Wedding Invitations, Printing Options

One of the first impressions your guests will get of your wedding is the invitation.  Written correspondence dates back to between the 13^th and 15^th centuries.  The “Victorian” era is most commonly associated with the modern sense of stationary in that it has made the wedding invitation reply card an important part of good social etiquette. 

The purpose of the invitation is to inform the guests about the tone and level of formality of the ceremony and the reception to follow.  There are many kinds of stationary, design, wording and printing options to choose from.  Before you make any decisions on your invitation, you should familiarize yourself with some terms on the printing options that you will be seeing throughout the selection process. Wording and Addressing guests will be discussed in a later entry.

The classic, traditional invitation is the most popular.  They are made in embassy size (5 ½ x 7 ½ inch) with black engraving on heavy white or ivory paper.  In today’s trends, this is not your only option to stay traditional.

Other types of traditional printing options are defined as:

v  Engraved invitations are created through a process of pressing the paper onto a metal plate, leaving an indentation on the paper.  The indentations are then filled with ink leaving a slightly raised appearance.  Engraved invitations are the most formal, traditional, and expensive style.  They also take time.  Allow at least six to eight weeks for delivery of the order. 

v  Embossing  is a technique that is used to create a raised surface in the converted paper stock.  The process relies upon matted dies that press the paper into a shape that can be observed on both the front and back surfaces.

v  Thermography is an option that can look like embossing, however they are made by writing out the words in an ink that remains wet and then dusted with a powdered polymer that adheres to the ink.  The paper is then heated, binding the polymer and wet ink giving a raised print surface.

v  Calligraphy is only recommended for a small wedding.  This type of style is an italic script that is done by hand.  If you are interested in incorporating Calligraphy into your invitations, a suggestion for a large wedding would be to have the envelopes addressed in this style. 

Of course there are many more printing options, but the above four are the main traditional types you will come across while making your decision.  It is important to understand the differences in order to make an informed decision on your preference.  All of the above offer a sense of elegance and are accommodating to all budgets.  Invitations should not stress you out, have fun with them.  After all, they are the main focus of your wedding until you as the bride walk down the aisle!!!!