Wedding Invitation Ideas & Advice for Choosing Wedding Invitations

The date, time and location of the ceremony are on the main invitation. Any other information -- including the reception location and time -- is printed on smaller cards (reception cards, information cards) and included in the same envelope (gift registry information is not).

• Go to a stationer. A stationer, like Papyrus or a local store, will show you several wedding invitation books from large printing companies for you to choose your invitations, inserts and thank you cards. The person assisting you should show you books based on your budget and taste. They will also be able to assist you with the wording on the invite and any possible customization choices
• Go directly to a local printer. The printer who really does all their work in-house will not show you a zillion wedding invitation design choices, but they can do more customization, just show up with several wedding invitation ideas in hand to discuss with the printer
• Go to a discount warehouse like Costco. These types of stores work deals with wedding invitation printers and pass part of the discount on to the customer. If the style choices suit your taste, you can save money this way
• Go online. Several websites have popped up offering online ordering for wedding invitations. Some are old established companies like Crane, and others are smaller “net only” businesses. You can find great deals this way, but always order sample wedding invitations and paper samples so you can check their work and see and feel the paper color, weight and quality

It’s best to get as many printables as you need from a single vendor, but that may not always be possible. You may need to get invites and thank you notes from one vendor, matches and coasters from another and DIY the wedding program.

Choosing wedding invitations is a very important task, but don’t get too caught up in perfecting every detail. Your guests will spend less than a minute looking at the entire invitation when it arrives, and another 30 seconds checking the ceremony and reception addresses on the day of the wedding.

• Skip the expensive engraving and spend the money elsewhere
• Don’t waste your money on charms, vellum, ribbon belts, feathers, glitter, confetti, or other inserts. They may seem charming when you’re ordering your invites, but are quickly tossed aside after the wedding invitation is opened (not to mention the increase in postage). These extras are just not a good wedding invitation idea
• Paper liners and hand calligraphy for the envelope are lovely, but can be costly. Consider that your guests will only glance at the outside of the envelope before tossing it in the trash

If you want to splurge on your wedding invitation, order custom postage stamps with a design element from your theme or invite, or order a heavier weight paper for the wedding invitations and envelopes.

The invitations are the most important of all the wedding printables. They set the tone for the wedding, and give your guests an idea of what to expect.

If a guest receives an informal or simple wedding invitation with a beach theme, they know how they should dress without being told. If they receive a hand-delivered, engraved wedding invitation, they know to expect a formal wedding.

You can print gold text onto chocolate paper, or charcoal gray text onto aqua blue -- whatever you like, as long as it’s simple and uncluttered.

If you do choose a colored background paper, know that you will need to carry that color through the rest of your printables in some way.

It may not be possible for you to print everything in gold ink on chocolate paper, so consider using the paper color as an accent or border color or in a design element on anything else you print.

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