Invitations Set the Scene

Selecting a wedding invitation has never been easier…BUT ALSO more challenging! Anything goes these days, from etching on real wood to gold-infused glitter bombs. But with so many alternatives, how do you choose the right design and wording for this important message?

Your invitation should set the tone for your wedding, reflecting its theme and colors as well as your own personality. If you are at the invitation stage of your wedding plans, most likely you have already made significant decisions such as the date, time, place and theme of your special day. Now all you have to do is choose how the invitation will reflect those choices.

Although your parents may encourage you to stick with a traditional white or cream formal invitation and your grandmother might not enjoy a glitter spray upon opening the envelope, remember the invitation is your guests’ first preview of your wedding day. Just as an invitation to a destination wedding on the beach should be reflected in a simple casual design, a formal invitation implies that your guests should not wear jeans and a t-shirt.

Contemporary invitation trends are diverse. There are so many options from DIY designs to reviewing books of samples at a wedding supply business. The current trend is to make your invitation “something unique, something special and something that delivers a message about the bride and groom.”

And don’t forget about the envelope liners. More and more couples are using the inner layer of their invitation as a place to add graphics and/or messages or to emphasize the wedding’s color theme. If you can’t decide between formal and fun, compromise by making the liner memorable. A metallic foil, a floral-patterned print or a map can provide that extra personal touch.

No matter what size, shape, color or design elements you select for your invitation, make this rule your guiding principal: proof your message, proof it again and again, and ask someone else to proof it for you.