What Wedding Enclosure Cards You Need — and What You Don’t

What are enclosure cards for a wedding? Do you need one? Find out in this guide! Be sure to subscribe for the latest to your inbox.

What is an enclosure card for a wedding invitation? When planning your wedding, you may have trouble deciding which enclosure cards guests need to receive in their invitations. Enclosure cards are often overlooked but they are an essential addition to your invitation suite. While they add a personal touch, wedding detail cards are an informative way to share crucial details of the event.

Your wedding invitation suite is a beautiful combination of cards and embellishments, but what is the enclosure card? Do you even need enclosure cards or are they a waste of money? In this blog post, we’ll cover what you need to know about the wedding enclosure card: what it is, how you use it, and whether you need wedding details cards for your wedding (and which ones you’ll need to include in your wedding invitations). Let’s get started!

A wedding enclosure card is intended as a supplement to your invitation card. It includes all the things you need to tell your guests about the event, but won’t fit onto the invitation (and, per proper etiquette, shouldn’t be included formally on it).

Different Types of Enclosure Cards

There are a few different types available, which include directions cards, lodging/accommodation cards, wedding website cards, dress code cards, and reception cards. Here is a little background information on each type of enclosure.

Directions Card

Another may tell guests exactly how to get from the ceremony to the reception venue with directions, information on parking, etc.

Accomodation Card

Inform your guests a block of rooms are available in your name for the event at a discount, how to book them, and where it is located.

Wedding Website Card

You can create a wedding details card to include your wedding website to direct guests to additional information, like what to do downtown or the best restaurants to enjoy in Boston.

Dress Code Card

How do you inform guests about attire? Use a wedding details card with dress attire to let them know there is a dress code.

Reception Card

A reception card will invite guests to the celebration after the ceremony, where dancing, dinner, and drinks will be enjoyed.

QR Code Enclosure Card

NEW: Get an enclosure card with a QR code that links to your wedding website! You can create a FREE qr code here. Then, upload the code onto a wedding enclosure card, like this example by JoAnn Jinks:

Do you need a card for every single thing? No, of course not: as you can see in the example above, you can include a few notes to eliminate the need for separate cards. (See this example.)

So, how do you know exactly which cards you DO need for your wedding? As a rule of thumb, the reception card is the required enclosure card for every invitation.

You need a reception card. The ceremony information is listed on the invitation, but the reception information is not. Without a proper wedding details card for your reception, guests won’t have any idea where to go after the ceremony for dinner and dancing.

Have the reception card? Good! The other enclosure cards are optional, depending on your individual event needs. I highly recommend you include a wedding website address on the reception card to provide your guests with more wedding details online, versus needing to print additional cards.

PRO TIP: Don’t have a wedding website? You can get one free here!

Optional Enclosure Cards

• If you don’t have a particular dress code, you can skip the enclosure card with details on the attire.

• If you think guests can navigate just fine without a directions card, feel free to skip it (but only if you include the full address and name of the venue on the reception card).

• Planning a local wedding? There is no need for hotel room blocks if most guests live locally. You can skip the accommodations enclosure card if this is the case.

Wedding Enclosure Card Examples

Now that you know what is an enclosure card for a wedding,

Here are some wedding enclosure card examples.

These details cards match perfectly with this invitation suite by Lori Wemple from here.

Want a midnight floral style? Try this reception and details card by Susan Moyal.

It matches the invitation suite shown below:

Size of Enclosure Cards

An enclosure card is a standard size of 4.25″ x 5.5″.

You can have it vertically or horizontally, depending on your preference.

Reception Details Card

For a reception enclosure card, here is the wording:

“Please join us for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres
at 5pm. Dinner will be served at 6pm. followed
by an evening of dancing and celebration.
[venue name]
[address]”

Hotel Accommodations

If you’d like to provide lodging details or a hotel block of rooms, here is some example wording:

“A block of rooms has been reserved
for our wedding guests at
[address]
[phone number]
[website for booking]

For additional information and directions,
please visit our wedding website:
[your wedding website address]”

Now that you know what a wedding enclosure card is, and you’ve seen some wedding enclosure card examples, it’s time to get yours! Shop here for cards to match your invites.

Hope it helps!

xo
Emma