Guidelines to Write a Congratulatory Letter

• A letter of congratulations should be sent instantly, immediately after one comes to know about the good news. This is important because delaying the letter would not have the same impact as a letter sent immediately. The recipient may not feel that you are not genuinely happy about his achievement.
• If you are writing a formal letter, for instance to a customer, it is important to include your personal or office address at the top right corner of the letter. You also have to write the receiver's address on the top left side of the letter.
• Begin the letter by addressing the receiver with proper salutations like Ms. or Mr., in case of a formal letter, or dear, if it is an informal letter. This sort of an epistle must be short and precise, so write the reason for writing the letter in the beginning itself without beating around the bush.
• Congratulate the receiver for the work done and express your happiness for him. Though praising is necessary in a congratulatory letter, do not exaggerate it to the extent that the receiver feels it is fake or sarcastic. Be genuine about your feelings.
• Many people make the mistake about talking about themselves in the letter. This should be totally avoided, and you must focus only on the receiver and the reason for writing the letter of congratulations. Another important thing to remember is not to include negative thoughts or comments. For example, if you are writing a letter to wish your friend for his wedding, do not mention anything about their previous marriage or ex-wife.
• End your letter with a congratulatory note and good wishes. Once you finish writing the letter, proofread it well to check for grammatical or spelling mistakes before sending it out.

Types and style of formal invitations

What is invitation etiquette? It is properly following the rules and traditions when creating, mailing and responding to invitations. Some aspects are the job of the host and some are the rules to follow if you are the invited guest. Even today with anything goes attitudes, there are still expectations, rules and guidelines that should be followed.

STYLE: Your invitation defines your style and the tone of the party. If it is a formal affair, your invitation should convey that with the style of invitation chosen, the paper, layers, ribbons, formal fonts or hand calligraphy on envelopes, the reason for the party (wedding, retirement, holiday party), the time of day or evening and location of the party all give guests clues as to how they should dress and is their first glimpse of your event.

There are several different types of invitation letter, however they will all be requesting the presence of someone to an event or country. Invitation letters can also be sent through different forms, depending on the reason and formality of the invite. For example, invitations to parties are nowadays set up online while visa invitations will be sent by post.