5 tips to ensure you send the perfect wedding invite

Your wedding invitation is a wonderful opportunity to send something considered, beautiful and unique to your loved ones, whilst setting the tone for the celebration ahead.  The web offers a great range of hints and tips on what to think about when designing your invitations - all you need is a little creativity and inspiration, and you'll have a set of invitations that are one-off. Online print websites, like printed.com, can then help you get them printed cost effectively and to a high standard. Before you get started - here are our top five tips for fool proof wedding invite design.

Timing is everything!

The invitation process will take a considerable amount of time and it’s worth being extra-generous when allocating a time-scale - if you think it’ll take you one month, allow yourself two.   You’ll need to factor in drafting your designs, sourcing materials, editing, printing and postage.  It’s custom to send out invitations 10-12 weeks in advance, with an RSVP deadline to be set 4-6 weeks prior to the event.  Aim to allocate about 4 weeks for design, 1-2 weeks for printing and an additional 1-2 weeks for postage.

Say it Simple...

The old adage, less is more, could not ring more true when it comes to invitation design.  Keep the motifs, logo and wording simple.  Stick to one, at most two fonts - you can find an array of unique, free, downloadable fonts on sites like dafont.com.  The greatest invitations have two elements, good design and good paper - get these right and your invitation is sure to set the right tone on arrival.

Start with the envelope!

You may have a plethora of design ideas for the invitation itself but it’s important to put those on hold until you’ve sourced the right envelope.  You’ll have a great deal of creative license in terms of paper sizing, but this is not reflected in envelopes and the last thing you’ll want is to have designed and printed your invites to find that there is not an envelope that matches the chosen paper and size.

The Paper

When designing your own invitations, it’s almost certain that you’ll find a newfound appreciation for paper!  The right texture and density paper can speak volumes of your wedding aesthetic or style.  If you’re at a loss, go to a stationer or designer and ask for a sample pack, so that you can get a real feel for the type of paper you’re interested in. Keep the form of your invite in mind when making your selection. If you need to fold pieces, for example, you’ll need to choose a paper that’s not too thick and fairly flexible.  It’s worth keeping in mind that colours print best on white paper - any paper that is not white will affect the colour of ink printed on it, for example a cream paper will make all colours slightly warmer.

The Budget...

Invitations can become unnecessarily expensive, so it’s important to keep an eye on your budget whilst making design decisions.  Elaborate conventions like letterpress, foiling and bespoke die-cut shapes can really push up the cost.  There is also an opportunity to save on delivery cost and receive a discount if you place an order for all your printed material at the same time.  Although it’s custom to include all the details of your wedding in a booklet with the invitation, you can save on postage and printing by directing your guests to a personalised wedding website like www.gettingmarried.co.uk

printed.com provide a great online platform for printing your wedding invitations and they’ve recently launched an offering of luxury papers in a variety of finishes and sizes.  This, coupled with their easy-to-navigate site, will put you in good stead to transform your invitation dreams into reality. Plus, for a limited time you can get an exclusive £10 off voucher code on all printing.

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