Graduation season officially starts in May. And while some people may suggest sending invitations 2-3 weeks before the ceremony; I suggest invitations to the commencement ceremony should be sent to guests 6-8 weeks in advance. This allows invitees that reside out of town ample time to request vacation days off from work and to secure reasonable travel accommodations. Now days most schools/colleges have limited seating and typically allot each graduate a small number of invitations to give out to attend the actual graduation ceremony. Most likely, there will only be room for the graduate’s immediate family. If so, these are the only people who should receive invitations. All other loved ones should receive a graduation announcement. However, the graduate can invite as many people as possible to his/her graduation party. Giving graduation invitations to local guests by hand is acceptable, as well.
While it may be tempting to send out a mass-email, electronic invitations should only be sent to tech-savvy relatives and friends who would not be offended by an informal invitation. Remember to always remain respectful concerning the majority of your relatives and send a printed announcement. Graduations are an important milestone in someone’s life and deserves more than an e-mail.
Finally, it’s important to provide additional information in the graduation invitation, especially for guests who are not familiar with the city the graduation will be held in. Be sure to include the name of the venue and full address so guests can ‘map’ directions using GPS navigation. And if there is a specific dress code for the commencement exercise or graduation party, these instructions should be included, as well. If you are using an electronic invitation, be sure to include the information in the text.
So if you haven’t sent out invitations yet – time is running out. What are you waiting on?
Leave a Reply