Your wedding invitations can help set the tone for your nuptials and create a style or theme that may be carried through in everything from the decorations to the wedding photo albums.

Formal or informal?

Are you tying the knot in your own backyard or at a church? Let the formality of your ceremony be your guide when selecting invitations. Traditionally, formal invitations have a white or ivory background and are engraved with centered type. However, you need not stick to these constraints. Contemporary couples have as many choices for invitations as they do for designing the wedding albums.

Printing styles

Traditional engraving is one of the most popular printing styles for wedding invitations, but it is also one of the most expensive because it requires a copper plate. Many bargain-hunting couples opt for thermography instead, which can create a similar look for roughly one-third the price of engraving. Thermography mixes wet ink with a powder compound and then applies heat so the design rises off the paper. Letterpress invitations, in which a design is pressed into paper, have been recently experiencing a revival. These invitations are often custom-made by a shop that specializes in the relief printing technique. Offset printing is another low-cost option, while some brides and grooms opt for the hand-drawn elegance of calligraphy.

Colors

A formal wedding invitation might stick to an ivory background with black lettering, while many contemporary couples choose to incorporate their wedding colors into their invite style. You may also consider letting the season or theme of the wedding inspire color choices - with spring/summer nuptials calling for warmer hues and cool tones suiting fall/winter events. A sunset ceremony on the beach may suggest orange or red to evoke the striking pictures in the wedding album. Meanwhile, an elegant hotel wedding may suggest deep purple or blue. Your personal style may also influence color choices. Many people choose a light-colored background with a single shade for the design, but if you want to be bold, why not experiment with a darker background or an unusual color combination?

By Sarah Beldo