Don’t forget these important details!

The basic components of an invitation include the date, time, and place of the event. Why stop there?
Hasn’t this happened to you, upon entering the venue you learned that there is no parking facility. Now you don’t know what to do with your car; or, your cocktail dress does not match with everyone else wearing formal attires and you wished someone had told you the dress code.

For annual corporate events, usually, a committee formed within the organization is responsible for planning such events. The committee has the full vision of the event in their minds and paperwork, but they have to express more attention to detail in the invitation to convey their vision to the guests.
Considering ticketing requirements are handled in separate documents, there are two parts to a business event/party invitation. They are- 
1. The invitation
2. Follow-up on RSVP (Please respond)
Let’s look at them from the angle of the inviter:

The Invitation

The invitation card should enclose the date, time, and location of the event written (or printed) in a way that is easy to find. Mentioning the full name of the person invited should be most appreciated by the guest. The other important details it should include are:

1. A catchy title and description of the event: The event should incite excitement or curiosity at first glance for the reader to become interested in considering attending the event. A little description of the event should not hurt your chances, especially if there is entertainment arranged for the guests. 
2. Separately mention the name of the host and the organizers: When a business organization hosts an event, an event management committee within the organization plays the part of event managers until the day of. Make sure to send regards mentioning the name of the event management committee as well as the host organization.
3. Add a dress code: The dress codes for events comprise of casual, smart casual, business attire, black-tie/formal attire, and black-tie optional. So, there is a lot of room for guesswork. Mention whatever dress code the committee envisioned as appropriate to the occasion in the invitation card.
4. Note if there will be parking facilities: The types of common parking facilities are- open space parking, multi-level garage parking, valet parking, etc. It is thoughtful to mention the type of parking facilities or if there is no parking facility, mention that as well. 
5. Plus-one & RSVP: Include the deadline to respond to the invitation and mention if the guest can bring a plus-one (a person’s guest at a social function)
6. Dining options or special dietary requirements: Specify if the dining options will include vegetarian, gluten-free, and diabetic dishes.  

Follow-up on RSVP

Hoping the guests received their invitation prior to a month of the event, the first call to check on unresponded RSVPs within two weeks of sending the invitation is appropriate. Politely reminding them about the event and asking if they are bringing a guest before you lock-down the guest list should be done from a safe-time distance of the day of the event. Practically, there will be some last minute responders and drop-outs. So, make sure to edit the guest list at least three times before the event

Adding too many details can crowd the space. A professional invitation should have a clean formal look. If you’re looking to make it luxurious, that can also be done with clean text and design. After putting all the information together, take a look at the design from a distance to see if every element comes together as one.

References:

• Soswelledu: https://www.canva.com/p/soswelledu/
• temptackle: https://www.canva.com/p/temptackle/
• lectrathink: https://graphicriver.net/user/lectrathink/portfolio
• Sketchify: https://www.canva.com/p/sketchify/
• vik-ya: https://www.facebook.com/vikayatskina