Though you might have announced your engagement via social media or it’s traveled through your friends and family via word of mouth. Whether it’s the save-the-date cards to formal invitations, stationary materials play a major part in establishing the visual identity of your big day early on. Of course, with anything related to your wedding that goes out into the world, your wedding correspondence is a crucial first step to letting your guests know that your wedding will be a luxurious and high-class affair.
So how do you pick the right paper and invitations to convey your classiness?
First and foremost, if you are going for an elegant, class-style wedding, then one-hundred-percent cotton paper is definitely the way to go. When shopping for cotton paper, you might have a few brick-or-mortar options depending on where you live, but chances are you will likely have to shop online. It’s ideal to work with an established company that has great reviews, but also serves a select and high-end clientele to ensure you get the best possible product. Finally, when choosing cotton paper, you’ll need to choose between 1-ply (350 gsm) or 2-ply (700 gsm), with 2-ply really laying on the elegance thick.
After you’ve settled on the ideal cotton paper, next step is to choose the printing technique that’s right for you. By choosing a thicker paper weight, you’ll be working with a sturdy surface that can support all kinds of designs and inks, from simple and black to extravagant and rendered in a cornucopia of colors. When it comes to printing on your cards, letterpress is undoubtedly the way to go as it radiates texture and class in a countless amount of designs.
Once you’ve established your basic font and aesthetic for the wedding, start to have fun with it. Layering your invitations or menu cards with a thicker, colored backing is one way to add flair and class. Also, thought you might have your core font for the wedding, try playing with different fonts over the course of your wedding correspondence, with each type of card rendered in a secondary font to set it apart from the others,
Finally, don’t forget to have fun! Don’t settle with the first design your wedding planner or printing press give you and if the sample doesn’t feel right, keep sending it back till it does. And don’t shy away from color: Blue has emerged as the year’s hottest color as it is able to communicate both chicness and elegance, whether you go royal blue, steely slate, or vivid aqua. Pastels are another big trend this year.
Simply put, when choosing your wedding invitations, go with the material and design that best reflects your luxurious aesthetic as a couple while also having fun with it so that your invited guests can truly feel the love.
