Would love some invite feedback

[CDNinNYC]

I'd appreciate your feedback on this invite proof.

Thoughts on paper colours, font, wording? Should the colour of the umbrella be changed? I can't tell anymore what I like and don't like and need some objective opinions!

Would you be excited to attend the wedding after seeing this invite?

FYI, I'm debating replacing "at the beautiful resort town of Playa del Carmen" with "at the beautiful Royal Playa Del Carmen resort" Does this work better? Also, is it "four o'clock in the evening" or "four o'clock in the afternoon"?

Also, has anyone mentioned 'attire' preferences in their invites? I've seen 'Beach Chic' written on samples online but don't know if this is appropriate.


Thanks so much!

 

[Blair138]

I think they are super cute and FI and I are going to the Royal Playa del Carmen for our h-moon!!!

I think that it should say "at the beautiful Royal Playa Del Carmen resort" AND I think the colors are super cute.

I think it is 4 o'clock in the afternoon, because 5 is evening (I believe). And I think that you could leave off the attire. Guests will probably figure it out since it's outdoors on a beach.

ETA: I just realized I said "I think" a million times...wow I need sleep!

 

[jcrow]

is it indeed the royal playa del carmon resort? if so, that''s what i''d put.

yes, i believe it would be 4 in the afternoon, since evening official begins at 5.

and i agree with blair, i''d leave off the attire since most will get the hint since it''s a beach wedding.

 

[blackpolkadot]

IMO, the top line reads a bit weird. Maybe incorporate the ''in a tropical paradise part'' in the bottom part?

 

[mayachel]

Your invites are a great mixture of playfulness and formality. I love the pattern of your colored papers. The color of the umbrella is such a subjective thing...I see you''ve matched it to the names, I think I would personally have matched it to the border...but that''s just my taste. I would definitely be excited to receive this invite, it makes me think it will be a very fun wedding.

"at the beautiful Royal Playa Del Carmen resort" reads better.

I don''t know about the 4 o''clock...good question.

It is my understanding that etiquette should not be dictated on the invitation, but inferred from the formality of the invitation itself. For example, it comes across as dictating what your guests should wear. (Me, I like knowing what the couple is expecting of me, but yet I''ll follow tradition of this for mine and not include it).

 

[VRBeauty]

I'd leave out the "beautiful" since it brings to mind a travel brochure.

BTW since your guests will be packing bags to attend your wedding, I think they'll probably call someone (hello, MOB) to ask about the attire if they have any questions.

 

[pocahontas]

CDN, your invites look great! They’re different from your STD’s, but the look is still very cohesive – love that! FWIW, I would definitely be excited to attend your wedding…hmmm, maybe an extended honeymoon?!

A few suggestions:
- there’s a typo that you may have already noticed in the first line after your names. Instead of “TO,” it says “OT.” The only reason I'm pointing it out is because I know it took many pairs of eyes over several days to catch all the typos on our invites.

- I read somewhere that 4pm is considered afternoon. Some will tell you that when the time of day is obvious it isn’t necessary to denote "afternoon" or "evening." In other words, your guests aren't likely to assume you mean 4am so writing anything after "four o'clock" isn't necessary. Our wedding is also at 4pm and personally, FI and I preferred having “in the afternoon” included so we had that written on our invites.

- I like the blue umbrella, but wonder if a green umbrella would look even better. It would break up the amount of blue and bring in the green from your paisley border into the drawing.

- Regarding the wording of the resort town vs resort name, I personally like having the name of the hotel on your invite in that particular line ‘cause that’s where you’ll be getting married, right? In other words, your ceremony will be at the resort so that is what should be referenced, imho. If you were refering to your destination location in an information card then I'd say resort town. Does that make sense?

ETA: I just realized how slow I am to formulate my thoughts. When I started to respond no one had posted yet, then I finally post and there are several responses ahead of me. No wonder it takes me forever to write my papers

 

[Guilty Pleasure]

I think they are really nice, and I'd be excited to get that invitation.

I may be alone in this, but I think it is a bit awkward to go from the first person, "our parents" to the third person listing your names and then back to first person in the information section. I would probably switch it to "together with their parents," "their wedding memories," or include a "we" before listing the names.

 

[Elmorton]

Ditto about the first line -

I can''t tell from the photo, but there definitely needs to be a comma in between "In a tropical paradise, together with our parents..." but even with the comma, it''s clunky. You''re doing the inviting from your home, not the tropical paradise... also, I think the part about the "sea, etc" in the second line after your names hits the message home that this is a tropical wedding.

I''m a really traditional person when it comes to preferences on invite wording. I''d really rather see just "at the Playa del Carmen Resort" - no beautiful. Your invitation is beautiful. The idea of a beach wedding is beautiful. I''m not really loving the stress on the location''s best qualities in the invite wording, because the stress should be on your name, your FI''s name, and the happiness/pride of the event

 

[Elmorton]

And...what does it say at the bottom? What to follow? I can't make it out

ETA: FIESTA!!! Gotcha. I might add something there, actually. "Beachside Dinner Fiesta to follow" or "Fiesta to follow on the Mariposa Balcony" etc.

 

[pocahontas]

Date: 1/22/2009 1:38:12 PM
Author: Guilty Pleasure
I may be alone in this, but I think it is a bit awkward to go from the first person, ''our parents'' to the third person listing your names and then back to first person in the information section. I would probably switch it to ''together with their parents,'' ''their wedding memories,'' or include a ''we'' before listing the names.

Nope, not alone on this Guilty Pleasure; I didn''t notice that so good catch! CDN, I agree that you should stick to either first-person or third-person, but not both.

 

[Morgie44]

They are very cute! I love the pattern of the borders. Have you played around with a green umbrella instead of blue? I like the blue, but I think it might be nice, since the rest of the color in the invite is blue and the water is blue, the green might make it pop a little more. Also, I agree with Elmorton about the In a tropical paradise part, I am not crazy about how it reads... a little too wordy or something for my style, and people will get from the style of the invite and the other info that it is a tropical wedding.

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

Awesome invitations!!! I would definitely look forward to this wedding if I got this in the mail. And like mayachel said, I love the mix of playful fun and formality, and the colors are great.

I agree with almost all the recommendations...
- Take out the "beautiful" and just use the resort name
- I wouldn''t include the attire unless you''re wanting something very different than what is usually worn to beach weddings
- 4 o''clock in the afternoon
- Try to make the umbrella either green like the border (with or without the pattern) or the navy blue of the names - maybe it looks out of place b/c it''s the same color as the water
- Fix the first/third person inconsistency
- Put a comma in the first line (if you''re keeping the tropical paradise phrase, which I kind of like... but maybe it should go down below somewhere, not in the first line... but then again, it''s nice b/c it''s different! Haha I''m no help)
- I like Elmorton''s suggestion about the Fiesta to follow too

All little changes, ha and they''ve all been mentioned already mostly - I love your invitations though, so much fun! Haha makes me excited right now for you!

 

[laurel25]

I''m kind of nit-picky too over this stuff, so I''d change it to "at the Royal Playa del Carmen Resort". When speaking/writing about a town you say, "in Chicago", not "at Chicago". So if you do leave it with the town name, change it to, "in Playa del Carmen".

 

[CDNinNYC]

Thanks so much for all your feedback, ladies!

This design was my 'second choice' as the one I really wanted wasn't able to be replicated. Because I'm not as attached to this design, I wasn't sure how I felt about it and whether it would create excitement in our guests for the wedding. So, for those who said they would be excited to receive this invite and attend, a big thank you!

Blair138, jcrow and laurel25, thanks for your thoughts on the wording. I'm in agreement and will be asking for those changes. Blair138, how cool your honeymoon will be at the Royal in PDC!

When are you going? Have you been before? I've heard some great things about it; am keeping my fingers crossed all goes well.

blackpolkadot and Elmorton, "In a tropical paradise" does sound awkward and I had been playing around with using a comma. The phrase came from an invitation the designer had done previously. I had wanted to add something to the "Together with our parents" because, visually, I wanted a longer sentence but can't think of what else to write. Hmmm, I'll have to think more on this.

mayachel and morgie44, thanks for your thoughts, especially on the patterned border and the umbrella. I also felt there was too much blue going on but wasn't sure if it was just me and I was being picky! I've asked the designer to change the colour of the umbrella to a green that will match the border. I also wasn't sold on the pattern but it sounds like it could work as long as there's something, like the umbrella, to balance out the colours.

VRBeauty and Elmorton, thanks for your thoughts on the word "beautiful". It didn't occur to me when I first read the wording, but you're right, it sounds like I'm trying to 'sell' the location to our guests, not exactly the sentiment I was going for.

Pocahontas, I'm so glad you liked them. I didn't notice that typo, muchas gracias! As for "Four o'clock in the evening", I had changed that to "Four o'clock in the afternoon" in previous proofs when the designer was attempting my 'first choice' invites but she keeps changing it back to 'evening'. I too think 'afternoon' sounds better but wasn't sure if I was wrong on the wording. I'll just have to remind her to change it again.

All your feedback is always spot on; thank you!

Guilty Pleasure, thanks for catching that! I think I'll change it to the third person as I prefer not to have a 'we' before our names.

Elmorton, LOL, it does say fiesta. My maid of honour doesn't like it. I do like your suggestion of "Fiesta to follow on the Mariposa Balcony" but perhaps I should replace it with something more traditional/standard?

luvthemstrawberries, thanks so much for your thoughts! You hit every issue on the head. I may just forward your list to the designer. Yes, they are small changes but they would make a big difference!

Sounds like there is a unanimous preference for no mention of attire on the invites. I didn't think it was appropriate but kept coming across the reference on beachy wedding invite samples online. Thanks for putting my head on straight!


CDN

 

[Harriet]

The colour combo is lovely, but I think a turtle or two would spice it up.

How about an orange brolly?

 

[Elmorton]

What about justifying the Together with our parents line to the right edge? Maybe that would balance out the look rather than having a longer line? I don''t know if it would work, but it might be something to try.

 

[CDNinNYC]

I got an updated invite proof. (The wording hasn''t been changed yet but I have asked that many of the suggestions made here be implemented.)

What do you think of the green umbrella?

 

[mayachel]

Wow! I had no idea the green could make such a difference. I think the green umbrella makes the whole thing come together.

 

[emeraldlover1]

Love it! When you told me about the weird looking turtles, I admit, I was a little scared to see it. I think the updated changes look great and I appologize for not responding sooner.

 

[pocahontas]

Date: 1/27/2009 8:49:12 PM
Author: CDNinNYC
I got an updated invite proof. (The wording hasn't been changed yet but I have asked that many of the suggestions made here be implemented.)

What do you think of the green umbrella?

Love it, CDN! To be honest, I was originally thinking a solid green umbrella, but I really, really like the blue polka dots A LOT! I think the green umbrella really makes the invite pop and I agree with Mayachel that all of a sudden everything looks pulled together! Do you like the change? It's a slow process, huh? That's the hardest part about working with K. Hang in there; I'm sure you'll love your final sample

 

[emeraldlover1]

I still want to see the turtles...

 

[CDNinNYC]

Date: 1/27/2009 9:17:20 PM
Author: mayachel
Wow! I had no idea the green could make such a difference. I think the green umbrella makes the whole thing come together.

Yeah, I was actually surprised at how much more I like it.

 

[CDNinNYC]

Date: 1/27/2009 9:20:44 PM
Author: emeraldlover1
Love it! When you told me about the weird looking turtles, I admit, I was a little scared to see it. I think the updated changes look great and I appologize for not responding sooner.

Hey EM1!

HAHA, you were scared? I was seriously petrified and Harriet wasn''t helping with her constant turtle jokes. Remind me to show you sometime...

Am glad you like them!

 

[emeraldlover1]

Date: 1/27/2009 9:59:31 PM
Author: CDNinNYC

Date: 1/27/2009 9:20:44 PM
Author: emeraldlover1
Love it! When you told me about the weird looking turtles, I admit, I was a little scared to see it. I think the updated changes look great and I appologize for not responding sooner.

Hey EM1!

HAHA, you were scared? I was seriously petrified and Harriet wasn''t helping with her constant turtle jokes. Remind me to show you sometime...

Am glad you like them!

Where is musey when I need a turtle emotie? Turtle, turtle, turtle....(what movie was that from?)

 

[CDNinNYC]

Date: 1/27/2009 9:34:06 PM
Author: pocahontas

Love it, CDN! To be honest, I was originally thinking a solid green umbrella, but I really, really like the blue polka dots A LOT! I think the green umbrella really makes the invite pop and I agree with Mayachel that all of a sudden everything looks pulled together! Do you like the change? It''s a slow process, huh? That''s the hardest part about working with K. Hang in there; I''m sure you''ll love your final sample

Pocahontas, my hometown bud! Hope things are well?!?!

I do like it a lot better. (Can you hear that big sigh of relief?)

The process is excruciatingly slow; am so nervous the invites will be going out late!

BTW, how did you word your Response Card? I want to give our guests the option of a vegetarian meal but we haven''t selected our food yet so I can''t put anything specific down.

 

[CDNinNYC]

Date: 1/27/2009 9:54:59 PM
Author: emeraldlover1
I still want to see the turtles...

LOL! I'd feel bad posting the ones that didn't make the cut but this invite was the one I originally wanted. See? No scary turtles...

 

[CDNinNYC]

Date: 1/27/2009 10:00:58 PM
Author: emeraldlover1

Where is musey when I need a turtle emotie? Turtle, turtle, turtle....(what movie was that from?)

Don''t tell me you saw "Master of Disguise"???

 

[Harriet]

I like the revised version. Btw, you can''t run from those turtles, can you?

Every store we go into has one.

 

[pocahontas]

Date: 1/27/2009 10:04:01 PM
Author: CDNinNYC
Pocahontas, my hometown bud! Hope things are well?!?!

I do like it a lot better. (Can you hear that big sigh of relief?)

The process is excruciatingly slow; am so nervous the invites will be going out late!

BTW, how did you word your Response Card? I want to give our guests the option of a vegetarian meal but we haven't selected our food yet so I can't put anything specific down.

Hey you, things are crazy hectic, but going well. Most days though I feel like this ->

Our invites went out later than we wanted too which sucked, but it was what it was

A positive for you and FI is that you've sent out STD's so I don't think you have too much to worry about. Worse case scenario you could sent a brief email giving people the heads up about hotel and travel information. Or, is that included on your website? We had to do that - again totally sucked, but we had quite a few people asking us about information and the unknown was making everyone anxious. In the end, I'm glad we sent out that crappy email 'cause we only just delivered our invitations 2 weeks ago.

Regarding the response card, we didn't provide meal options on them. Unfortunately, we aren't able to confirm reception details until we arrive in DR so we'll probably poll our guests at that time. Honestly though, me and one of my friends are the only ones who need a vegie option and everyone else eats anything that isn't moving - lol - so we're aren't terribly concerned. I would just leave it generic "vegetarian" option/meal. If someone is truly vegetarian like myself, or doesn't want the meat option they won't really care what the vegie meal is as long as it isn't meat, ya know. That's my 2 cents anyways. Hope you're doing well!