Wedding Invitation FAQs
How do I choose a style? Your wedding invitations should match the general style of your wedding. In other words, if you are having a traditional wedding down to wearing your mother’s pearl bridal jewelry, your invitations should reflect that. Black engraving on white or ecru cotton paper will be perfect to convey a feeling of elegance and tradition. Having your wedding in an urban loft? Select a contemporary invitation, such as a square paper in a color with bold sans-serif printing.
What is the difference between engraving, thermography, letterpress, and flat (or offset) printing? Engraving is the most traditional means to put lettering on a formal piece of stationery. It is very upscale and elegant, with a price to match. The wording is etched onto a copper plate and then run through a press with ink and paper. Thermography is a more recent printing method which consists of ink mixed with a powder designed to mimic the raised lettering of engraving. Some people like thermography for making an invitation look formal at a lower cost than engraving, but in some circles, it is considered to be in poor taste. Letterpress is a very popular style of printing for invitations that can look either retro or contemporary. Due to its labor intensive process, it can cost as much as engraving. Flat printing or offset printing is the one type of lettering which does not create either raised or indented lettering. Very affordable and versatile, it is ideal for all but the most formal invitations, and is easy to do at home with a high quality printer.
Should I use “the honour of your presence” or “the pleasure of your company” when issuing a wedding invitation? This one is quite straightforward: the honour of your presence (usually written with the British spelling “honour”) is used to indicate that the ceremony is to take place in a house of worship. For any other venue, the pleasure of your company is the appropriate choice.
How do I word my invitation to make clear who is paying for the wedding? You don’t. Traditionally the bride and groom’s parents are considered to be the hosts of a wedding, which is why the invitation is issued in their names. The parents of the groom may also be included, as is customary in Europe, but none of it has anything to do with who is paying the bills. If the bride and groom prefer to act as hosts, as in the case of a second wedding, it is done so by omitting the host line. “The pleasure of your company is requested at the marriage of…” instead of “Mr. and Mrs. Jones request the pleasure of your company at the marriage of…”.
Filed under Bridal Jewelry, Wedding Planning | Tags: Bridal Jewelry, wedding invitation wording, wedding invitations, wedding stationery | Comment (0)Make Your Own Save the Date Cards
Save the date cards are a wonderful way to give your guests advance notice of your upcoming wedding. They are also a great chance to give your family and friends a hint about what your wedding will be like. Since they need not be very formal, many couples like the fun of designing and possibly even making their own save the dates. Use these ideas to get the creative juices flowing.
The save the date cards are the first glimpse that your guests will have of your wedding style, so why not take the opportunity to make a great first impression? Let’s say that you are planning to have very formal wedding, and will be using lots of sparkly elements, such as crystal wedding jewelry. A cute idea for your wedding notices would be to embellish a heavy card with a silver chandelier motif to give the hint of the elegance that is to come. Or make your save the dates sparkle just like your crystal wedding jewelry by dipping the edges in glitter. Use a pretty script for the lettering, in keeping with the fancy motif.
If you are planning a theme wedding, why not have your notices reflect that? The message in a bottle is a popular save the date idea for destination weddings to tropical locations (as long as you don’t mind paying for all that postage); a fun variation on that would be to have labels printed with your wedding date adhered to small bottles of wine for a vineyard wedding. For a garden wedding, send your notices on handmade paper which has dried petals embedded in it, or use heart shaped stationery for a Valentine’s Day wedding.
Calendar save the date cards can be really cute, and there are any number of design possibilities. A simple one is to have your cards printed with the month in which you will be married and then circle your wedding date in red. Underneath the calendar, all that is needed is the names of the bride and groom with the message “save the date”. A variation on this is to have the calendar printed on a magnet. With your wedding date staring them in the face every time they go to the fridge, you can be sure that no one will forget about your special day!
Filed under Bridal Jewelry, Wedding Planning, crystal bridal jewelry | Tags: crystal wedding jewelry, save the date cards, wedding stationery | Comment (0)Tailoring Wedding Stationery to Your Theme
The invitations and other stationery which you choose for your wedding will help to set the tone. When you have a special theme or location, the invitations can be a great way to introduce your wedding to your guests. These are some tips on tailoring your wedding stationery to your theme.
Beach theme weddings are among the favorites of brides everywhere. Whether you will be heading off to a sunswept destination for your wedding, or simply putting on some great beach wedding jewelry and carrying a tropical bouquet in your backyard, there are some very special beach invitations available. Think about the type of beach wedding you intend to have – is is more classic with simple pearl jewelry and a tailored strapless dress on a New England beach with a lobster dinner on the sand, or it is going to be at a Caribbean resort, complete with steel drums and drinks in coconuts? For the first style, classic white invitations embellished with a red engraved lobster across the top would be ideal, or go with an invitation embellished with a bright hibiscus for the tropical wedding.
Winter Wonderland weddings are another hot theme, and one which translates easily into wedding invitations. Select crisp white stationery which is decorated with silver snowflakes. One of the prettiest versions of this would be to print the invitations on vellum laid over a snowflake patterned paper. Tie it together with a festive metallic silver ribbon or a red velvet bow for the perfect finishing touch. For your save the dates, what about using antique postcards depicting horse drawn sleighs in the snow? Simply lovely.
Having a vineyard wedding? Invite your guests with style! The most restrained option would be an invitation which features an engraved image of a bunch of grapes across the top (somehow a picture of a bottle of wine just does not feel bridal enough). Or get really creative, and design your wedding stationery to resemble vintage wine labels. This would be a wonderful way to really get your wedding theme across in a fun manner. Your guests will surely be in the spirit of things when they receive these special and unique invitations.
Filed under Bridal Jewelry, Destination Wedding | Tags: beach wedding jewelry, wedding invitations, wedding stationery, wedding themes | Comment (0)