Planning your wedding may seem like nothing but an endless to-do list. From the venue to the seating arrangements, to coming up with a theme for your bridal party, there’s certainly no shortage of things to take care of. While it’s all important, some things are of the utmost importance, and your wedding invitations are one of them.
What can you do to make sure your guests know you’ve given a lot of thought to your invite’s design and that they give your guests the right impression? Read on for some valuable wedding invitation ideas and just how to design your invites that exceed your expectations.
- Make sure your save-the-date recipients get an invitation
While you may want to trim down your list from the save-the-dates to the invitations, this can lead to hurt feelings and, if you’re not careful, potential guests being left out. So to make sure you don’t leave your great-aunt Sue out in the cold, keep your lists consistent and send out invitations to the same people who received save-the-dates.
If this means you need to send more invitations than you were planning, consider this when you assess the costs of the invitations you’re designing.
- Send the invitations with enough lead time
Knowing when you need to send out the invitations will dictate when you need them to be designed, printed, and ready. This will help you determine your design timeline. For a local wedding, make sure you leave six to eight weeks (though you might consider more if you’ve got guests coming from a long way away). (1)
- Pick an invitation size and printer
Before you can determine what your invitation will look like, you need to figure out the size and shape of it as well as where you’ll be getting the cards printed. That way, you’ll have the most important parameters set from the beginning. A standard size is a good bet, since it’ll save you money. It’ll save you on postage too, since an irregular-sized invitation will likely cost more.
Picking a printer early on will help you determine what design options you can choose from as well. If you’re interested in letterpress or foiling, make sure the print shop you choose can handle those requests. You can also consider whether you want to work locally or with an online service.
- Choose a theme
This is where you get to make sure your invitations reflect your and your spouse-to-be’s personality. By picking a visual theme that matches your vibe, you can make sure that your guests receive the impression you want to give.
You could consider choosing a general color theme that’d cover the invitations and the ceremony itself. Plus, you can even design thank-you cards that follow the same theme. Once you’ve gotten that set, you can make sure that every aspect of the wedding fits together nicely.
- Collect any images or assets you need
If you’re opting for a template, make sure to put together any images you want to include or any other visual assets needed in advance. If you want to include custom assets or images, make sure you have them in the right resolution. Most printers or print shops will require at least 300 dpi resolution to not get pixelated printouts.
- Pick the right typeface
Depending on what you want to communicate, the typeface of your invitations can make all the difference. Scripts are traditional, but at this point, luckily for people planning their weddings, just about anything goes!
Along with the font, think about the words that will actually go on the invitation itself like:
- the names of the people getting married;
- location, date, and time; and
- secondary text (“join us” or “you’re invited”) or the reception’s details.
Afterward, triple-check this to make sure you catch any typos. (Invitations are expensive to redo!)
- Don’t neglect the RSVP and registry
Don’t neglect the RSVP when you’re designing the invitation itself. You can include a card and a second envelope or you can request that guests call or email you.
You should also do the legwork on your registry and/or wedding website. If you do so while you’re designing your invitations, you can make sure that the theme carries through from one element to the next.
Final thoughts
As you gear up for your wedding, there’s no shortage of things to plan. By following the seven tips listed in this post, you can make sure that you’ve got your invitations sorted. That way, you can spend time on any of the 1,000 other things on your plate to make your wedding truly memorable.
References
- “Expert-Approved Wedding Invitation Etiquette Tips”, Source: https://www.marthastewart.com/7961203/7-wedding-invitation-etiquette-tips?slide=52f34050-93e2-41dc-bc75-bc27e7db1cd9#52f34050-93e2-41dc-bc75-bc27e7db1cd9
- “13 Beautiful Free Wedding Fonts,” Source: https://www.thespruce.com/beautiful-free-wedding-fonts-1358244
