Have you chosen the date and even the venue for your wedding? Have you even thought about the atmosphere you want for your wedding?
Great! Then it's time to design your wedding invitation and all the stationery that go with it, such as a menu card or even a place card!
The best way to let your guests know in advance what kind of wedding you are planning is through the invitation. Is the boho style close to you? Or are you just really into lace? Or maybe you're all about navy blue and want to bring that particular shade into the wedding decoration?
As well as the venue decor, the different wedding stationery and of course the invitation are an expression of you and the concept you have in mind. The invitation can give you information about the type of wedding you are having before the big day. What kind of atmosphere can guests expect at the event? Of course, it's not just about the wedding itself, but also about you and your partner. What do you want to give of yourself?
In this wedding invitation guide, I'll help you with everything you need to know about wedding invitations.
Why are wedding invitations important?
When it comes to the functionality of wedding invitations, you can sum up in one sentence exactly what they are for: a wedding invitation tells your guests key information such as when and where your wedding will take place. These are the two most important things, but an invitation can also contain a lot more.
The wedding invitation can be very unique. In addition to a nice quote, you can include things like what exactly will be on the agenda or a nice photo of you and your partner.
And now for the design part! Let's turn away from the dry facts for a moment and state: wedding invitations can be one of a kind and beautifully designed. The graphic elements of the invitation, the fonts and the colours can be beautifully matched to the decor. However, planning in advance is essential.
Of course, the invitation itself does not necessarily have to match the decorations exactly, as this will be seen by the guests about six months later anyway. But if there's an opportunity to think in terms of a collection, it can simplify things for you.
Inspiration for your wedding
You may be wondering where to get inspiration from. The internet has a lot of wonderful and trendy things to look at, but this huge flood of information can make your life miserable.
The easiest and most manageable source of inspiration is Pinterest. This visual search engine will help you brainstorm and gather information. You can get lots of DIY ideas through Pinterest, which can even help you cut costs.
Create a profile for yourself and start by using basic words that you can type into the search bar. This could be related to decorations, wedding dresses or even flower bouquets. Once you have a good number of pictures pinned (i.e. saved to the boards on your Pinterest profile), you'll have a good chance of outlining what kind of wedding you really want. If you find that certain items come back frequently, it's worth narrowing down your search and entering corresponding keywords into the search engine.
But what about trends? When you first look around the wedding market, you'll notice things that have become very popular lately. But it's okay if you can't identify with certain trends. Just because pink is the colour of the year and everyone wants pink decorations, it doesn't mean you have to, too. Especially if you've hated pink your whole life.
That's why it's important to gather inspiration from more places and keep your eyes and ears open when it comes to weddings with friends or colleagues. Allow yourself to be influenced by more things. If you don't like something, just let it go. The important thing is to find the elements that you and your partner can identify with and relate to the most.
What should my wedding invitation look like?
If you're feeling like your Pinterest boards can't hold any more images, it's time to find the right vendors for you who you feel can make those dreams come true.
There are several different types of wedding invitations in terms of structure. I'm sure you've picked out a few images for yourself on Pinterest. It can be single-page, multi-page, Zig-Zag-folded, altar-folded, with custom illustrations and so on. The scope for creativity is virtually endless.
The first thing to do when designing a wedding invitation is to determine all the information that will go into the invitation. I've put together the following series of questions to help you make sure that all the important informations are in your invitation:
When and where is your wedding?
When can guests start arriving?
Should they be prepared for both ceremony and dinner, or is it just a nice family gathering?
How long do you want guests to RSVP whether or not they will be there?
What activities should they prepare for and at what time will these activities take place?
Will there be an outdoor or indoor ceremony?
Will there be a church service?
Do you have any requests regarding the dress code or wedding gifts?
Would you like to have a quote on your invitation?
And of course don't forget the most important thing, your names 😊
Once you have fixed the texts you need, it's easier to decide what format you want the invitation to be. If it's a cozy ceremony with a few family members, you can keep it short and to the point with a maximum two-page invitation. However, if you are planning a large wedding with many guests and it is important for you to include the programme in the invitation, it is more appropriate to think in terms of folded invitations.
Where can I get my invitation?
There are several ways to get your wedding invitation. If you're feeling creative, you could even make your own. You can find lots of DIY ideas on Pinterest.
But if you've heard of Canva, you can make designing even more exciting. Canva is a graphic design software you can use for free. It's also very easy to use, you can put together your own invitation in no time. In addition, Canva provides you with lots of design elements and templates for wedding invitations.
But if you feel that your creative energies are not strong enough, you can have a professional to design your invitation for you. Wedding invitations are usually designed by graphic designers.
If you don't have a specific idea, it's probably easier to choose from pre-made collections. Print shops and some paper shops also make wedding invitations. You can also find plenty of wedding invitation in online webshops. These companies usually have an album of invitations to choose from. All you have to do is provide the text on the invitation and the company's graphic designer will rewrite it for you. The format and design elements in these collections are usually fixed and you cannot change them.
However, if you really want something unique and you have a specific idea for your invitation, it is worth contacting a graphic designer to create a personalised invitation for you. Of course, the latter is the most expensive option of all.
What you need to know about invitations: a summary
I have summarised the three options mentioned above in a table:
DIY invitation | Collection | Custom designed invitation | |
It’s complicated to prepare | x | x | |
Easy to prepare | x | ||
Fully customisable design | x | x | |
Only the text can be changed | x | ||
Cheapest solution | x | ||
Most expensive solution | x | ||
Relatively more time consuming | x | x | |
One of a kind | x | x | |
Precise information required for its preparation | x | x | |
You can easily run into problems (e.g. low image resolution, files not suitable for printing) | x | ||
You have to figure it all out yourself | x | ||
You design with the help of an expert | x | x |
I hope that with the help of this blog post and the table above, I've been able to shed some light on some important information about wedding invitation design.
The next part of this blog post will be coming soon and will be about wedding stationery such as place cards, menu cards and thank you cards. You can read part two here!
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Image source: Unsplash, Freepik