5 Wedding Invitation Rules to Break

Another week! As expected, we are hurtling towards the holidays! It will be New Year's before you know it... Inside the world of weddings, brides are busily developing their save the dates and slowly, the invitations are starting to at least be thought about. 
I will probably re-post and/or update some of the printing tips and overall advice that I gave during this point of the season last year. For now though, I've still got a ton of completely fresh insight for your wedding paper! Today's post is about breaking some rules. Let's see how you can shake things up a bit...

1. You need to send out wedding invitations 3-4 months before your date.Hey, I'm all for getting the invitations out as soon as possible, but there IS a such thing as too early. You don't want to give guests TOO long to respond or you will be spending a significant chunk of time chasing down RSVP's. I mean, you will have to do that anyway because there are a pocket of guests that will not respond no matter how easy you make things, but expect that number to climb if you give guests more than 3-4 weeks to send in their "yay" or "nay."
2. You must include an RSVP card.Depending on your event and your guest list, you can consider having your RSVP's come through via your wedding website. I'm talking about a shabby chic, informal affair... Not formal/black tie... I am working on an invitation suite now that will only have 25 RSVP cards purchased for the portion of the 200 household guest list that will find it easier to mail the RSVP in. This method of printing a very small amount of RSVPs or eliminating them altogether is a great value engineering tool, and you should feel free to eschew any etiquette lists that suggest you must have a physical enclosure card.
3. Everything must be spelled out on your invitation, names in the center, etc.I am starting to see more and more invitation panels that "poo-poo" the normal invite panel layout rules. Invitation layouts, especially for uniquely styled events, are flexible. Feel free to not only make the wording your own, but also embrace creative and fresh layout recommendations by your stationer. These unexpected layout changes ultimately add interest and style to your invitation.
4. You need to have an inner envelope.Does an inner envelope add formality to your invitation suite? Yes. If you are having a formal event do you have to have one? No. Here's why. There are other ways to add formality to your invitation suite without using yet more paper. You can amplify the printing method. Instead of digital printing, you can use offset printing. If already utilizing offset, maybe you want to use thermography. Inner envelopes are nice, but when value engineering they become a "nice to have". Don't be afraid to "chuck" this element. If your invitations are well designed, printed on a sturdy card stock and are printed well, no one will remember that you didn't have an inner envelope. It is also more eco-friendly. If you MUST find a way to incorporate more paper, consider an envelope liner.
Note: Go here if you want to dig into printing methods a little more.5. You must send + 1 wedding invitations.Remember that this is YOUR wedding. You are not compelled to allow single guests to bring someone. It is nice and courteous to do so (only for single guests that have been dating their significant others for a while), however if your budget will not allow it, the "and Guest" can go. You can feel good about this one, trust me.
Again, I know we haven't quite made it into the season, but let me know what rules you have broken or may be thinking about breaking!