Wedding Enclosure Card Wording

So your big day is finally approaching. With only a few months left until the wedding, it’s time to start thinking about invitations.

Invitations are a crucial part of wedding planning, especially if your guest list is on the longer side. It’s important to make sure everyone receives not only an invitation, but also the information inside the enclosure card. While enclosure cards may not get the same recognition that the main invitation does, they often play a more important role in assisting guests and keeping them informed.

Read on for everything you need to know about wedding enclosure card wording and crafting your own.

What is a Wedding Enclosure Card?

Wedding enclosure cards contain additional information that cannot fit on your invitations alone. In order to keep invitations sleek and straightforward, couples will forgo putting these details on them and write this information on separate details cards. Think RSVP cards, reception cards, and other information cards.

What’s Included in a Wedding Enclosure Card?

While everyone’s wedding invitations, enclosure cards, and suites are going to look a little different, there are a few staple pieces of information that each should include. They are:

• Reception details: If you’re planning to use the same venue, you may simply write “reception to follow” on the bottom of your invitations. Now, if your reception is going to take place in a different location (or at a later time) you’ll want to include these details on an enclosure card.

• Directions: While everyone may have a GPS in their phone, adding this information can still be helpful to ensure guests arrive on time. This is especially true for venues off the beaten path.

• Transportation schedules: If you’re planning on transporting guests from one venue to another, this information should be included, as well. Both the schedule and method of any transportation provided should be included here.

• Attire: While attire details aren’t required, they’re certainly encouraged. Including a dress code—whether it be black tie, cocktail, or casual—ensures that every guest knows exactly what to wear. Save loved ones the frustration of guessing and include a brief description of expected attire.

• Response card: One of the biggest elements you’ll want to include in your wedding enclosure cards is a way for wedding guests to RSVP. Traditionally, a reply card with its own return envelope and postage is provided for guests to fill out. However, physical response cards have become a touch outdated. Now, couples can utilize Zola’s online RSVP tracker. Simply add the link to your wedding website on the enclosure card and encourage guests to RSVP there. Of course, a physical response card can be included as an option for guests who struggle with technology—but digital RSVPs are typically easier to organize.

Zola Tip: Any information you can’t fit in your invitation suite can be added to your wedding website. Simply add a business card with the URL alongside your invitations, and invite guests to visit the website for more details about the big day.

Wording Examples for Wedding Enclosure Cards

Now that you understand what should be included in your wedding enclosure cards, it’s time to tackle the real topic of this article: how to write them.

Wedding invitation wording and etiquette can be tricky to figure out when navigating the world of wedding stationery. Fortunately, the experts at Zola are here to help you every step of the way.

Below are just a few examples of proper wedding enclosure wording:

Keep it Simple

For a simple enclosure card, try writing something like this:

“Reception information: Bluxome Street Winery 101 Bluxome Street San Francisco, California

Attire: Cocktail

For more details, see: [Zola link] Password: [Optional]”

Zola Tip: Notice how this wedding enclosure card wording gets right to the point. Some couples prefer to save the artful language for their invitations and keep the important information in their enclosure cards much more straightforward. Ultimately, this will be a matter of personal preference. Just know that you always have the option of keeping things simple.

Get Creative

If you want to keep your enclosure card wording in line with your invitations, then you may need to get a little creative with your language. For a more formal approach, try something like this:

“It’s Time to Celebrate: Please join us after the ceremony for a night of dinner and dancing at Bluxome Street Winery 101 Bluxome Street San Francisco, California

Dress Your Best: Dress code will be cocktail attire

Please visit (Zola link) for all wedding details, including hotel accommodations, RSVPs, and gift registry.

Zola Tip: As you can see, this wording takes a little more liberty when it comes to the headings, but the information remains the same. Couples can feel free to get creative when crafting their enclosure cards, but you’ll want to make sure they remain easy for guests to read.

Other Types of Enclosure Cards

Above are the basics of writing a wedding enclosure card, but there’s plenty of other information that can be incorporated as well. While some couples keep things simple with a single enclosure card, others may choose to include multiple pieces of stationery in their wedding invitation suite.

Let’s take a look at some other popular types of wedding enclosure cards and how they may be worded:

Response Card

As previously mentioned, setting up digital RSVPs is easier. That being said, we’ve included a wording example for couples who prefer to send out physical response cards with their wedding invitations:

“Kindly Reply On or before September 23rd, [Guest name]: Will Attend or Will Not Attend Entree preference: Beef, Chicken, or Fish”

Zola Tip: The best part about response card wording? Your guest will be writing most of it. Simply state your deadline, give your guest options, and list the entree choices available. The rest is up to them.

Accommodations

Accommodation information is important, especially for destination weddings and out-of-town guests. While this can be listed on your wedding website, some couples choose to include an accommodation card along with their wedding invitations. If you’re interested in doing this, the wording for your accommodation card may look something like this:

“Accommodations: For your convenience, a block of rooms has been reserved at The Fairmont San Francisco 950 Mason Street San Francisco, California.

Please reference [hotel link] for more information with: [group code or password]

Rates start at $150 per night Please book by September 23rd!”

Zola Tip: Finding accommodations for your guests is easy when you use Zola’s online hotel planner. With this handy service, couples can find hotel blocks near their venue within seconds—and all this information can easily be uploaded to your free wedding website.

Directions Insert

Direction inserts are fairly easy to write, because you’re mostly reiterating the information your GPS gives you. That being said, couples should include any tips and tricks they have for getting to the venue, finding parking, and avoiding traffic. A solid direction insert will typically have a visual map, along with simple wording such as:

“Bluxome Street Winery 101 Bluxome Street San Francisco, California

From Downtown San Francisco:

1. Head northeast on Market St. toward Van Ness Ave.
2. Take a right onto 10th street
3. Turn left onto Division Street
4. At the rotary, continue straight onto Townsend Street
5. Turn left onto 5th Street
6. Turn right onto Bluxome Street
7. Valet services are available with parking behind the building”

Zola Tip: Since guests may be coming from different places, it can be helpful to list multiple sets of directions. This is particularly important if you live near two large metropolitan areas—such as San Francisco and San Jose.

Itinerary Card

Weddings last longer than just a single day. Getting all your friends and family together for this celebration of love can often take up an entire weekend, if not more. This is why many couples choose to include an itinerary card along with their wedding invitations.

Wording for an itinerary enclosure card may look something like this:

“We would love for you to join us in the following wedding events:

Rehearsal Dinner: Friday, September 17 7:00 PM Sotto Mare Restaurant 552 Green Street San Francisco, California

Wedding Ceremony and Reception: Saturday, September 18 4:00 PM Bluxome Street Winery 101 Bluxome Street San Francisco, California

Farewell Brunch: Sunday, September 19 12:00 PM Plain Jane Restaurant 1000 Guerrero Street San Francisco, California”

Zola Tip: If you’re planning an action-packed weekend, your itinerary card may end up a little longer than you’d like. That’s why we recommend keeping descriptions very brief in order to save space and make your itinerary card easy to read.

When Should I Send Out My Wedding Invitations and Enclosure Cards?

For our final piece of advice, we’ll be talking about timelines for sending out invitations and enclosure cards.

Every wedding is different, but invitation etiquette is pretty standard across the board. It’s recommended that most couples send out their invitation suites around six to eight weeks before the big day. RSVPs should be returned at least a month before the wedding date in order to properly arrange the guest list and seating chart.

To give yourself plenty of time, we advise couples to order their invitations and enclosure cards at least six months before you plan to send them out. To make this easier to remember, couples can simply order their invitations shortly after sending out their save-the-dates.

For destination weddings, this timeline differs quite a bit. With so many travel accommodations needed, destination wedding invitations should be sent out no later than 12 weeks before the wedding date.

Zola: Your One-Stop Shop for All Things Wedding

Whether you’re looking for invitations, enclosure cards, or save-the-dates, Zola is your one-stop shop for all things wedding. We have hundreds of gorgeous designs to fit any wedding style, and Zola members can even customize their invitations with photos, metallic foil, unique typography, and more.

Our helpful wedding services don’t stop there, either. From our Expert Advice to our online wedding registry, Zola couples can complete their entire wedding planning checklist from the comfort of home.

Ditch the stress and jump straight to the celebration. Start planning your dream wedding today, with Zola!