Tacky Wedding Invitations

Can a wedding invitation really manage to be tacky? Sadly, it can! There are many well-meaning couples out there who in trying to be romantic or clever end up designing an invitation that turns the stomach of the guests who receive it. These are the things that make wedding invitations tacky, and how to avoid making the same mistakes.

First of all, it is important to understand that whether or not an invitation is tacky or not has nothing to do with what it cost. An inexpensive invitation can be elegant, and a pricey one can be done in exceedingly poor taste. It is what is written on the invitation and how it is made that counts. Original wording and "clever" images tend to be among the top offenders. Compare these two types of wedding invitation wording: "Mr. and Mrs. Walter Hall request the pleasure of your company at the wedding of their daughter Sarah Ann, etc., etc." is as classic and timeless as a pair of pearl earrings; in other words, it is tasteful, and like pearl earrings, fits any style of occasion.

Then there is this: "On this day we will marry the one we laugh with, live for, dream with, love. Come and witness Sarah and John as they start their journey together with one heart, etc." Blech! Too much information, and too personal. It is also redundant; if you are getting married, people assume that you are in love, it is not necessary to spell it out in syrupy prose. You may think it is romantic, but most of the guests will find the wording too saccharine. All that really should be written on a wedding invitation is the basics of who, what, where, and when. The "why" part is self-explanatory.

Being too cutesy is another common thing that makes a wedding invitation tacky. Just because they offer "Precious Moments" wedding stationery does not mean that you should choose it, even if you really love large eyed child figures dressed as a bride and groom. Another common trap is getting carried away with overly cute photos of the bride and groom. While personalizing your wedding stationery with your photo can be a nice detail, they should not be captioned like they were part of a scrapbook. Especially not if the captions are puns playing on the themes of love. Save that for your actual wedding scrapbook, and include a single elegant photo on the invitation.

Tackiness can also come in the form of poor manners. A perfectly lovely engraved wedding invitation can become tacky with the inclusion of bridal registry information on it. Using your wedding invitation to snub a family member for not giving you enough money is also always in poor taste. When in doubt, the best thing that a couple can do is to stick with a classic invitation and simple wording. You can never go wrong with that, and no one will find you tacky!