This post is sponsored by Basic Invite. All reviews and opinions expressed in this post are based on my personal view. Please know I only share products and companies I love and use myself.
One of the reasons I love weddings is because every detail can be customized. Every paper good, flower, and song tells the couple’s unique love story. And wedding event invitations are no exception. As a wedding planner, I’ve seen all kinds of invitations. I’ve seen different colors, shapes, and materials. My clients have selected everything from acrylic to custom letter pressed to laser cut and customizable online invitations.
Importance of Wedding Event Invitations
Whether it’s your wedding or a bridal shower, invitations are an important part of the event. First and foremost, they communicate all the important details. An invitation tells guests the date, time, location, dress code, and where to find the couple’s wedding website for more details.
But invitations also play a role in setting the tone of the event. It’s the first thing guests see. An invitation gives them a sneak peek about what to expect. The colors, fonts, and even the wording you use indicates whether the event will be casual, formal, traditional, or more modern. It should be a piece of mail that makes them excited about attending.
Wedding Event Invitations That Feel Oh-So-You
Not every couple wants to spend a large portion of their wedding budget on invitations. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t want wedding event invitations that are tailored to the style of their big day. When you order invitations online, there’s always a bit of a risk. You never know how it’s going to turn out. Many of my clients want to be able to see, feel, and touch their invitation before they order them. Especially when they’re trying to match colors, seeing it in person is the only way to guarantee it’s the right color.
It’s frustrating when you feel like you have to “settle” on an invitation design because you aren’t doing a custom wedding invitation. It may be that you find something that almost works, but not quite. You say to yourself “this invitation would be perfect if only I could change the color of the flower”.
How to Choose Wedding Event Invitations
With something as important as your wedding event invitations, you shouldn’t have to settle. When I was invited to partner with Basic Invite, I knew I was going to love using their invitations. Not only can you customize every single detail of the design, but you can order a sample of your actual invitation! No more guessing about colors or worrying about how the invitation will look.
Basic Invite has over 40 different color envelopes, more than 900 invitation suite options, and 180 color options. There’s no way that you can’t design an invitation that represents you to a tee! Today, I want to share five tips for how to choose a wedding event invitation that feels perfectly suited to you and your style.
1. Determine The Event Theme
Before you select a theme, decide whether the event will be for just the bride or for the couple. This will help guide what kind of theme you choose. Themes are a fun way to highlight the bride’s personality or share what’s important to the couple.
Events for the Couple
As you’re determining the theme, think about what they love doing, what’s special to them or choose a theme based on their registry. A kitchen essentials or stock the bar party is always fun for a couple’s shower. Or perhaps you host a clam bake in honor of how they got engaged.
Celebrate the Bride
If the bride is forever dreaming of the sand and the sea, throw her a colorful beach inspired bridal shower. These tropical bridal shower invitations are sure to get everyone in a beach state of mind. A formal afternoon tea is an elegant way to celebrate the bride-to-be who’s a Southern Belle. Or host a glam brunch with a make your own Spritz bar for the bride who thinks brunch is always a good idea.
2. Select Your Invitation Colors
What I love about Basic Invite is that it isn’t basic at all. You can customize the color on almost every little detail on their invitations. From the fonts to the flourishes, you can make sure the invitation feels tailored to your event.
For the event’s color palette, you can use something similar to what the bride is using for her wedding day…or you can do something completely different! Use her favorite colors or select colors that correspond to your theme. Choose a bright colored envelope to add a pop of color. Remember, don’t be afraid to have your invitation stand out in a stack of mail!
Make it Easy to Read
One thing to keep in mind when you’re selecting colors is that it needs to be legible. After all, the main purpose of an invitation is to communicate information. You don’t want to send out invitations that are hard to read. Here are a few tips for ensuring the colors you choose are legible:
Don’t use dark font colors on dark backgrounds.
Avoid pairing lighter inks like yellow or pastels with light backgrounds.
- Less is more. Stick to one or two different font colors.
- Make sure the colors don’t clash. Yellow on white and red on black are difficult color combinations to read.
Be sure your fonts are legible. Script fonts with extra flourishes may be beautiful and romantic, but they can be hard to read. Here are a few ideas for the perfect wedding event invitation colors.
Timeless and Elegant
Host an evening cocktail party. Black, white, and a touch of gold is chic, sophisticated, and glamorous. It’s a timeless and elegant color palette that will never go out of style.
Modern with a Twist
For a modern twist on the classic nautical theme, use shades of blue and white. It’s the perfect way to set the tone without going overboard…pun intended!
Ultra Feminine
Light colors are great for a spring or summer event. A soft and feminine color palette of pinks, lilacs, and neutrals are beautiful for a garden party inspired bridal luncheon.
Warm and Cozy
Dark, rich hues, like copper, hunter green, and plum are perfect for a cozy, winter event. Set a festive tone by mixing metallics with black, white, and charcoal. If she thinks Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, host a whimsical Christmas themed event.
3. Play With The Shape of Your Invitation
You can’t go wrong with a classic square or rectangular invite. If you’re looking to do something unexpected with the design, select an invitation in a different shape. Opt for an invitation with rounded corners to give it a modern touch. Or for a more playful tone, choose invitations in a bracket shape or in the shape of a ticket. If you’ll be enclosing an card with their registry or wedding website information, keep all the pieces the same shape. It creates a cohesive feel to the invitation suite.
Planning tip: If you decide to use an envelope that’s not the standard size, expect to pay a little more in postage. To make sure the invitation isn’t returned for insufficient postage, take a complete invitation to your local post office to verify the postage.
4. Don’t Forget About The RSVP
As the world has become more casual, the thought of RSVPing can seem dated or unnecessary to guests. Whether you’re hosting a formal soiree or a casual backyard get together, RSVPs matter! You need to know how many guests will be there in order to properly plan for the event. Here are a three different ways you can go about collecting RSVPs from guests.
The Traditional Way: Include a RSVP card.
The Semi-Traditional Way: Use a Seal & Send invite. These invites include a tear-off RSVP card with your guest’s name and address pre-printed. Make sure to include a stamp so all they have to do is pop the card in the mail.
The Thoroughly Modern Way: Collect RSVPs via the couple’s wedding website. Or give guests the option to reply via email or a phone call.
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5. Order A Sample of Your Invitation
One challenge of ordering stationery online is that you don’t know what it will look and feel like before you buy it. There’s nothing worse than ordering invitations, getting them in the mail, and then realizing it’s not what you want. Plus, it can be hard to determine the color or decide if the text looks crowded until you see in in person. Basic Invite allows you to order an actual sample so you don’t have to worry about sending out invitations that aren’t to your liking.
Make sure you order extra invites and envelopes. You’ll want to have these on hand to be able to resend any returned invites or to cover any addressing mistakes. Having extras means you don’t have to sweat it when the bride suddenly adds more guests to the list. Plus, it ensures there will be a few leftover for keepsakes.
Planning tip: Use the Basic Invite address collection service to collect guests’ address to give to the bride. This will make sending her thank you notes a breeze!
Tailor Made Wedding Event Invitations
The main purpose of an invitation is to share the event details with your guests. But that doesn’t mean they have to be boring or feel like cookie cutter invitations. With an almost endless number of ways to customize Basic Invite invitations, you can absolutely have invitations you love! Add a splash of color and make the design a little less traditional. Don’t be afraid to get creative! You want it to represent you and your style.
All photos courtesy of Basic Invite
This post is sponsored by Basic Invite. All reviews and opinions expressed in this post are based on my personal view. Please know I only share products and companies I love and use myself.
