One of the most common questions we get are what are the wedding invitation tissues or onion skins for? The wedding tissue overlay is purely symbolic in modern times though is still thought a required item in your wedding invitation trousseau and still referred to by reliable sources such as Emily Posts Guide to Weddings.
In the not so distant past, the ink used in the printing process would not completely dry and after handling the wedding invitation the ink would smear making the wording hard or impossible to read.
Quite a dilemma to receive an invitation and not have any idea who from or what occasion the invitation is for.
To insure the recipients would not only get the wedding invitation, but also know who it was for and what occasion, a delicate tissue or sometimes onion skin overlay was placed over the invitations printed area before inserting them into the envelopes and mailing.
The tissue lies directly on top of the invitation wording and the tissues are still used on most wedding invitations to this day.
With modern printing techniques, the smearing ink on the invitation is not so much a problem, though it can still occur with some inkjet printers so the wedding tissues still have some practical purpose.
This practice of using a tissues as an overlay was also used in early bookmaking for the same purpose and you can still sometimes see them used in bibles, especially if their is an inscription.
Like many traditional things, they are symbolic though not going away soon.
Our next article will focus on the Double Envelopes in a Wedding Invitation Set.
What are they for and the proper etiquette to stamping, stuffing, sealing and addressing them.
The double envelopes actually have many very useful purposes and once you read this article it will make perfect sense why 2 envelopes are needed.
Thanks Tony Diy Papers