Check out my 10 useful tips for placing a wedding announcement in your local paper.

♥ Your first step should be to decide which newspaper you want the announcement to appear in. You might want it submit it to your own local paper, as well as that of your parents.

♥ If your wedding is being planned for soon after the engagement, then get the announcement in to the newspaper as early as possible, as it can take up to a month for it to appear in print.

♥ Once you have decided which newspaper, contact their lifestyle or society editor to establish their submission policy. Questions to ask are what are their guidelines, fees (some newspapers run the announcement for free) and deadlines.

♥ Some newspapers allow photos of the engaged couple, so it is worth checking what their policy is on this. Ask if the photo must be black and white or color and check to see if you can email the photo to them (this will save you from having to provide them with your original photo, which you might well not get back and also avoids the risk of the photo getting lost in the mail).

♥ Decide who the announcement is being made by: your parents, your fiancé’s parents or by you and your fiancé.

♥ Your announcement should include the following information:

o You and your fiancé’s full names, hometowns and (if you wish) brief education and career credentials;

o Each set of parents’ full names. Include your parents’ hometowns if they do not live in the same town as you or each other;

o The wedding date, or even simply the year you intend to get married; and

o The city and state in which you intend your wedding to take place.

♥ If you have not yet made the decision as to your wedding date and location, then you do not have to include that information at this stage. If you have decided on the month or year your wedding is due to take place, then the following wording could be used instead:

“A fall wedding is planned/An April wedding is planned/The wedding is set to take place in 2008”.

♥ Here are some sample wordings for your newspaper announcement:

The Bride's Family

Mr. and Mrs. Nigel Jones of Geneva announce the engagement of their daughter, Ella, to Ray Sparks, son of Tom and Kath Sparks of Milwaukee. Ms. Jones graduated …… etc.

Divorced Parents

Mr. Nigel Jones, of Geneva, and Ms. Hannah Salter, of Elgin, announce the engagement of their daughter, Ella, to Ray Sparks. Ms. Jones graduated …… etc.

Single Parent

Ms. Hannah Salter announces the engagement of her daughter, Ella Jones, to Ray Sparks, the son of Tom and Kath Sparks of Milwaukee. Ms. Jones is also the daughter of Nigel Jones of Geneva. Ms. Jones graduated …… etc.

Remarried Parent

Ms. Hannah Salter and Mr. Bob Clackett announce the engagement of Ms. Salter’s daughter, Ella Jones, to Ray Sparks. Ms. Jones …….. etc.

Deceased Parent

Mrs. Hannah Jones announces the engagement of her daughter, Ella, to Ray Sparks. Ms. Jones, also the daughter of the late Nigel Jones, graduated from the University of Harvard and is a kindergarten teacher at Busy Bees in Elgin. Mr. Sparks, the son of Tom and Kath Sparks, graduated from the University of Michigan and is a sales executive with the Nectar Corporation in Elgin.

Announcement by the Bride and Groom

Ella Jones, a graduate of Harvard University, is to be married to Ray Sparks, a graduate of Michigan University. Ms. Jones, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Nigel Jones, is a kindergarten teacher at Busy Bees in Elgin. Mr. Sparks is a sales executive with the Nectar Corporation in Elgin.

♥ Nowadays, many newspapers allow you to fill in an online submission form. If this service is not available to you, then the best way to avoid handwriting discrepancies is to type up the engagement announcement for submission to the newspaper.

♥ Ask to see a proof copy for approval before it goes to print to check for mistakes.

Finally always check the newspaper’s submission policy as they do vary between publications.