correspondence be?

Ideally, everything should match, whether you send it all simultaneously in the same envelope or mail things separately. However, if your partner’s parents want to host a funky ‘80s bash for your rehearsal dinner and you’re planning a formal wedding the next day, feel free to go off-script. The main point of wedding etiquette is that everything mailed within your wedding invitation suite should match. Separately mailed invites for other events can match, coordinate, or reflect the theme of the individual event.

How do I handle last-minute additional events?

Does your aunt want to host a last-minute wedding welcome party? Use your wedding site to send out invitations quickly so that folks can get it on their calendars. You (or she) can always follow up with a mailed invite, but letting guests know ASAP will increase their chances of attending.

Is it okay to include only some events on the wedding website?

A good rule of thumb is to include only events where everyone is invited on your website. You can have other sections and guest lists on your site, but make sure not to make that information available to everyone. The last thing you want to do is unintentionally offend.

Zola: Your Place for Invitations and Beyond

Whether you need a full invitation suite or are just looking for personalized, post-wedding thank-you cards, Zola has everything you need. While you should order your suite six to eight months before the big day, our expedited services can help you get your paper quickly—even if you only have two weeks to spare.

Zola has lovely stationery templates, and our wedding websites and RSVP management will help you keep track of it all. Fill out your wedding registry or plan your next great date night in our section on expert advice. We’re here for you 24/7/365 to help you easily plan your day.