Poly Graphics

One of the essential parts of an invitation is the time of the celebration.

But how should you write the time in the wording on your invitation? Is it correct to use an A.M. or P.M. after the time on an invitation?

Here are a few things to consider:

• Could the time on your invitation be confusing? If your party starts at 4p.m., the “p.m.” is not needed. Only a crazy person would start a party at 4 a.m. (and if you do start a party at 4 a.m., please put the “a.m.” on your invitation).
  If the party starts at 9 p.m. and it is a breakfast party, then please use the P.M. designation. You don’t want people showing up in their jammies at 9 a.m. for your pancake fiesta.
• Are you having a formal celebration? (wedding, shower, rehearsal,…) Don’t use A.M. or P.M. Don’t use these abbreviations. And state 1/2 hour starting times as “half past” – for instance, if the wedding starts at 4:30 p.m., your wedding invitation should say “half past four o’clock“. Correct formal invitations don’t even use numerals – it is proper to spell out the time using words instead of digits (use “six“, not “6“). If there is any doubt about whether the time is in the morning or the evening, use the words “in the morning” and “in the evening“
• Does the party start or end at 12:00? Use “noon” or “midnight” so that your guests will not be confused.
• Is your celebration informal? Sure, use A.M. or P.M.
• Is this a military celebration? Use military time. Can’t remember how to convert to military time?  If the time is after noon, add 12 to it. For example, 9 p.m. is 21:00 in military time. 11:00 p.m. is 23:00.  Midnight is 24:00.  Start over at 0:00 after midnight.

If you’ve decided to use A.M. or P.M. on your invitations, the experts say to use both the letters and the periods (a.m. and p.m.). But we at Poly Graphics will print your invitations any way you would like them. Part of learning and knowing the rules is to know when they can be broken. It is perfectly acceptable to use just the letters with no periods if you like them that way.

Hope that this helps,

P.S. Your goal when writing invitations is to get the important information to your guests. As long as they can figure out what time your party begins, you’ve given them what they need.

P.P.S. As Steve Miller says “time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’ into the future”

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All orders placed at Poly Graphics include these for no extra charge:

1. Free Proofs
2. A personal web page to review and approve your order
3. 24 business hours* or less draft preparation
4. Ability to fully customize your order – fonts, colors, graphics – all can be changed the way you like them.

Invitation and note card orders also include:

1. Free Envelopes (and we always add an extra or two)
2. Proofreading to make sure you include date, time, place, and RSVP information for each invitation
3. High quality card stock (no flimsy paper)

Be careful when shopping for your party invitations – not all online invitation merchants include these items in their price!

Happy shopping,

*The business days at Poly Graphics are Monday thru Friday, with exceptions only for major United States holidays. If you order on a Monday your order will be ready to review within 24 hours – or on Tuesday. If you order on a Friday your draft will be ready before the end of Monday.

How soon before your party should you send invitations?

That depends. Ask these questions:

• Is this a wedding?
• Will you have out of town guests? How far will they be traveling? Are they staying overnight?
• Is it a multiple-day event?
• Will your guests have to prepare anything? Buy a new outfit?

Wedding invitations should be sent out four to six weeks prior to the event. During holiday seasons allow for extra time.

Informal event invitations should be sent about three weeks before the event.

If your guests are local and already know that your informal party is being held, invitations can be hand delivered two weeks before the event.

Check to see if your location needs a firm count of attendees before the event.  Set your RSVP date a day or two before the location needs a headcount so that you have an extra day or two to follow up on those who are slow to respond.

If you have a date, but not all the details for an event, use “Save the Date” cards to inform your guests. This is especially nice if travel arrangements need to be made. Wedding dates are usually selected before all the arrangements have been made – you may know the date of the wedding but not the exact time or location. Save the Date cards are a great way to let your family and guests know when the wedding is.  A formal invitation can be sent out when the details have been set.

Poly Graphics Turnaround Time

Poly Graphics usually takes a few days from order date to delivery date. Then add in shipping time. A typical order can be placed and then delivered within 5 business days (longer if the order is shipped ground across the country). So to be safe, wedding invitations should be ordered eight weeks before the event. A week was added for drafting, printing and shipping and then another week for you to address the envelopes.

Informal party invitations should be ordered at least a month before the event. Give us a couple of days to draft, print, and pack your order – a couple more for it to be delivered to you – and then you will have you invitations ready to be addressed and sent to your guests.

Poly Graphics can accommodate rush orders – for an additional charge we will place your order at the head of the orders to be drafted queue. This can reduce your time from order to delivery by a day or two. If you would like to rush your order, please say so in the special instructions as you are completing your order.

Thanks for considering Poly Graphics for your party invitations. We have great flexibility in design and layout of your invitation, quick turnaround, and thousands of satisfied customers.