Theme

This is very important and provides a unifying style to your wedding stationery. A theme can be anything your like, it’s totally your call but it’s usually best to focus on one idea than to combine multiple ideas. Common themes include:

Location:

Maybe you are getting married somewhere special and want that incorporated into your invitations? Beaches and gardens are popular themes but churches, restaurants, island get-aways and mum and dad’s backyard can also provide inspiration.

Typography:

Some people don’t want any pictures at all, preferring that the type itself forms the backbone of the design. Fine by us.

Personal Interests:

Love kittens? Can’t get enough of rugby? Got a soft spot for orchids? Why not incorporate the things you love into your wedding invite? We know, it sounds lame, but you’ll be surprised how effective these designs can be.

Romance:

For those who like it straight from the heart. Contemporary or classic – we can design an invitation that oozes romance.

Tone

After theme, this is the second most important thing to consider.

Formal or informal?

And by formal, are we talking ‘black tie’ or ‘contemporary glam’? By informal do you mean ‘cute and fun’ (maybe a cartoon?) or simply ‘easy going and casual’? Let us know what you imagine your perfect wedding to be and we can help set that tone from the start.

Text

To reinforce the tone of your invite, the text should follow the visual style and our designer will do their best to choose a font that does this but feel free to name one (or two). As for what the invite says, well that should help reinforce the tone too. Formal, informal, funny or heartfelt? Sometimes it is nice to incorporate quotes on your invite.

Visit our INVITATION WORDING PAGE for examples of how to word an invitation.

Colours

Many people want their invite to match their bridesmaid’s dresses and flowers – be sure to let us know what that colour is but to be bound by an exact match. Often a colour that works well as a dress just doesn’t work as well on an invite. Sometimes it makes more sense to choose from a family of colours instead. For example, a pale lemon dress may work beautifully but pale lemon typography on a white card is just difficult to read.

Also black and white, sepia and pastels can also all look fantastic. Hmmm, decisions, decisions. Gold and silver can be printed, but this requires additional plates and film and therefore is relatively expensive. See the “special effects” tabs for more advice on the feasibility of printing unusual colours.

View our colour chart on the  DESIGN ADVICE PAGE to help you write your brief.

Budget

This follows on from format. It is a good idea to talk to our designers of how how much printing prices vary from one style to the next. The postcard format is popular and budget friendly, letterpress is beautiful but pricey. We don’t want to design something outside your budget. It’s smart to consider how much you want to spend at the beginning to avoid a budget blow-out at the end.

Special Effects

Unique or unorthodox folds, die cuts, special inks, gold or silver foils, embossing and silky laminates – the sky is the limit and we have experience designing all of these. Just be aware that these processes are relatively expensive, especially on small print runs like wedding invites (any print run under 200 is small by printing standards). The reason is that such designs require the production of printer’s plates which costs around $300. It doesn’t matter if the subsequent print run is for 20 or 20,000 items.

Laser Cut

This technique is exactly as the name implies and involves using a laser to cut designs into the paper, achieving extremely intricate and beautiful results. Unlike other printing methods there is no discount for larger volumes. This is because the machine is priced per minute and cutting a hundred invites takes a hundred times longer than cutting one and consequently costs a hundred times more.

Letterpress

These days letterpress has seen a revival, especially for wedding invitations. The process requires a high degree of craftsmanship but in the right hands letterpress can really bring out the beauty and texture in paper and produce an invitation that smacks of timeless sophistication.

Letterpress excels at reproducing fine typography and line work in one or two colours. It is not suitable for printing photographs or full colour designs. Because the printing process presses the ink into the paper, the result is an “emboss-like” effect which means  letterpress invites can only be printed on one side.

 Thermographic

Thermography printing is a special process using powder and heat on ink to create a unique raised effect. Like letterpress, this technique will only work in single colours and therefore isn’t suitable for photographs. Shapes and text however can look stunning in glossy black on clean white card. Anyone say stylish?

Wooden

This printing method used the same laser cutting machine as the laser cut invites above. the only difference is that the laser only etches the design into the wood. In addition to the cost of using the machine, there is the addition cost of the wood. Other materials can also be etched using a laser including plastic, glass, leather and metal.

Embossing

Embossing requires the manufacturing of plates that are used to press an image or text into paper. The picture above is of a ‘blind emboss’ as no ink was used. The effect is subtle and sophisticated but not suitable for small letters which would be difficult to read if embossed.

Elements

Be sure to let the designer know what elements you will need from the start. Maybe your wedding stationery will consist solely of the invitation but maybe you will need a whole suite designed. Options include RSVP cards and enclosure cards with extra information (like accommodation, transport or gift registry information). On the day items may include seating charts, place cards, menus or favour tags. It is also common to send a thank you card to your guests when you return from your honeymoon. What ever your requirements, it helps if we know them from the start.

Presentation

Presentation is not just about envelopes. Often it is the finishing touches – a bow of ribbon, some glittering confetti – that makes all the difference. What about a ‘message in a bottle’? Let us know your thoughts on how you want your invitation finished.