Our customers are occasionally stumping us, and when they do, we love to share! We recently saw a dress code request, “casual yacht club attire”, on an invitation and it sparked a conversation about dress codes on an invitation, are they really necessary and what do they actually mean. I’m not exactly sure what the above was in reference to but I pictured guests walking around in khakis and blue polos with anchors on them, (joke), but it did bring up the question of, what do your guests think when they read your attire request? We do feel that attire requests are great to print on an invitation or insert so that each guest doesn’t feel under or over-dressed. Also if the location of the event has attire requirements, you certainly need to let your guests know.

Below are some commonly used attire requests and their meanings…

Casual Attire - jeans, blouse, shirt, t-shirt, sundress – dress for fun!
Cocktail Attire - mini dress, cocktail dress, khakis – chic stylish dressy clothing, but not overly formal
Business Casual - dress shirt, tie, business suit – basically nice clothes, no jeans
Dressy Casual - dressy shirt, dress – typically no jeans or nice dark jeans without rips/tears, etc.
Formal Attire - formal dresses/gowns, dress pants, suits, ties – dress to impress

When planning your event, if you need to include a dress code requirement, feel free. This will make sure all guests feel comfortable, fit-in and nobody is the main focus except the honoree. Don’t be afraid to get creative with what you call your dress code, just make sure your guests are aware of what it means.

Can you believe it? 4th of July is this coming weekend and we’re sure you’re busy planning your patriotic cookout, fireworks and picnic traditions! The cookout fun will last through Independence Day all the way throughout the rest of the summer! There’s no better party to gather family, neighbors and friends than a BBQ or cookout during the hot summer months!

Inviting Company has just released three new BBQ invitations that we love and think you’ll enjoy, too! The BBQ Couple invite is perfect for those having a BBQ to celebrate a recent engagement, couple’s bridal shower or just a get-together with friends. The Patriotic Cookout invitation has a fun red and white picnic blanket border with a plate of hamburgers and hot dogs on the right side. Two American Flags adorn the top as the perfect garnish. The third fun and new invitation, July BBQ, features a blue, white and red silhouette design of three friends having a cookout underneath a sky of fireworks in the distance.

Remember, at InvitationBox.com, we celebrate the holidays just like you do! Check out our homepage for discounts and promotions to help you celebrate this fun, fantastic and patriotic holiday!

Being in North Carolina, it often seems like we skip from winter to summer…with no spring during the early year months. This weekend was scorching hot and even relaxing at the pool was far from refreshing, as the water was almost as hot, if not hotter, than the air! This hot weekend made me think of our fun flip flop invitations, (as we all know that our sneakers and boots have been in hiding since February)!

Inside our summer invitation collection you’ll find stationery, stamps and invitations that will have your guests geared up for the summer in style with fun and funky flip flops for any summer personality. Wedding couples will find “his and her” marriage flip flop invitations that are perfect for bridal showers, marriage announcements, engagement parties or beach themed rehearsal dinners. Kids will love our polka dot flip flop invitations along with our vibrantly colored flip flop border invites with coordinating thank you notes to create a fun and sunny ensemble. Celebrating a holiday? We also have Christmas and patriotic flip flop invitations as the sun can be celebrated in any season!

Remember that we also have customized flip flop stampers to add a little sun to your invitation envelopes, stationery, belongings – anything you can think of. Each stamp can be personalized with your name, address, business name/slogan or a fun phrase and you can even purchase colored ink pads to add a little color to the design!

Check out these fun summer invitations at InvitationBox!

SanLori just released a new line of digital invitations and we’re in love. These new invitations come in the most contemporary color combinations and design styles, perfect for the modern bride or party host. Some of our favorite designs are the save the date & rehearsal dinner invitations that feature large budding flower silhouettes, damask borders, bridal silhouettes, ornate floral borders and digital photograph cards.

Color combinations will include black & white, black & pink, grey & pink, aqua & white, green & black, purple and green…the list goes on. If you can dream it, SanLori probably has it. These ornate save the date and rehearsal dinner invitations also work great for formal party invitations, bridal shower invitations, baby shower invitations, garden parties and adult birthday parties. Choose an invitation color or design that best coordinates with you event theme, colors or decor.

Want to see more? Check out SanLori’s Wedding & Everyday Collection for the newest designs around and be the first to choose these modern designs!

We’re in the age where ‘snail mail’ is out and technology has advanced enough that we send our ‘thank yous’ via text, email, instant messenger or facebook. While this is still somewhat meaningful, taking the time to handwrite a guest or host a thank you note means you took time out of your busy schedule to appreciate their gift or kind gesture enough by writing them a note and sending it in a traditional way, (in comes the ‘snail mail’ idea).

A lot of times in the invitation business we see customers order pre-printed thank you notes with their name on the front and a generic “thanks for coming and for my gift” message on the inside. While this may be better than a “thank you text”, it’s not far from it. Hand-written thank you notes don’t have to be intricate or a big long letter that takes you ten minutes to write. A simple note about the gift or gesture along with a possible note about the party is sufficient. Something like this…

“Katie, thanks so much for coming to my bridal shower. I have already put the towels in my kitchen and bathroom and they go great with my decor! It was so great seeing and celebrating with you! Love, Amy”

Short, sweet, to the point…but not lengthy.

Send your thank you notes a few days after the event up to a month or two after the event. If you get busy and forget, late is better late than never! I once received a thank you note 8 months after my best friend’s wedding. Sure, it was extremely late, but the fact that she did take the time to send it meant a lot to me.

Need stationery ideas? Remember, at InvitationBox.com we have great designs for kids stationery, adult stationery and more.

Believe it or not, your favorite spooky holiday is right around the corner! Our designers work hard every year, months before the holidays arrive, to create the best designs the upcoming holiday season. One vendor that always amazes us with their talented and innovative designs is Noteworthy Collections. Every Halloween season they meet the bar if not raise it with their new, fun, spooky Halloween designs.

In the 2010 Halloween collection from Noteworthy, you’ll find anything from witches to spooky silhouettes, dancing skeletons, piles of bones, trick or treaters and people in costumes, spiders, pumpkins and more. This year they have event included different versions of favorite new designs available in brunette, blonde, African American, redhead…you name it, they have it! From kids costume parties to adult mixers, cocktail parties or Halloween corporate events, this Halloween collection has it all.

Pair each Halloween or fall invitation with one of their Halloween or fall reply cards or square stickers to create a truly coordinating ensemble that will have your guests shaking in fear upon receipt. Take a look at some of our favorite Noteworthy Halloween designs below with their matching coordinates…

Can’t get enough of this spooktacular collection? Click HERE to view our entire creepy Halloween party collection!

At InvitationBox, we know that your family members include not only the kids but also the furry and fluffy friend that sleeps at the end of your bed at night! This brand new Pet Collection is made especially for those pet lovers out there that consider their dog or cat royalty.

Inside our new Pet Collection you’ll find pet birth and pet adoption announcements so that you can let your social network know of the new addition to your family. Some pet owners are even hosting pet ‘baby showers’ or pet ‘sip and sees’ to introduce their furry one to their friends and family. We also have pet birthday party invitations so that you can celebrate another milestone in your pet’s life. For those messy eaters or for those of us that just like to make chowtime pretty, we even have a section for pet placemats that go right under their food bowls. Each placemat can be personalized with your pet’s name or a fun phrase and are available in a multitude of styles and colors that match your pet’s one-of-a kind personality. Have some writing to do? Our pet collection even includes pet return address labels and pet stationery! Nothing shows your pet pride more than a stationery item with your pet’s breed, photo or name on the front.

Intrigued?! Take a look at some of our newest pet designs below…

Remember, some of our pet announcements, invitations and stationery items are event available with a digital photo for you to share your pet’s beautiful face with your family and friends!

Great for graduation gifts and going away to school gifts, at InvitationBox we offer a full-on collection of collegiate gifts and stationery products for the soon-to-be student, current student or graduated alumnae. Inside each school’s collection you’ll find a multitude of school-spirited stationery products, logo stickers, return address labels, calling cards, stamps, luggage tags or ceramic plates, mugs and picture frames. Nothing shows your school spirit more than a collegiate gift with your schools logos, colors and mascots.

Our licensed collegiate products range from a multitude of popular colleges and universities incuding Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Kansas, Miami, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Penn State, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin and more. Select your college via this link and then browse the eclectic collection of items we have, made for your specific school. Below are just a few items from our unique collection:

Remember, new classes are right around the corner. Browse our fun collegiate collection and let your collegebound student know they’re in your thoughts while away at school.

When reviewing invitation orders we do our best to help our customers with using the proper etiquette so that they convey a clear and consistent message to their guests. Your invitation and envelope wording is also a reflection of the event to come.

This Friday etiquette reminder dates most of us back to the first or second grade when we learn how to write an address or address envelope. In most recent orders, we have noticed states being abbreviated, (CA written as C.A.), states not being capitalized, (CT written as Ct or ct), as well as commas or periods after the state. The rule of thumb is that the city should always be followed by a comma, then the state, (capitalized), followed by two spaces and then the postal code. If the state is written out, put one space before the postal code. These 3 pieces of information should be written on all one line, not two.
Example: Raleigh, NC 27606 or Raleigh, North Carolina 27606

Remember that for most invitation orders you have the option for InvitationBox.com to print your return addresses on the back flap of your envelopes as well as your guests addresses on the front of your envelopes. We print the addresses in the same font and/or font color as your invitation to create a coordinating and clear ensemble.

Etiquette questions? Feel free to ask our experts!

Grab your flip flops and Hawaiian shirt and put a fruity cocktail in your hand! It’s time for a tropical adventure with family and friends at a Hawaiian Luau party! Set the tone for your tropical themed party with an invitation that will make you feel the tropical breezes as soon as you open the envelope!

One of our newer vendors, Red Leaf Papers, has come out with a really fun, vibrant and unique collection of luau party invitations this summer that will make you want to plan a luau even if you don’t have anything to celebrate! The great thing about this collection is that each invitation is available with matching reply cards, reception cards and stickers to create a coordinating ensemble to really get your guests excited about your event. Take a look at some of Red Leaf’s fun tropical invitations below:

Feeling thirsty? We are too! Help your guests cool off at your luau party with a refreshing tropical cocktail using a recipe favorite, or create your own signature cocktail adventure. Remember to create some non-alcoholic drinks for the little ones, so they can have fun too! Here’s one of our favorite cocktail recipes from www.hawaiiforvisitors.com, we thought we’d share:

Kiwi Strawberry Margarita
Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups of Pineapple Juice
1/2 cup Midori Melon Liqueur
4 Kiwi Fruits
Cracked Ice

Recipe:
Mix all ingredients except ice in a blender, add cracked ice, and blend until smooth but not liquid. Enjoy!!