Wedding Wednesdays Vol. 5: Invitation Help

(Originally posted 2.15.12)

I'm in need of some help fellow bloggers. I *thought* I had my wedding invitations down pat, but after searching other blogs and the interwebs, I am rethinking them. I still want to keep the same style and continue to make my own invitations, but I'm having problems with what exactly goes into a wedding invite.

After an internet search, I have concluded that the "traditional" wedding invitation includes:

• Outer envelope with address
• Inner envelope addressed to exactly who you want to come (example: if you want John and his girlfriend to come, address it to both. If you want Jane to come to the wedding but aren't sure if she'll have a boyfriend by that time, address it to Jane and Guest.)
• Invitation to the ceremony with date, time and location. If the reception is at the same location, say "reception to follow." 
• The reception card if the reception is at a different location
• The response card (otherwise known as the RSVP card)
• Extras: map and directions card / accommodations card / website card
• Apparently it's taboo to include your registry info now? 

Now originally I was just going to put in the invitation with the website on it and call it good. Now I'm second guessing my idea. Do I really need an inside envelope, directions card, accommodations card and separate website card? And what happened to including information about your registries? I know for a fact Keegan's grandparents aren't technologically savvy enough to hop onto our website and find our registries.

Our wedding honestly isn't all that fancy. I would like to think of it as a 15 minute ceremony and then a big party with our friends and families. We're not having a sit down meal but little appetizers and snacky-things instead (sorry, I don't have $10,000 to shell out on the food alone.) We are trying to get a block of rooms set up for out of town guests, so I guess it would be good to tell them that, no? And what about those darn registry cards? Is it totally tacky to include the cards that stores have given you? What about one card with all of the stores together so that guests aren't bombarded with 6 tiny cards telling them to buy us stuff?

So I ask you, dear bloggy friends (and secret friends,) what did you put into your wedding invitations? With other invitations you have received, did you appreciate getting 6 different cards in one envelope? What information do you feel is absolutely necessary to have in a wedding invitation? I don't want to get overly fancy with the invitations and trick my guests into thinking that the wedding is going to be as fancy, but I don't want our invites to look like a Facebook message for a college kegger.

Help?!