When you start the search for wedding invitation designers, there are many things to consider. What type of style are you looking for? Completely traditional, a little more out of the box, or somewhere in between? What are your must-haves?
Not long ago, invitations were pretty consistently similar. Engraved with black ink, on ecru stock or maybe white. That is no longer the case! To give you some idea of the range of possibilities for wedding invitation card design, we’ve put together these examples.
1. Traditional Invitations
Traditional invitations often have an all script design and raised printing. You also often see a “panel” design with this style of invitation, as shown in the image below. This example features thermography printing.
The below example features a flat piece (no panel like the border shown above) and engraved printing. It can be hard to distinguish thermography from engraving, but the secret is to flip it over. With engraving, you can see the impression from the backside and with thermography you can’t.
2. Deckled Edge Invitations
A popular trend for 2021 is deckled edge invitations, which feature a ripped or torn looking edge that harkens back a bit to when paper was literally handmade.
Depending on the other elements of your design, you might have a very simple wording-only invitation like the below with deckled edges…
Or perhaps something with a little more going on:
3. Pocket Style Invitations
For destination weddings, a pocket style invitation has a lot of perks. It presents the information almost like a folder where lots of details can be tucked in to prepare your guests for the event and travel. Here is a good example:
4. Classic with a Twist Invitations
One of the main things we do here at Dodeline is “classic with a twist.” We love to pair a classic engraved or letterpress invitation with simple design with something with a wow factor – perhaps an amazing envelope liner or vellum overlay.
In the case of this invitation, a slightly unusual dusty blue is used for the ink color on the letterpress invitation, while a beautiful custom map adds a bit of unexpected. You never saw those in invitations decades ago, so it definitely adds the “twist” part!
5. Modern Invitations
Many wedding invitation designers focus only on the traditional romantic, classic styles, so if you’re looking for a modern or perhaps more masculine look, it can sometimes be harder to find. Touches like sticking to block fonts or less whimsical script fonts go a long way in creating a more modern look.
6. Custom Designed Maps
Not every stationery does custom work, so if having a custom wedding map is important to you, seeking out a stationery designer who creates their own artwork is a great place to start. Maps themselves can look so many different ways – from the one color outline / architectural style to the full blown watercolor looks, there’s a lot to consider for this one piece alone.
7. Boxed Wedding Invitations
If you’re looking to really make a statement, sending your invitations in a BOX really does it! We used specially made invitation size boxes for this invitation set. The box itself got wrapped in ribbon with a gold foil seal and then placed into a larger box for actual mailing. Again, this is a highly custom option that not all stationers can do, so as you search for the right invitation company, be sure to look at all the options they have available. Psst…follow along on our Instagram account @dodelinedesign to get to see fun behind the scenes of projects like these.
8. Uniquely Shaped Invitations
Changing the shape of your invitation or at least some of the ancillary cards is another awesome way to make it special and unique. One of our favorite ways to do that is making the website card or smaller information card in the shape of South Carolina, but there are also lots of other options like diamonds, rounded corners, scallop edges, ovals and bracket shapes. The possibilities are endless!
9. Acrylic Invitations
Another more recent trend is acrylic invitations and we are HERE for it. Using white or gold text and even incorporating other full color design elements makes for a truly unique invitation. We are willing to bet your guests won’t have received many – if any – invitations like these before!
10. Anything you can dream up!
Custom stationery studios like Dodeline are always up for new ideas and creating something truly unique for our clients. We would love to hear what your dream invitations look like and help you bring them to life. Reach out to us to get started.
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