How to Choose a Wedding Invitation
Formal, Traditional Wedding
Match quality invitation stationery to the color of your wedding dress – white, ivory, cream or ecru. Formal weddings have a heavy, rich, elegant feel to them and the wedding invitations should reflect that. Expensive, extravagant touches such as embossing or engraving suit invitations for a formal, traditional wedding.
Destination Wedding
Wedding invitations full of rose motifs just clash with images of palm trees. For a destination wedding in a tropical location, keep the invitation design simple and choose exotic colors such as shell pink rather than rose and turquoise rather than burgundy. Of course, if your wedding destination is Disney World and the tone for the ceremony is whimsical, by all means go for Mickey and Minnie and red and black, or Prince Charming and Sleeping Beauty in dreamy storybook colors.
Creative or Theme Wedding
If you’ve decided on a creative or theme wedding, it’s important to carry your concept in every detail and this definitely includes the invitations. Guests get their first clue of what kind of wedding they’re being invited to from the design of the invitation.
For example, for a couple set on a sky-diving wedding with the guests waiting in a wildflower-decorated field for them to land, the invitation could include graphics of a bride and groom wearing parachutes. A crowd of people could be shown at ground level and the message on the card could read: “We’re Jumping into Marriage with Both Feet on the Ground and Hope You’ll Be There.”
Romantic Wedding
This is where the rose colored, floral motif wedding invitations fit in and you can be as elaborate as you want. Calligraphy, lace, ribbon – anything flowery and feminine is fine for invitations for a romantic wedding. Choose from shades of pink, red, peach and lavender to find your perfect romantic wedding accent color. If you’ve decided on heart-shaped wedding favors and cake decorations, heart motif wedding invitations are the perfect touch. Keep the color scheme toned down or all the hearts may be too much design wise. If your wedding will be in a garden setting, select floral-themed invitations.
Informal Wedding
Wedding invitations for informal weddings should be simple in design, but have one stand-out touch such as colored ink or a round invitation in a square envelope. This can make casual interesting as informal shouldn’t mean tacky, but it also shouldn’t mean boring. If you’re having an informal beach wedding, a black and white photograph of a bride and groom walking barefoot on the beach on the front of the invitation could feature turquoise text inside the card. When using lighter colored inks on a white or light background, make sure the color is dark enough so that it will show up well.
Here are some ideas of what to have ready:
Match quality invitation stationery to the color of your wedding dress – white, ivory, cream or ecru. Formal weddings have a heavy, rich, elegant feel to them and the wedding invitations should reflect that. Expensive, extravagant touches such as embossing or engraving suit invitations for a formal, traditional wedding.
Destination Wedding
Wedding invitations full of rose motifs just clash with images of palm trees. For a destination wedding in a tropical location, keep the invitation design simple and choose exotic colors such as shell pink rather than rose and turquoise rather than burgundy. Of course, if your wedding destination is Disney World and the tone for the ceremony is whimsical, by all means go for Mickey and Minnie and red and black, or Prince Charming and Sleeping Beauty in dreamy storybook colors.
Creative or Theme Wedding
If you’ve decided on a creative or theme wedding, it’s important to carry your concept in every detail and this definitely includes the invitations. Guests get their first clue of what kind of wedding they’re being invited to from the design of the invitation.
For example, for a couple set on a sky-diving wedding with the guests waiting in a wildflower-decorated field for them to land, the invitation could include graphics of a bride and groom wearing parachutes. A crowd of people could be shown at ground level and the message on the card could read: “We’re Jumping into Marriage with Both Feet on the Ground and Hope You’ll Be There.”
Romantic Wedding
This is where the rose colored, floral motif wedding invitations fit in and you can be as elaborate as you want. Calligraphy, lace, ribbon – anything flowery and feminine is fine for invitations for a romantic wedding. Choose from shades of pink, red, peach and lavender to find your perfect romantic wedding accent color. If you’ve decided on heart-shaped wedding favors and cake decorations, heart motif wedding invitations are the perfect touch. Keep the color scheme toned down or all the hearts may be too much design wise. If your wedding will be in a garden setting, select floral-themed invitations.
Informal Wedding
Wedding invitations for informal weddings should be simple in design, but have one stand-out touch such as colored ink or a round invitation in a square envelope. This can make casual interesting as informal shouldn’t mean tacky, but it also shouldn’t mean boring. If you’re having an informal beach wedding, a black and white photograph of a bride and groom walking barefoot on the beach on the front of the invitation could feature turquoise text inside the card. When using lighter colored inks on a white or light background, make sure the color is dark enough so that it will show up well.
Here are some ideas of what to have ready:
