How To Design Your Wedding Invitations

If you’re planning to send out wedding invitations, then you probably are now realizing how much goes into this part of the wedding planning process. Even if you’re planning to have an unofficial wedding, with just family and friends present, it’s still good to send out some kind of invitation so that your loved ones can see how much you appreciate them and that you’d love to have them with you on your special day.

Tips for Wedding Invitations

Creating wedding invitations doesn’t have to be difficult or stressful, but there are definitely ways to make the process go smoother. Here are a few tips you can use as you design your wedding invitations to give your guests an invitation they’ll treasure and remember!

1. Choose the Right Style

One of your first considerations should be choosing a style for your invitations. Should you opt for a formal style with an intricate design, fun, and a unique style to reflect your personality, or perhaps something in between? Once you’ve decided on your preferred tone, think about what kind of event it is and who will attend.

If it’s a large formal wedding, consider printing cards in an elegant script and embossed graphics or adding an inscription such as requesting your presence at the top of each card. If it’s a smaller intimate affair, you can get away with using more casual wording and fonts that match your handwriting.

2. Finish Your Invitation Design Early

Designing your wedding invitations early is a great way to make sure you don’t forget anyone. It also gives your guests plenty of time to plan their travel arrangements and budget accordingly. The earlier you send them, however, the more likely it is that someone will lose or misplace one of them, so be sure to order extras. A safe bet is two and one-half months before your big day.

3. Use the Right Font

Your invitation is one of your wedding’s first impressions, so it’s important to use the best font to send the right message. There are two things to consider when choosing a font: style and size. For formal invitations, serif fonts like Times New Roman or Georgia look best.

These fonts appear more traditional than sans serif fonts like Helvetica or Arial. Keep in mind that it can be difficult to distinguish certain letters in small sans serif fonts—especially on busy designs—so stick with large ones for more impactful text. If you want a more casual look that doesn’t sacrifice classiness, pick an interesting font (such as a scripted one) but keep it simple and make sure all text is capitalized.

4. Customize Each Invitation

One of a couple’s favorite memories from their wedding is going through all of their keepsakes and gifts from loved ones. Even after years have passed, they can still remember what each person’s gift was. If your invitations are generic, those details may get lost as time goes on. One way to make sure that never happens is to customize each invite for every guest.

Instead of writing “Mr. and Mrs. Joe Smith request your presence at their wedding ceremony”, write something like “Cecilia Smith requests your presence at her daughter Sarah Smith’s wedding ceremony”. It may seem like an unnecessary step, but it truly isn’t.

5. Include Important Details

Make sure you include all important details in your invitation. A lot of people don’t like to throw out invitations, so make sure you put everything on there that they’ll need (especially if it is an open house invitation). Also, keep in mind whether or not your guests will need to pay for parking. If they do, let them know where they can park and if they should bring cash with them.

People will appreciate knowing these small details about your wedding. Though these little details may sound small to you, your family and friends will appreciate them.

6. Request a Sample

Requesting a sample of wedding invitations before placing an order will help you save time and money. You can request a sample of any product, as long as it’s something that’s not overly expensive and/or time-consuming to mail out. This is a great way to see what you’re getting with your purchase before you commit to making an order.

The same thing goes for services. If you can find a planner who will create a mock-up of their work for free, it can give you a good idea of whether or not they’ll be able to deliver what you’re looking for. No matter how gorgeous their portfolio is on social media or their website, always ask about requesting samples from vendors before booking them.

Your wedding invitation design can make or break your theme, so it’s important to choose carefully. Keep these tips for designing your wedding invitations in mind.