The Wedding Invitation: How to Pick the Perfect One

Wedding invitations are kind of a big deal in the world of wedding planning. Why? Wedding invitations are one of the first introductions that your guests have to your wedding. Whether the invitation you send is formal, laid-back, themed, DIY, or plain-Jane, will give your guests an idea of what to expect on the wedding day. This can lead to what kind of gifts they will buy you, how they might dress, and how long they expect to stay. It is not really a matter of which one is better, but which invitation is best for your wedding.   For the Formal Wedding:  A Formal wedding needs, of course, a formal invitation. Some of the best styles will be an invitation simply trimmed in gold, silver, or your main wedding color. The font would need to be clean, perhaps your names in a cursive, but clear and legible. You want everything to scream classy. It is probably best to pick a paper that is white or creme, and most definitely a hard card stock. Also, a nice touch would be to have the invitation tied in a ribbon. Don't do anything crazy; we don't want to see neon or anything resembling spandex, but a nice satin ribbon to add a light touch of color.    

For the Themed Wedding:

If you are having a themed wedding, do NOT miss out on the opportunity your wedding invitation presents. It is the first step in creating that fairy tale, Great Gatsby, Whovian, "adventure is out there", atmosphere. You can't send a silver trimmed wedding invitation out and then have your guests show up to a carnival themed wedding with tickets, photo booths, dancing, fire jugglers, and games. It would be misleading. Plus, there is so much fun you can have with it. If you love books and want to have the written word at the center of your wedding, send out invitations styled like library check out cards. Or, if you are like the many that fell in love with Disney's Up, why not design invitations that look like hot air balloons or like the mailbox with the his and her hand print?. A themed wedding often leads to a lot of do-it-your-own, but for the perfect invitation you don't have to do-it-your-own completely. Try finding invitation kits that will start you out with the basics and then you can add your own design to it.  

  
For the Seasonal Wedding: If you are planning a wedding around a particular season, you of course need a seasonally coordinated themed wedding invitation. This doesn't mean a fall wedding requires maple leaves on the invitation, unless, of course, you really like maple leaves. It does, however, mean that you need to look for invitation styles that keep with a certain tone to match the season. A spring wedding, for example, lends to floral designs or garden foliage, and light colors, while a fall wedding is in need a warmer tones like brown, gold, deep red, burnt orange, and other colors that are more likely to remind you of snuggling up in a blanket. In the fall, it is also a great time to play with textures. For example, you can use a burlap tie, instead of a ribbon. Or in the spring, you can play with embossed designs to add levels to your design, but still keep it light and airy.