Mr. T's Tuxedo & Menswear

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  • Home
  • About
    • Reviews
  • Tuxedos Catalog
    • Premium Catalog
    • Catalog
    • Discount Catalog
  • Men's Style Guide
    • Black Tie Event
    • From Boy To Stylish Man
    • If It SUITS You
    • Style Is In The Details
  • Brides Corner
    • Wedding Quotes
    • Honeymoon >
      • Great Honeymoon Ideas
    • Wedding Location Ideas >
      • The Ceremony
      • The Reception
    • Engagement
    • Wedding Tips
  • Party Planner
    • Planning Your Wedding
    • Wedding Professionals
    • Master Budget
    • Month By Month Checklist >
      • The Wedding Party
      • Cakes & Bakeries
      • Parties and Celebrations
      • Invitations and Stationery
      • Gifts
      • Wedding Attire
      • Health & Beauty
      • Flowers and Decoration
      • Music & Dance
      • Photography and Videography
      • Transportation
      • Guest Information & Accomodations
      • Traditions
      • Etiquette
  • Gallery
    • Mr. T's Scrapbook
  • FAQ
    • Out of Town Groomsmen
  • Contact Us

INVITATIONS & STATIONERY

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     The look and feel of your invitations and stationery should reflect your wedding style.  Generally there are three types of wedding invitations:  formal, contemporary and informal.  Your choice should correlate to the type of wedding you’re planning.

    A very formal wedding, for instance, may call for a formal invitation, with a response and reception card included.  Both are usually white and black ink, or another dark color.  Invitations for contemporary or informal weddings can be more reflective of your personal preferences, perhaps incorporating color or even graphics.

    Your wedding invitation is the first impression your guest will receive, and you want it to be a good one.  It sets the tone for the event, as well as relaying important information.  Begin the process of selecting invitations, wording and design six to eight months prior to your wedding date.  If you choose to hire a calligrapher, do so four to five months prior.  If you’re addressing the invitations yourself, begin the process in plenty of time to avoid a last minute panic, as your invitations should be mailed two months prior to the wedding.

OPTIONS FOR PRINTING
    There are several printing methods available for your wedding stationery.  They include Engraving, Letterpress, Offset, Digital and Embossing.  Each offers benefits and drawbacks.  That’s why it’s important to choose a good printing partner when selecting your wedding stationery package.

    Engraved printing is typically used for elegant invitations and tends to be quite costly.  It also requires more time to print than other options.  Offset printing, on the other hand, is one of the most popular types of wedding printing.  It produces quality imaging that can be applied to a large variety of papers.  Letterpress, the name implies, is text pressed into paper creating a textured feel.  Many years ago, letterpress offered fewer type styles because each machine came standard with letter stamps, however, with the invention of modern polymer plates, couples now have a wider variety of design and type styles to select.  Digital printing is the least expensive options and could be a good fit for lower quantity, lower complexity jobs.  Embossing is the rarity in wedding printing and is sometimes used to imprint a monogram on your invitations.

    Many couples choose a combination of letterpress and offset printing.

    Ask your printer to show you samples of invitations with each of these methods so you can get an idea.  Most printers have portfolios or sample books of invitations.  Don’t be afraid to ask questions and have the printer explain the various printing processes.

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CALLIGRAPHY
    If you decide you want your invitations or other stationery items to include calligraphy, which is the art of handwriting in a manner that appears decorative and somewhat formal, locate a professional calligrapher well in advance.  Unless you’ve been trained in calligraphy, it is not wise to attempt this yourself.

    You can also opt for computer-generated calligraphy.  Ask your printer to see some samples.

ADDITIONAL STATIONERY ITEMS
    While you’re ordering wedding invitations, you’ll also want to think about ancillary stationery items.  The invitation itself can contain several pieces, including a response card, reception card, ceremony card, pew card, rain card and map or directions to the ceremony and / or reception.  Not every invitation contains all of these pieces; again, it depends on the formality of the event and your personal preferences.  You will, of course, need to include a response card on which guests can write whether or not they’re able to attend the wedding, and an addressed, stamped envelope in which guests can return the response card.  Ask your printer to show you examples of these pieces and decide what you want or need.

    Aside from the invitation and additional pieces that are mailed with it, you may want to consider the following stationery options.
  • Ceremony Program… Lists the different parts of your ceremony, including musical selections, the name of your officiant and procession
  • Seating / Place Card… Tells guests where they’ll be seated during the reception
  • Announcement… Sent shortly after the wedding to inform select people the wedding has taken place.  Typically, these are sent to friends who could not be included because of a limited guest list, or to acquaintances who would wish to be informed, but you do not wish to obligate with gift giving.
  • Thank You Card… Every guest should receive a written thank you for gifts received
  • Napkins / Matchbooks… Optional items that usually can be ordered from your printer or stationer.

Choosing the wording for your invitations is not as straightforward as it once was, as family structures can be somewhat complicated and a wider variety of wording is considered acceptable.  For a list of suggestions for wording invitations for a variety of family circumstances and wedding styles, visit any number of online resources.  For tips on compiling and mailing wedding invitations, see www.emilypost.com/weddings/weddings-and-anouncements/339-addressing-sending-wedding-invitations.

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THE GUEST LIST
    Unless your wedding is very small and you and your fiancé are making the guest list yourselves, you’ll need to work with both sets of parents to determine who will be invited.  After you’ve decided on a maximum number of guests, to be determined by your budget and personal preferences, ask each set of parents to give you a list of who they want to invite, as you and your fiancé make your own list.  Some wedding parties divide the number of guests evenly between the two families, while others allow more for the family bearing more of the wedding costs.  Keep the following tips in mind when working to compile a guest list.
  • Identify Categories… Divide potential guests into categories of immediate family, other family, couple’s close friends, parent’s close friends, neighbors and co-workers.  This makes it easier to identify and narrow down invitees.
  • Personal Connections… If you need to trim the lists, start by eliminating people who might be friends of parents, but who you and your fiancé do not know personally.  If you haven’t see your second cousin for 10 years, you don’t need to feel obligated to invite him / her to the wedding.  You may, however, want to send an announcement shortly afterward
  • The Second Wave… If necessary, consider, compiling two lists and initially mailing out invitations only to those on the first list.  As you receive regrets, you can mail invitations to those on the second list.  Just be sure to mail the first round of invitations early.
  • Record Keeping… When compiling your guest list, set up a file for each guest, including name, full address, phone number and email.  Include a space for the reception table number and for gifts received.  This allows you to record when an invitation was sent and when you mailed thank you notes for gifts.
Making a guest list can sometimes be one of the more difficult tasks of planning a wedding, as different people may have different ideas about who should be included.  Be patient, but firm, if you’re setting limits regarding children, co-workers, or so forth.

Locations

Philadelphia 
1701 Spruce Street
2nd Floor - Enter on 17th St.
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Inside Henry A. Davidsen Custom Tailors & Image Consultants
Phone: 215-300-5881
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By Appointment Only!

Schuylkill County 
118 Sunbury Street
Minersville, PA 17954
Phone: 570-399-5428

Montgomery County
24 Cheyenne Road
Royersford, PA 19468
On Site Fittings:  Home & Office
Phone: 215-300-5881
​
By Appointment Only!

What Our Clients Are Saying

Michael & Hannah (Graver) Pothering  - Purchased suits for groom and groomsmen and rented suits for their father for their beautiful wedding at Mountain Valley Golf Course on August 27, 2016 said:
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“Thanks so much for getting the guys in tip top shape.  They looked great!!” ​
Jane Yourey, Nativity BVM High School – Coordinated a fashion show in January of 2016 for students to show off the latest prom gown and tuxedos.  Mr. T’s provided the tuxedos for the boys to show off. 
​She said: 
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“Nativity’s young gentlemen looked outstanding and has a perfect fit.
Thank you for sharing your expertise and time to help accent the Spring Prom Fashion Show.”
​
Meg and Dave Zawisza – Rented tuxedo for their wedding in 2010. 
They said: 
​“Thank you so much for all the time and effort you gave to make our wedding tuxes look so great?  As you well know, in planning such a big event, you have to rely on a lot of people to make things happen as you planned.  Although there were some details we wondered how they’d turn out, the tuxes were never one of them and we knew you’d take good care of us.  We will highly recommend you to other.  Thanks again for such a great experience!”

Contact Us

Mr T's Tuxedos & Philly Formals
Bill Troutman  215-300-5881
Jaime Troutman  570-617-7616

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