There are different weddings happening every day of the year, and many couples often rack their brains to come up with the most creative wedding invitations possible. If you can relate, you're in luck: The designers at Bliss & Bone have crafted the most inventive and creative wedding invitations imaginable, and they are all ready to be personalized by you and your partner. Review our most popular creative wedding invitation ideas, which also have coordinating Save the Dates, wedding website templates and more.
If you are a person who is constantly innovating and dreaming up special scenarios, you are most definitely using your creativity for all aspects of your wedding. With that, you are probably coming up with the most beautiful, creative wedding invitations that reflect you and your partner, your love and your chosen wedding theme. However, even the most inventive and brilliant people can feel quite overwhelmed by the never-ending list of “requirements” and essentials for a wedding. And thanks to professional designers, you do not have to be the most artistic or creative person to find the best wedding invite options for your special day.
In this guide, we will walk you through everything you need to know about designing creative wedding invitations. From what they are to the original ideas that inspire them, this is your go-to guide for all things related to creative wedding invitation brainstorming. Read on for our expert advice about building this key piece in your wedding stationery suite.
For starters, we need to define a creative wedding invitation. Put simply, creative wedding invitations go above and beyond the traditional, expected design that are typically chosen by couples. Whether it is a bold color or thoughtful element that is rarely used, there are so many interpretations and examples of creative wedding invitations. In order to define them, we will provide examples of ideas and templates that are popular among wedding couples today. With this knowledge, you and your partner can then reflect on your own celebration and decide on the aspects that would best fit your personalized set of stationery.
Most wedding invitations share the following with guests, expanding upon the details shared in the Save the Dates: The name of the hosts (traditionally the bride’s parents), the name of the couple, the name and address of the venue (or venues, if you are relocating for the reception and/or after party), the exact time of the ceremony, recommended attire and information about how to RSVP. Once all of those details are made clear on the invitation, you can get creative with the rest of the elements involved.
If you and your partner are creatives, you are likely already dreaming up what the “perfect” wedding invitations look like. And if you are seeking even more inspiration, we love any opportunity to share our favorite things about creative wedding invitations. For starters, even deciding on digital invites is a “creative” twist on the classic stationery items. Plus, digital invites allow couples to save money and paper (an eco-friendly move!) that opens them up to a world of virtual elements that will wow your guests.
These are our top creative wedding invitation ideas to inspire your own original design:
From out-of-the-box design ideas to creative wedding invitation wording samples, there is almost no limit to what you, your partner and your stationer can accomplish together. We recommend seeking out a service that fits all of your design preferences and makes it easy to edit and personalize your stationery suite. Communication is important too, so it is important that you feel comfortable voicing your opinions and asking questions during the entire process with your stationer.
It is always helpful to see what the most creative wedding invitations actually look like. For those interested in learning more about the themes, times of year and colors that fit well with these creative wedding invitations, we have narrowed down a few of our favorites created by the designers at Bliss & Bone. The best part? These are all customizable, so you can put your own spin on any of these designs.
These are our go-to examples of creative wedding invitations:
To figure out the creative wedding invitation that is best for you, your partner and your specific event, consider the following factors: when you are getting married, where you are getting married and other decor accents that you will want to coordinate with your stationery suite. From there, you can get started on designing and ultimately ordering your dream wedding invites.
Budgeting is an incredibly important part of the wedding planning process. While it is not the most fun, it is crucial that you, your partner and anyone else who has offered to contribute financially are all on the same page. Prior to booking your venue and hiring your vendor team, you should have a conversation about how much you intend to spend on everything—and that “everything” includes your creative wedding invitations. One major decision for stationery is digital versus printed: digital is the more modern and tech-savvy option, while printed in the more traditional and expensive format. Both styles can be considered creative wedding invitations, but you and your partner need to decide which one you prefer that will also work with your budget.
To give you a frame of reference, printed wedding invites cost more because they require lots of paper or card stock. Depending on size, thickness, the printing process and other events you may host, prices can hike up quickly. As you work through this with your stationer, keep an eye on the pricing and how it jumps, and let your pro know if you need some cost-saving wedding tips. One of those suggestions could even be to switch over to digital invites, which will cut costs and paper. Many couples focused on reducing their carbon footprint also like the environmentally consciousness of virtual invites, since everything is displayed online.
For both styles, there is a wide range of pricing available. Printing your invites, for example, could start in the $700 to $1,200 range for 100 cards with the most basic process (known as flat or digital printing). But when you choose more luxe printing options like letterpress or engraving, you can expect to pay well over $2,000 for 100 wedding invites. On top of that, insert cards with details about a welcome party or post-wedding brunch, or reply cards and envelopes will also factor into the total cost of your creative wedding invitations. Meanwhile, most digital invites are about $1 per wedding invitation. At the time that you order your creative wedding invitations, you will need to know exactly how many people you are inviting. And don’t forget: You do not necessarily have to send one invitation per guest. If there are couples or families who live together, you can send one invitation per household.
As you can see, there are a lot of cost-related decisions you will need to make when you design your creative wedding invitations. And depending on how “creative” you get with them, prices can increase even more. At Bliss & Bone, you even have the opportunity to experience a consultation with one of our designers. For an extra fee, you can work directly with a designer to modify and personalize almost any printed design on our site. This gives you the freedom to go even more outside of the box to create the most original design imaginable.
The turnaround time for creative wedding invitations is dependent upon the style that you choose between: digital or printed. And with that, you can better determine when you should send them out once you know how long it will take to make them. Your wedding planning timeline kicks off with your aforementioned budgeting discussion with your partner and any other key “stakeholders” for your event, and from there you should start seeking out a venue and then a vendor team.
After reviewing your options and comparing the different stationers, you can start exploring the templates for Save the Dates, which are sent out before your creative wedding invitations (about six to nine months before the wedding day). If you are hosting a destination wedding, you want to send them out even earlier—the general rule is as soon as you book your venue, or about a year in advance. This will give your guests plenty of time to make plans to travel to celebrate you and your partner. There are fewer limitations when it comes to sending your wedding invites, since your guests will already know the time and general location. The main function of your wedding invites is to share the important details, like the name of the venue, whether guests will need to relocate for the reception and the requested attire for your event. Even for destination celebrations, these are sent out about six to eight weeks prior to your wedding day.
Other considerations for your wedding stationery plan should include the following items:
With so much going on, it can be difficult to stay organized with your wedding plans. But thanks to trusted professionals in the industry, you can work through the to-do list as efficiently as possible. And by remembering the key aspects of your stationery above, you can stay on track with everything involved with your chosen stationer.
Every couple is so different, and your creative wedding invitations should reflect that. At Bliss & Bone, you can also look through our curated collections of stationery, which includes the following: wedding websites, Save the Dates, rehearsal dinner invitations, wedding menus and much more. Plus, you can even work with an expert to design your own unique logo or monogram, which you can use on your stationery and other decor throughout your wedding day. And we are always available to discuss your design with you and answer any questions you have about your creative wedding invitations. To get in touch with us, feel free to contact us online or send an email to hello@blissandbone.com. We are ready and excited to help you map out the best stationery for your epic celebration.