Announcements vs. Invitation

If someone sent an announcement to my house I would probably expect an invitation to follow. You should also be prepared for some people to get confused and think it means they are invited.

FHs parents put an announcement in the paper, but we didn't send out announcements.

You could send an announcement to those people after the fact, but like KB, if you sent it before, it'd read like a save the date and people would probably expect an invitation.

I'm not sure I really understand the point of announcements.. like KB, I would kinda expect an invitation to follow.

I would think an "Announcement" would go out right after the wedding. But yes, they are kind of a thing of the past, and might confuse folks a bit. But if it is sent after, it eliminates some of the confusion around attending & gift giving.

What JP+AP said... Announcement= STD= Invited to wedding..

Just cut your list down the the bear minimum. People will understand. If they ask you can say, we kept it with local people and we didnt want to make people fly in to attend our event.

I agree with the PP. I think you are suppose to send announcements after the wedding. If you send it before it will look like a STD.

Announcements are sent after the wedding, announcing that a marriage has taken place. Wording matches the style of the invitation, so if you and FH are hosting your own wedding (as opposed to your parents or both sets of parents), it would read something like:

"[Bride] and [Groom] are happy/honored/etc. to announce their marriage, which took place on [Date]"

Unlike invitations, announcements to not carry with them an expectation of a gift. More info can be found here: http://emilypost.com/advice/announcing-your-marriage/

To me that just looks like "give me money". If you want them to share your special day with you then invite them and let them decide if they will be coming or not. Don't make the decision for them. The only time an announcement like that is appropriate is if you have eloped.

Thanks for your comments. Very helpful. I think we may just send announcements after the wedding that way it is still informing people, not confusing, and doesn't look like we are asking for gifts.

You would never send an announcement BEFORE the wedding. That would definitely give the impression that an invitation will follow. Announcements are only sent AFTER the wedding, within a week or so. Traditionally, announcements do not come with the obligation of sending a gift. However, not everyone understands announcements (they aren't very common now) and they may seem gift grabby to some people.

If there are a few people that really matter to you (i.e. cute old church lady) I'd just take the time to send them a nice note & a photo of you from your wedding.

"Greetings, Joan! Just wanted to make sure you heard the news! blah blah blah .....We had a small ceremony close to our new home blah blah blah.... Life is good blah blah..... You were always so kind to me growing up and I wanted you to know I was thinking of you... Hope all is well!"

Your new address with be on the envelope, and they can send back their warm wishes if they'd like!

The only time I see announcements making sense is if you had an extremely small or private ceremony or if you want to announce your new address. Traditionally an announcement can state that the bride and groom will be at home after a certain date at a certain address. This indicates that they moved in together. We are moving about a month after our wedding but will probably just email out our new address to our family and friends and send thank yous after we move with our new return address. No announcements for us.