​Designing Your Wedding Invitations - The Basics
When designing your wedding invitations it’s a good idea to keep a few things top of mind. If you do, you’re likely to spend less money, waste less time and get a lot more enjoyment out of the process.

So what should you keep top of mind?

Your wedding theme and colours.
These will be paramount in the design. Your invitations should be a prelude to the event and give your guests guidance as to how to dress for the occasion. Formal weddings should have structured style invitations, using formal wording. A more casual wedding should have a more casual design and can use less formal wording.

Your wedding budget.
Disregard this advice at your peril. Whilst you don’t need to spend huge amounts on your invitations, there are some things that just can’t be done cheaply. Enlist the help of a professional to advise you on costs for certain printing methods and embellishments. They can be a big help to keep you on budget.

Your skill set and available equipment.
Do you have the necessary skills to do a good job yourself and, even if you do, do you have access to the right equipment? Should you be hiring a professional? What about an in-between option, where the pros do the design, layout, printing and cutting and you just do the assembly? Choose the option that best suits your skills and the equipment you have available. Buying equipment just to make your invitations is highly unlikely to save you money!

Your timing.
How far away is the wedding date? Do you have time between work and other commitments, to make the invitations yourself? Can you enlist unpaid help from others? Are there other options that will save you time?

Your attitude.
Will you be happy with something that’s not quite perfect for your wedding day? It might seem strange that this is here, but it’s important and ties in with the budget and skill set points above. In other words, how fussy are you? Proper professionals guarantee the quality of their work, whereas many small operators won't. Beware the price that seems too good to be true. More and more invitation makers are reselling services out of China, India or other Asian countries where the labour is cheap. They don't offer any guarantees on the invitations and they are often made from poor quality materials and slapped together with little care, since the workers' wage is dependent upon output quantity, not quality. Check for independent feedback and ratings, like on Facebook or Google Plus or awards like the ABIA (Australian Bridal Industry Academy), where the brides votes, not an industry body.

What’s the next step?
How about browsing? Have a good look on the internet, through magazines, bridal expos and at anything you’ve received and kept aside. Try to pick out elements that you like about certain invitations. Some have ribbon, some lace, some pearls and others rhinestones. Some are flat, some fold, some have fancy papers and others are made using fabric. Some have pictorial elements printed, some just plain text. The list is endless, so if you can narrow down the things you like about an invitation, it will help when deciding what to incorporate into yours. Check prices during this process so you have an idea of the differences in costs and what elements add significantly to the price and which ones don't. Many suppliers charge fees for altering designs, yet there are others that do not.

Get some samples.
Many invitation suppliers will sell you samples at the unit price. They won’t have your details printed on them, but you’ll be able to see if you really like the invitation, the quality of the printing and construction and the real colours. If you’re intending the make them yourself, you’ll be able to see how they’re put together by a professional, although the techniques used and quality of construction does vary greatly among invitation makers.

Make a choice.
At some point you have to stop browsing and start making decisions. Deciding between handmade or just printed wedding invitations could be a major turning point. Choosing a supplier you feel you can trust to do a good job might also be a major step. Any decent invitation maker will have a phone number that you can call, so why not have a chat with the ones you're considering. It may become obvious which one you should use once you speak with them.

Ask about colours.
Most wedding invitations that you’ll see will be displayed in a certain colour, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be done in other colours. Find out if the elements that make the invitation are available in other colours. For a Gothic wedding you may like black lace, but all the lace invitations seem to feature white or ivory, so ask the question.

Play around with things.
Meet with an invitation designer or go to a DIY shop and grab the bits and pieces you like and try putting them together into a design you like. Don’t worry about the printing too much at this stage. This is about getting the card and embellishments together into a package that you think looks good and is in sync with your wedding theme and colours.

Printed design elements.
Photos and other pictorial elements should only be used where appropriate. If you’ve chosen a handmade design, the printed elements should be kept simple. Add a monogram, drawn graphic or faded background picture if required. Just keep in mind that with handmade invitations, it’s usually the paper and embellishments that are the stars, so you shouldn’t try to outshine them with the printed bits. Fonts, layout and wording are important. Formal events should have formal wording and fonts. Casual affairs can have something more light and fun.

Who will make the invitations?
Labour takes time and time costs money. If you are having the invitations made professionally, expect to pay more for handmade ones. The more elements that are combined to produce the invitations, the more labour it will take and the more it will cost. If you don’t want to spend the money and don’t have the time or skills yourself, you may need to reconsider your design. Remember that point about your attitude above? Don’t get frustrated when a professional wants to charge for their product and service and it’s outside of your budget. It’s not their fault you’ve chosen something above your budget or ability to make yourself.

Final steps.
If you managed to check off all the above items, it’s time to get your invitations made. If you’ve decided to DIY, make sure you have all the equipment handy. Above all, relax and have fun!

As anything else, this is another personal decision to be discussed by the couple.
I believe there is not right or wrong answer. Each couple will have their circumstances, preferences and little humans or not to celebrate with.

If the answer is "YES, we want them in both our ceremony and reception",
​ then it is quite easy: just include them on the invitation.
"The Smith Family"
or name each person:
"Marina, Adam, Charles and Sue"

If the answer is "NO, we rather this to be an adult celebration", below you will find some polite ways to word your wishes.

Subtle Ideas on how to word your invitations
There are many reasons why you may not want children at your wedding. Starting from the obvious, not all children and nice and quiet. Other times you may want to bring the cost down. Perhaps your venue may not allow children. 
Or you may be celebrating your wedding with an experience or in a place that is not suitable for children. Nowadays, people are getting married in a variety of places or exotic locations. They are going to canyons, ice lands and jungles. Some environments are unsuitable for children. Other times, the venues will just not allow children. You can go ahead and include this in the invitation. After mentioning the location, or venue policy, you can say 

​‘ Adult reception to follow at’

‘ Due to venue space or policy restrictions, we are unable to invite
children under 16’

‘ Due to space restrictions, we can only accommodate
children of immediate family"

‘ We love our little ones, however,
this is an adult only reception and ceremony"

•A subtle way is to address clearly the invitation and the envelope
with the name of the persons invited. In theory,
if the kids' names are not there, your guests should understand their child/ children is/are not invited or they should give you a call and ask.

Grown ups want to have some fun too sometimes. Your wedding can offer the opportunity for you and your friends to get loose without worrying about the kids. If possible, you can forego the cost of setting up a baby sitting area. You can write on the invitation, 

‘ We thought you would like one night off, please let's make this an adult only reception. A professional nanny will be booked at the venue "

‘ Due to budget limitations, we are unable to accommodate children, professional babysitting will be provided at the hotel/ venue"

​Speak to your guests, converse with them before hand, lay out your concerns.

Are you wondering how to incorporate a creative wording into your wedding rsvp cards without losing elegance and style?
Or has it happened to you that you totally love those Pinterest creative stationery shots, with a fun or modern wording but you are not quite sure whether everyone will like it? You're not alone. This is a common enquiry or concern and that's why I am writing this article.

Well, let me tell you what I think. No matter what you do, we have already stated in many of our ​blogs that we can not please everyone or pander to everyone's taste. And taste is not a science, it is actually quite subjective. A funny or serious wording on the RSVP card will not define the style of the entire wedding, within reason, of course.

Once your wedding style is discussed, defined and agreed on (I would say mainly with your partner, but perhaps not exclusively), you can decide how formal or fun you want it to be. Just be consistent with most of the elements of the wedding and the level of formality you want and you will be just fine.
​

Now, before I show you wording ideas that are creative, let's remember some points that some of those stunning inspiration shots may not leave clear.

• Creative or not, what it needs to be clear is: who and how many guests are coming,  and the "by" date defined. A line asking whther there is a diet requirement is very useful, as some guests do have medical needs, allergies etc.. Knowing who is coming is essential when confirming anything that needs to be personalised and/or a number, such as: catering, favours and the rest of the wedding stationery including menus, name cards, seating charts, etc.

​

• There is a size limit which is determined by the envelopes' size in each country. What I mean is, yes, all that info and funky icons that some photo shots show, are very useful and look amazing!, but they usually do not fit the standard 11B small rsvp card. 11b size is what most couples request, as it is also the most economical size to buy and post. Any vendor could probably design and make the RSVP card in any size.... Perhaps what you have to wonder is whether you want to stretch your budget to make a card that will return to you, twice as big. Also you need to consider whether you need that info or that size to achieve certain look or information requirements. The decision is always yours.  To illustrate size versus info need: On the photo below, it is not clear if the child under 12 is an "entree" or not. I believe they ran out of space and they had to fit the text where they could....

ow the fun part!
Depending on the level of formality of your wedding you can use some humour or even hints to  encourage their guests to put that RSVP card in the mail.

You can find more traditional wording, with "accepts/ declines" in our wording ideas page.
Some of the funny RSVP wordings and options we've used are:

• Deal me in
• Sitting out
• Can't wait to celebrate
• Sad to miss all the fun
• Can’t wait to be there
• Party on without us
• In body
• In spirit

Specific wording options for destination weddings.

• Sunscreen is packed
• Raising a toast from afar
• My bags are packed
• Sorry, can’t find my passport

Info to help the band or DJ.

• List a couple of songs you'd like to hear on the night.
• We promise to dance if you play.....................

Here are some lines you can use to encourage a response.

• Please don’t make us cry and instead send in your reply, even if you are not that keen.
• RSVP by March 11th or will use at least 4 forms of communication to hassle you!
• Beautiful bride, handsome groom, food, booze, and bad dance moves. Are you in?
• Be there or be square!

These are my tips for today, do you have more ideas to share?
PLEASE COMMENT AND INSPIRE OTHER COUPLES SEARCHING FOR CREATIVE WORDING

Do you want to order rsvp cards? Click here

​After a challenging 2020 wedding season, the wedding industry is now feeling very confident about the wide possibilities to celebrate. Being located on the Gold Coast, and with 50km of sandy gorgeous beaches very close by, what can I say?  We LOVE beach weddings! Australia has most of their main cities near the beach, making this a dream theme. We make 1000's of beach wedding invitations every year for Australia and the USA so I thought to cover this theme and the relevant info you should consider when organising a beach wedding. Got ideas that you want to share? PLEASE share them in the comment box below!

Beach Wedding Locations
If it`s possible try and book a private beach then you can have your wedding ceremony, and reception all day and night. If it is not, make a list of potential sites, and visit each one.

Ask questions during your visits, such as:

• Can I choose any beach or does each celebrant offer her services on a particular beach?
• Do I have an alternative plan if it rains? How do I communicate the plan to my guests?
• Will my wedding be private from views? Will my wedding be the only event on that day?
• Do you have rooms or hotels nearby? Doe the hotel have a private bach where I can get married?
• Do I need council permission?

Make sure the location you choose has the amenities and facilities you desire.

Bridal Attire
There are 1000's of beach wedding styles that are suitable to wear outdoors,  without dragging sand all over it. Many brides opt to have two designs: one for the beach ceremony and a more elegant or formal one for the reception.

TIP/ IDEA: An idea that can help guests to be comfortable with their attire is to buy heaps of thongs and present them in a basket or wooden box. This allows people get changed during the wedding. High heels on the sand can be really uncomfortable and getting sand in your shoes is not much fun. Bare foot attire is also an option you could offer.​

​If you don't like beach elements crafted on your invitations: Choose the design you want, and have a ribbon or paper band in aqua or beach colours or sandy twine, mesh and raffia, which are simple and warm beachy elements.

You can also use the 'message in a bottle' idea for favours with thank you messages to your guests or even as wedding programs rolled in bottles. We do not usually reccomend these for invitations  Use place cards that won't blow away - names printed on shells or sandollars with a texta keep the theme going. ​                                      Check our beach invitation collection here

Flowers
The Hawaiian style lei flowers have a very relax beach style, also frangipani, hibiscus or any tropical flower. Enquire with your florist at your wedding destination to put together bouquets with shells attached to them.
​Catering
A seafood spread would be ideal for beach wedding meals: Prawn cocktail, lobster and fresh local sea food. A lot of caterers (especially abroad) will be able to make exotic sea food dishes. A signature drink is a fun, classy addition to you beach wedding, perhaps in aqua colour to complement the scenery.

Cake
Some people like having a unique shape, like a sandcastle, palm trees, seahorse, giant clam, starfish or anything that will really personalise your wedding cake. Others rather a traditional cake with a touch of ribbon in your wedding colours, usually aqua, coral or pastels.

IDEA: milk chocolate shell decorations scattered across the tables or placed in a basket. Only if weather is not too warm! 

Favors
You could make or buy glass bottles with a message inside as mentioned before. Another special touch to make your beach event stand out is to get glass tubes and fill with messages or lollies.

We have seen fantastic and practical favour ideas such as: sunglasses in every single seat with the wedding date printed on the side and the couple names engraved. Great favours ready to be used if you forgot your own.

Also paper umbrellas, engraved with the couples names and ready to be opened for use during the ceremony and to take home.

Check our beach invitation collection here

Photo Credits:
Signage: Christopher Nolan Photography
Chairs: Styleme Pretty