Designing wedding invitations: Tips, content and inspiration

Wedding invitations are an important part of your big day. The invitations give your guests a taste of the wedding’s theme and help them plan to attend your big day. Here, we’ll cover everything from how far in advance you should send out the invitations to various design ideas and tips on how to design your own wedding invitations.

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PHOTO // INGRID TJERNSTRÖM

When should you send out your wedding invitations?

Timing is crucial when it comes to sending out wedding invitations. A good rule of thumb, if you’re planning to get married near where you and your guests live, is to send out the invitations 6–8 months before the wedding. This gives guests plenty of time to plan and book any travel and accommodation.

If you’re planning a destination wedding, there are different recommendations. For a wedding abroad, invitations should be sent out 8–12 months in advance. One tip is to send out a ‘save the date’ card even earlier, as soon as you’ve decided on a destination and a date. This gives your guests extra time to book their travel and accommodation. This invitation only needs to contain the most basic information, and the design does not need to be as detailed as the actual invitations. The most important thing is that guests have enough time to mark the date in their diaries.

What information should the invitation include?

A wedding invitation needs to include all the necessary information so that guests can make their arrangements. It’s important that the following details are included, amongst others:

The names of the bride and groom

Start with your full names – after all, it’s your day!

Date and time

State the day, month and year, as well as the time the ceremony starts.

Venue

Where will the wedding and the reception take place? Include the full address and any directions. It may also be worth mentioning whether or not there is parking available.

Dress code

Let guests know what attire is expected; for example, whether the dress code is ‘summer attire’, ‘formal evening wear’ or ‘black tie’.

RSVP (please reply)

Give guests a deadline by which to confirm whether they can attend, and include all the necessary contact details for this.

Other information

For destination weddings, it may be useful to include tips regarding the journey itself and accommodation. For weddings at home, you could instead mention specific instructions regarding transport between the ceremony and the reception venue, or any food allergies.

Design ideas for wedding invitations

Your invitations set the tone for the whole wedding, and it’s not unusual to tailor them to the wedding’s theme. Here are some suggestions for common styles that you can draw inspiration from for your design. 

Classic and elegant

To create an elegant look, you can use simple colour tones such as white, grey and gold. Enhance the elegant feel by choosing a serif typeface and subtle details such as monograms or embossing.

Rustic and country-style

If you want to convey a rustic and country feel, it’s lovely to include nature-inspired elements such as dried flowers or leaves. When it comes to typefaces, a natural, handwritten font is a good option. 

Modern and minimalist

Focus on straight, clean lines, geometric patterns and a colour scheme with contrasts, such as black and white or pastels against bold accents. A simpler typeface works well with this design.

Playful and personal

By adding illustrations, photos, quotes or a map of the wedding venue, you can create fun and personalised invitations. Here, you can also be bold and think outside the box when it comes to choosing a typeface. 

Create your own wedding invitations

If you don’t want to use a graphic designer or hire a company to help create your wedding invitations, you can make them yourself. Designing your own invitations can be both fun and cost-effective. 

Nowadays, there are plenty of online design tools that make the design process easier. Many of these programmes offer templates that are easy to customise, as well as a wide range of fonts, icons and illustrations to enhance your invitations. 

Whether you’re planning to print your digital design or choose to create more traditional wedding invitations entirely by hand, it’s a good idea to invest in thicker paper. This creates a more luxurious feel. 

To give the invitations a personal and exclusive touch, you could consider adding handwritten names, a seal or a silk ribbon.

Digital or physical invitation cards?

Sometimes, budget, style and time are the deciding factors when choosing between digital and physical invitations, and there are advantages to both options.

Physical invitations are perfect if you’re planning a traditional wedding. They also serve as a lovely keepsake for your guests. Digital invitations, on the other hand, are an eco-friendly and budget-friendly option that suits modern couples. 

Some couples choose to combine the different approaches. For example, you could send digital invitations to friends and family who live far away and physical invitations to loved ones closer to home.

It doesn’t really matter whether you choose traditional invitation cards or digital invitations; the most important thing is that they reflect who you are as a couple and provide your guests with all the necessary information ahead of your big day. Start well in advance and make your wedding invitations part of the wonderful journey leading up to your wedding day.