Wedding Invitation Ideas: Finding Your Style

You are planning your big day and you have so many wedding invitation ideas! So, how do you find your style?

Your wedding invitations are the first peek of your wedding day for your guests so why not make an impression? Your wedding invitations are not only an important document letting your guest know the whens, wheres and whos, it also hints to the formality (or lack of) of your wedding. Here are a few good things to think about and start planning your very own wedding invitation!

Elegant Wedding Invitations by Paperlust

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The Beginning

Get inspired!

Collecting inspiration is a good way to kick off the process. This could mean browsing through wedding blogs, pinning saved images to a board, reading this article on finding wedding invitation ideas! Getting your hands on a bridal book could be handy for keeping you on track for the whole wedding process too, not just the invitations side of it.

Defining your Wedding Style and theme

Before you start planning your wedding invitations, you should have an idea of the type of event you’re throwing – classic and elegant, a rustic barnyard wedding, minimal and modern – as you would want to start shopping for stationery that hits the same note.

Know your wedding colours

Apart from the style and theme of the wedding, think about your wedding colours too. Colours can be taken from your wedding décor or your bridesmaids dresses.
You can include the colours in your wedding invitations set using coloured stock, digital printing, letterpress ink or foils for those who want to incorporate such as gold, rose golds, copper and silver.

Postcard Wedding Invitations by Paperlust

The Next Steps

Custom or ready-made invitations?

There are many ready-made invitation styles out there and finding an existing design may be a great option if you are short on time and budget. Your selected design can often be altered slightly to match your colours, your own typography choice, among other details. The best places to order wedding invitations are through platforms that specialize in event stationery such as Paperlust or through individual creatives through platforms such as Etsy.

However, if you love being part of the creative process or you can’t find your dream wedding invitations, a custom design may be just for you. Creating custom wedding invitations typically takes longer and may involve a lot of back and forth (initial meetings and multiple rounds design development) with your designer. It will be worth the work to get your very own unique and one of a kind wedding invitations that are sure to wow your guests!

No matter what you decide to go for, be sure to get some samples of paper and print types from your chosen stationery maker to know what you’re in for!

Die Cut Wedding Invitations by Paperlust

Other cards to think about for your wedding invitation suite

When thinking about your wedding invitation ideas, there is much more to think about than just the design. Your invitations also need to perform a function. Here are some other cards to think about including for your guests:

RSVPs: A RSVP postcard or a RSVP card with an envelope address back to you is one of the most formal ways for your guests to let you know if they are or are not attending the event, along with dietary restrictions and maybe a song for the DJ to play if you requested one. Be sure that the return address is clear and legible and that you let your guests know the reply by date. And don’t forget to include a stamp on the postcard or envelope and save your guests the hassle!

Wishing well: Also known as a gift card, is to let your guests know whether they should or should not bring a gift, to let them know if you have a gift registry or if you will have a monetary wishing well at the event.

Bridal Shower Cards: You could take the opportunity to send out bridal shower invitations at the same time (yay less postage costs!) to specific guests that are invited to the bridal shower. Only thing to note is that the bridal shower invitation design may or may not tie in with the rest of the set, so put it in an envelope and address it to the special guest!

Wedding website: If you are on a really strict and tight on budget and you want to add all the extra information in, or if you are finding that your wedding invitation is looking a bit crowded and getting extra cards aren’t justifiable, get a wedding website! There are plenty of wedding websites with beautiful templates such as Joy that will allow you to add your gift registry if you have one) allow your guests to RSVP, and supply them with all the latest information they need to know!

Rustic Wedding Invitation Ideas using sunflowers

Rustic Wedding Invitations using sunflowers by Paperlust

How much do wedding invitations cost?

The average cost of wedding invitations can vary widely, anywhere from $1 to $30 per invite depending on the design, ink, printing process, paper type and quantity. Top of the line, luxe paper stocks and formal printing techniques like letterpress and foil stamping will add to your costs, as well as extra accessories such as envelope liners, wax stamp and belly bands. It is important to do your research ahead of time and put aside a small budget for your wedding stationery.

Trifold Wedding Invitations by Paperlust

Wedding Invitations Wording

All wedding invitations should include the following elements:

Who’s hosting – this could be the parent’s names or a simple “together with their families” will suffice
The request to come to the wedding – this will help set the tone for your wedding. If your wedding was more traditional, you could use “ request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of…” or if your wedding was more relaxed and casual, you could say “joyfully invite you to their wedding”
The names of the bride and groom, or the bride and the bride, or the groom and the groom
The date and time
The location
Reception information
Dress code

Vellum Overlay Wedding Invitations by Paperlust

Final Touches

Tying it together

Your invitations are printed and you are ready to assemble and post them out. You could now add the finishing touches to make that impression. The way you dress your invitations can change the way your invitations are received, sometimes presentation does matter. There are plenty of bits and pieces you could get from your local craft store to achieve this, think lace, ribbons, wax stamps, dried flowers!

Addressing your Wedding invitations

Traditionally, addresses on envelopes are hand written, so unless you are skilled with the pen, leave it a professional calligrapher. Otherwise, most stationers offer address printing for little charge, you could use the same typekits that are used in your wedding invitation to tie it altogether. Be sure that all the texts are legible, with the correct address formatting especially if some of the invitations are going overseas, you can cross check this online or head over to your local post shop and get them to check it for you!