Wedding Invitation in a Bottle - Directions

Wedding invitations in a bottle is one way to add flare, intrique, and elegance. The Invitation in a bottlefollowing items are required to assemble your invitation in a bottle.

  1. Bottle and cork (there are many discount websites that you can order bottles from). There are many shapes and sizes. We chose to use a standard clear wine bottle, which would immediately show the contents. The sky is the limit here. You could even paint designs on the bottle that match your theme. Stickers that align with your theme are another choice and very inexpensive. Don’t forget to order the corks for the bottles as well.invitation_bottles
  1. Packaging-box and bubble wrap can be purchased fairly cheap from online packaging vendors. They come flat and fold very easily. In fact they will ask what you are placing in the box and make a size suggestion for the most economical choice. There are numerous sizes to choose from that will fit just the bottle you choose. Again, the sky is the limit with creativity for decorating the box.
  1. Paper-Purchase a fine paper, or use regular computer paper, the choice is yours. The wording on the invitation can be done very elegantly even with any word processor. See wording ideas on the menu to the left.
  1. Scroll ties and bottle decorations-suggestion - very thin ribbon for the scroll, so it can easily fit through the opening, tulle, or anything that suits your theme for the bottle decoration.
  1. Responses - postcards, or purchase small envelopes to place in computer printed responses.
  1. Anything extra - you want to add that is light weight, such as glitter, confetti, fancy grass, tulle, and maybe even a bit of sand or a couple of small shells if your having a beach wedding. Not too much though, because you pay postage based on weight.

Now the only thing left is your creativity and imagination in the assembly, and what you will say painted_invitation_bottle on your invitation.

Directions for assembling the wedding invitation

 

  1. After receiving the bottle of your choice, determine if you will decorate or leave plain. If you decide to paint the bottle go for it, there are also very nice stencils you can use if you feel you are not artistic. (We left our bottle plain.)
  1. Determine the wording you will use for the scroll. Use a font that will match your theme or the paper you have chosen. There are some papers that appear to have burned edges, or metallic borders which can be nice for a formal event. Consider the type of paper based on the style of the wedding.
  1. Type the wording with all of the required categories, date, place, time, and print the required amount of invitations. The nice thing of using one sheet is that you can put all of the required wedding details, location, and directions if desired on the single sheet.
  1. Ribbon - cut a length of ribbon - a length that will allow enough to tie around the scroll and leave enough to have the ends hang out of the bottle. This will allow your guests to invitation_bottle2remove the invitation. If you don’t they may get a bit frustrated if they can’t get the invitation out and may end up breaking the bottle to see what is inside.
  1. Roll up the scroll according to the width of the bottle opening and tie with the ribbon.
  1. Place any extra materials such as glitter, grass or tulle inside the bottle.
  1. Place the scroll inside the bottle, with ribbon ends out, and place the cork in the opening.
  1. Fold the cardboard box. (They usually come flat for shipping)invitation_bottle_bubblewrap
  1. Wrap the bottle in the bubble wrap that should come with the packaging.
  1. Place the response cards inside the box on top of the bottle.
  1. Seal with clear shipping tape.
  1. Address the boxes accordingly. (We used a fine magic marker in purple to match the color scheme of the wedding.)invitation_bottle_response_card

VOILA!  Will your guests be excited!!

TIP FOR MAILING:

     You may send them regular first class or bulk rate if you give yourself enough time before the wedding. Bulk rate is much cheaper, but be sure to give yourself enough time, since bulk rate means distribution by the post office when they have time.

The standard time frame for sending out invitations is eight weeks. We sent out using the standard time frame, using bulk and did not have any problems. If you are shipping long distances you may want to consider 10 weeks to ensure everyone has ample time to receive and make plans to attend.

More wedding invitation information