Sienna's Idea Pulse; Wedding Invitations

             Good Afternoon everyone! So as you move along in your planning process you will notice that invitations play a large and obviously vital role. There are so many different styles of invitations. I am going to give you a few ideas of what you may like your invitations to look like, as well as what should be contained inside. Invitations depend primarily upon personality and the amount of information that needs to be enclosed. Here are some invitation styles you may like;

Here at the Forest House your day flows a little differently than it would at another venue. Due to the all-inclusive packages that we offer some will want a few guests to arrive early on their wedding day and join them for lunch if that is the package option they have chosen. However, they may want the rest of the guests to come up a little later nearer to the ceremony to keep the "during the day" guest count to a minimum.  You then may wonder; ‘how would I word that in my invitations?’ Well, for this I direct you to our planning mastermind herself, Kathryn Gardenhire. The same questions you have asked us, I have asked Kathryn, and here is what she has to say:

“Invitations are tricky, because of all of the activities associated with a wedding at Forest House versus a wedding anywhere else.  I usually recommend leaving the main body of the invitation formal with the parent’s names, bride and groom names, ceremony time, date and location.  Then, I recommend using an insert to explain the lunch, pre-ceremony cocktail party, post-ceremony cocktail party, etc.  Since the invitation is usually a keepsake of the event, I recommend using the actual ceremony time.  If you don't want to use a separate insert for the "time line" information, you could add a note at the bottom of the invitation that says something like the following:

"Please join us at Forest House Lodge starting at 4:00 for cocktails and appetizers prior to the ceremony.  The ceremony will take place approximately 1.4 miles from Forest House Lodge at Grand Sierra Pointe, please see a staff member for directions.  Cocktails and appetizers will be available back at Forest House Lodge immediately following the ceremony, and dinner will begin at 7:30, with dancing to follow."

Also, we have had some confusion regarding rooming arrangements. Here is what we suggest to help eliminate any confusion: we strongly advise that you give rooming information about the Lodge strictly to those who you have chosen to stay at the Lodge over night. In the Invitations for those who will be staying in one of our overflow hotels, please give ONLY the information regarding those hotels. Forest House Lodge has a list of overflow hotel information that has been provided in your planning packet, if you would like to receive a secondary copy of this insert please feel free to contact us. One more thing: for the guests who are staying with us here at the Lodge PLEASE remind them that they are to make their reservations through you. This ultimately gives you complete creative control of your guest list and makes it less of a hassle for them in not having to do the legwork of reservations. Keeping these things in mind will help contribute to a clear, informative invitation.

    Hopefully this is a big help to your planning process. Another thing to keep in mind, as some of you know, is that we have an ‘idea box” here at the Lodge for your use at any time. It is a collaboration of past Bride & Grooms invitations, save the dates, dinner menus and even a few favors. In this way you are able to get your creative juices flowing and even come up with some of your own ideas. Please feel free to call us and ask about coming up to take a look! Hope this helps! As Kathryn always says; Happy Planning!

With Love and Care,

Sienna Forrester, Wedding Journalist

Forest House Lodge