Weddings are exceedingly expensive, so it’s necessary to cut a few corners and save money where you can. Wedding invitations formally announce the date, so whether you decide to splurge on custom wedding invitations or use a template to save money, there are a number of things to consider before sending them out. However, if you do choose to go with a template, you’ll want to know how to go about choosing, composing, and sending.
1. Fonts
A wedding is considered a formal occasion, and a number of fonts are aligned with such events. Choose a Georgia, Times New Roman, Book Antiqua or another choice that makes a formal impression. Alternatively, it’s your wedding, so choose arrangements that match your personality and connection with family and friends. All fonts are at your disposal. If you think Comic Sans is more appropriate to announce your Star Wars-themed wedding, so be it. The force and the choice are with you!
2. Legibility
The choice of font is at your disposal, but you do want invitees to be able to read the lettering. Be careful in choosing particular fonts; the size of the invite may influence the legibility of particular letters. Particular fonts look great but may begin to lose attractiveness as the type gets smaller. View a sample template before ordering or printing your free wedding invitations.
3. Have Someone Edit
It’s always good to have an editor. Have another person double-check the wording and dates before printing. It’s a blessing to have a template available, but it’s a curse to have invites printed with an error. Scrutinize each line and make sure you don’t mess up the dates! Spelling and grammar can be caught by editors or online software, but wrong dates will pass under the radar.
4. Order Extras
You may come across new friends or suddenly remember a person not initially on the list. Also, things get misplaced or lost in the mail. You’ll want (at least) twenty-five extra invites. Also, you may have a limit on the number of people you want to invite. Send another batch of invites once you start hearing back from the first set. In a perfect world, you would have enough resources to invite as many people as you want, but in this one, most limit the headcount.
5. Account for Similar Households
You may be inviting a father, mother, daughter, and distant cousin, but if they all live in the same household, you can skimp on the number of sent invites. However, indicate that the RSVP needs to account for each individual.
6. Color
When going with templates, you may be limited in your choice of colors. If you have selected a color combination for your wedding that’s not available, black lettering on a white background is standard. Find envelopes that feature your wedding colors in case the templates do not match.
7. Code for Replies
You may get so excited to tear open reply cards that you get confused on where a “yes” or “no” came from. It’s a common mistake that is not thought about until the horrifying moment comes. No sweat – before mailing the invites along with reply cards, align a specific number with the recipient. That way, even if you disconnect the reply from the envelope it came from, you’ll know who sent it.
8. Avoid Margins
Templates may look, well, like templates. And though it’s great to save money, you want your invites to be impressive. Professional invitations “bleed” out to the edges, so there are no white margins framing the lettering and graphics. You can emulate a professional look by cutting the edges. Remember, standard invites are 5X7, so you’ll want to select a larger font.
9. Get Ideas Online
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel when using templates. Use the creativity of others to form your own ideas. Access Pinterest, Instagram, and other visual and social platforms to gather insights. You can even engage other people to ask direct questions or to inquire as what they think of your template.
Jerry Leung, the founder and chief designer of 983invitation.com, has a great interest in graphic and invitation design. He is also interested in the architectural and cultural aspects of weddings.
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