Choosing your invitations can be overwhelming, there are so many styles, colours and sets to choose from, where do you even start? Don't worry, I have noted down my top 5 tips on how to choose the right invitations for you to help narrow down your options.
When starting out looking at your invitations, you should first sit down with your partner and decide your ideal budget, the style of your day and your colour scheme, this will make it easier when browsing ideas. Then, you can follow my tips below.
Tip 1 - gather the information you need to give your guests
This seems a bit odd to do before you've picked your invites, but it actually helps you know how many inserts (if any) you're going to need, whether you'll need menu choice cards, extra details and if you're going to need return envelopes etc.
What information do you need on the invite? Well actually all you NEED is your names, the wedding date, venue and time, from this guests will be sure to arrive. So if you're on a budget go for a singular invite card with these details on, you can add 'reception to follow' to the bottom and maybe a line to ask them to rsvp to your email or mobile number.
Optional information can include; gift request, accommodation (any discounts on rooms), travel information, parking, confetti, children only note, menu, taxi numbers and an order of the day.
Tip 2 - narrow down the style choice
After you've gathered the details you can see how many inserts you might need, if you do need extra inserts you could do a parcel type invite, pocketfold or even combine it all in one with a concertina. These will be budget dependant but remember the more inserts you add the higher the price. One tip for keeping the cost lower would be to double side some inserts, this is cheaper than ordering separate cards.
Your style won't necessarily play a part in choosing the style of invite as you can make any invitation look rustic, classy or glittery. So at this stage this is just information led.
Tip 3 - finish them to match your theme
You can by all means just have your single card invite, but if you do plan on having ribbons, fancy envelopes or even textured card, make sure you have your colour scheme and theme planned. There are so many options for finished on invites, even when it comes to ribbon there are satins, organza, tulle, chiffon or string and then there are hundreds of colours.
To make it easier to choose, having your colour scheme and theme picked out will really help narrow down the options. For example if you're having.a rustic wedding you may want to go for a textured or kraft card, with lace or twine and kraft envelopes, whereas if you're going for the classy look you'll want to look for glitters, foils, satin ribbons and coloured envelopes instead.
Examples of finishes include; printed envelopes, envelope liners, printed bands, stickers, string, ribbon, embellishments (leaves, flowers, buttons etc), envelope colours, wax seals, vellum / printed wraps and many more.
Tip 4 - be careful of size
If you're planning on delivering invites by hand, this tip might not be relevant, but if you're going to be sending your invites in the post, you'll want to just keep an eye on the size and thickness of the invite.
When posting, letters are measured on size and thickness so you can very easily have to go to a large letter stamp when adding inserts, pockets, ribbons etc. If you want to keep them as small letter size keep the invite at A6 or a maximum of 5x7" and below 5mm thick (this cuts out wax seals, thick ribbons and some pockets). If you're not sure what the size will be, check with me when discussing your requirements or order a sample for peace of mind.
Tip 5 - don't stress
If you're still feeling overwhelmed, don't worry, it can be daunting and this is exactly what stationers are here for. I can help plan your invites with you based on your requirements and do the hard work for you, all you need to do is say which option you like best that I present to you. If you need assistance feel free to get in touch or book a consultation with me and we can get your options ironed out.
Most of all, remember to enjoy the planning and browsing all the beautiful invitations out there, after all, you only do it once.
If you're looking for more ideas for your stationery, visit my examples page for inspiration.