05 Aug Your Complete Guide to Creating Wedding Invitations

If you’re getting married in the near future, wedding invitations are likely one of the first things you’ll want to organise. Giving your guests plenty of notice for the big day is essential – but besides helping everyone stay organised, your stationery is also an excellent way to establish the look and feel of your marital ceremony.

This article outlines everything you need to know about crafting wedding invitations, from choosing the right paper to writing the perfect message.

Choosing your design

Try to choose a design that matches the theme of your marital ceremony. If you’re having an art deco themed ceremony, use art deco stationery! It doesn’t make sense to have bohemian style wedding invitations for a traditional ceremony and will only confuse your guests. And of course, ensure that the colour scheme matches. Printing techniques like letterpress, foiling and laser printing are also lovely options if you can afford it.

Choosing your paper

There are a myriad of paper types to choose from; cotton fibre paper is a classic option with a soft feel, whilst recycled paper offers an eco-friendly alternative. You can also choose between types of paper fold – side fold offers a greeting card type design whereas single panel appears as a single sheet and is seen with more traditional wedding invitations.

Crafting your message

Coming up with the right wording is arguably the trickiest part of the process. It’s important to start by deciding on the tone of your marital ceremony – is it a sophisticated, formal event or a more laid-back one? This will determine the tone you’ll use in your message.

The basic layout from top to bottom is:

• Host
• Request
• Bride and groom
• Date and time
• Location
• Reception
• Dress code
• RSVP

Each section may require more than one line. Punctuation is not normally used. You may want to include RSVP as a separate card. Options for the request include “the pleasure of your company” and “invite you to celebrate”. Feel free to be as creative as you want, though!

When to send

To give your guests a good amount of time to prepare for your marriage ceremony, it’s a good idea to send out your save-the-date cards 8-10 months beforehand and the wedding invitations 2-3 months beforehand. Ensure that you order your cards 4-5 months in advance so that they are ready to send out in time. If you’re hosting a destination ceremony it’s recommended to send your cards even earlier (around 4 months). Keep your RSVP date set around 3-4 weeks after the cards have been sent out to avoid having your guests forget.

Be aware of costs

While you might not think it, the cards can end up being quite a big expense, ranging anywhere from $1 to $100 apiece depending on their quality. Factors such as paper, design, ink, printing process (including techniques like laser cutting and engraving) and quantity will determine the overall price. Hiring a personal calligrapher will obviously make your cards more costly. Make sure you factor your wedding invitations into your budget. You may be able to cut down on your costs significantly by sending out one card per couple (where applicable) rather than per person. That being said, it’s a good idea to hire a few spares just in case – it can be expensive to get another batch reprinted.

Conclusion

Wedding invitations are a great way to set the mood of your marital ceremony and help your guests prepare for the big day. Make sure you order them and mail them out with plenty of time to spare!