After the venue has been confirmed, the dress ordered and the guest list maxed out, the next big step is the wedding invites.
Invitations set the tone and the theme for your wedding, so below are a couple things to keep in mind when choosing a design for your invitations.
Remember, almost all rules of wedding planning are flexible, so figure out what style and theme you want to go with and what you want to communicate in your invitations and create a piece unique to you and your big day.
Style and personality
This is the first official base you’ll be touching with wedding guests. Your wedding invitations will represent who you are as a couple. Are you a modern, elegant, eccentric, rustic, whimsical, or perhaps a free-spirited bride and groom radiating with a chic style? Let your invitations reflect that. First impressions matter, so add some charm and character in your wedding invites to get guests excited for the big day.
Formality and etiquette
Weddings are becoming less about ceremonial traditions and more about self-expression and individuality. Weddings can be very formal, very casual or fall somewhere in between. The wedding invitation is a good place to hint at (or to flat out tell your guests) how formal your big day is going to be. This will give your guests a heads up on whether they should plan on wearing a tuxedo and ball gown, or just a nice shirt and a summer dress. Slip in some helpful cues (e.g. black tie affair, smart casual, etc.) into your invitations to help your guests out.
Acknowledgement and appreciation
Traditionally the names of the bride’s parents appear on the wedding invitation, especially if they were the largest contributors to the costs. Nowadays it depends on the couple. Sometimes both families contribute and sometimes neither contributes. The topic of whose names should appear on the wedding invitation should be discussed between the couple and then discussed with the parents – you might be surprised how much or how little it means to them to have their name on the invitation.
Timeline and location
When you send out your invites let guests know if the ceremony and reception are taking place in the same location or different locations. Depending on whether or not they’re held at the same venue, there could be a long intermission between the time of the ceremony and the time of the reception. Knowing ahead of time allows guests to decide whether they can make it to all of the wedding celebrations, part of the wedding, or will have to regretfully decline.
Testing and sending
Before slapping postage stamps on all 250 invitations and sending them out, make sure you bring a sample to the post office for a test-run. This will help you determine how much it’s going to cost to send out each invitation and if each one meets the size requirements. Keep in mind that unique, square-shaped invitations will require a little more postage.
At the end of the day, what really matters is you let your personality and uniqueness shine through your wedding invitations, this should be a fun occasion for you as a couple.
And remember, we’re always here to help out with your stationery, even if you don’t know where to start.
You can look at our website for inspiration, to see our previous customers designs, or get in touch with us on 0330 010 2267 or [email protected] and we can get talking about your needs.