The Importance of Proofreading {Ideas & Information}

So you've created the perfect custom invitation and are ready to tell us to send it to the press. Before signing off on your custom invitation we highly suggest going over your final proof with a fine tooth comb. Proofreading your invitation could mean the difference between having your friends and family show up at your wedding location and having them show up two counties over.

While proofreading is a seemingly simple task, it can prove to be a challenge not because you don't know the information, etiquette, etc. but because you have had your head immersed in the design and proofs of the invitation (and the wedding!) from the beginning. Plus, your invitation designer might not personally know the names of those involved and the locations of your events meaning that they can't know if an address or name is incorrect. 

Below are a few great tips and tricks to proofreading your invitation before giving the go-ahead to start production:

Read through your invitation slowly

• go to a quiet place away from friends and family
• make sure there are no distractions around - turn off the tv, cell phone, radio
• once you've read the invitation top to bottom, reverse yourself and go from the bottom to top
• put the invitation away and take a break, come back to the invitation a few hours later

Enlist the help of others

• have your fiance read through the invitation
• have your mother or mother-in-law read through the invitation
• have your boss read through the invitation
• have your next door neighbor read through the invitation
• make sure those who are directly and indirectly involved in the wedding help
• do not stand over the person proofing your invitation

Read through your changes

• check to make sure you aren't making the same mistake twice
• see if what you are changing reads correctly, type it out and re-read it to make sure
• if needed, re-type out the invitation sentence by sentence to double check what you've requested

Go through the checklist

• Spelling of ALL names - including yours
• Check all dates - Wedding date & year, RSVP date
• Spelling of ALL locations and venues
• Verify all addresses and check driving directions
• Check spacing between words and sentences 
• Verify monograms, stamps, etc 
• Check shape and size including font shape and size
• Check general colors to make sure that your computer monitor isn't changing anything

Request a final proof in a sample

• To really verify that the look and feel of your invitation is correct ask for a sample mock up of the invitation
• Re-review each of these steps once you receive this proof