Street Peeper Zimbabwe Street Peeper Bridal Issue 2017 | Page 11

Your is your guests' first peek into your wed-
ding day, so you want to make it shine. Not
sure where to begin? We've got everything
you need to know about this important piece
of your stationery right here.
The Invite
Guide
forget about the text—the information you
put on the invitation is the whole point of
sending it out in the first place. Your sta-
tioner can help, but, in general, avoid light
ink on light backgrounds and dark ink on
dark backgrounds. Yellow and pastels are
Define Your Wedding Style
tough colors to read, so if you're going with
Along with listing the location and time of
those, make sure the background contrasts
day, the invitation—and, more specifically,
enough for the words to pop, or work those
its style— hints to the formality of your wed- colors into the design rather than the text.
ding. You should have an idea of the type of
Also, be wary of hard-to-read fonts like an
event you're throwing —classic and elegant, overly scripted typeface—you don't want to
casual and relaxed, or glam and modern—
sacrifice readability for pretty letters.
before you start shopping for stationery, so
you can choose an invitation style that hits
Choose Your Words Wisely
the same note. Then browse stationers' web- Learn the rules to wording your invitation.
sites and others couples' to gather inspira-
Traditionally, whoever is hosting is listed
tion so you can give your stationer an idea of first on the invitation. Customarily, you
what you like.
should spell everything out, including the
time of the ceremony. On classic wedding
Know Your Colors
invitations, there's always a request line
Think about your too. You may want to in-
after the host's name—something like "so
corporate your hues and a motif (if you have and so request the honor of your presence."
one) into your wedding invitations—and
The can change as the hosting situation does,
then carry them throughout the rest of your so make sure to double-check you've added
wedding paper (like the escort cards, menus everyone who should be included.
and ceremony programs) for a cohesive look.
While ivory, cream or white card stock
Don't Crowd the Card
paired with a black or gold font is the classic List only the key points on your invitation:
choice for formal wedding invitations, you
ceremony time and location, the hosts, your
can also brighten your invites with colorful
and your fiancé's names, the dress code
or metallic fonts, paper stock, envelopes and (optional) and RSVP information. Trying to
liners. Just keep readability in mind when
squeeze too much onto the invitation card
choosing your colors (more on that later).
can make it harder to read and it won't look
as elegant. Leave things like directions to
Play With the Shape and Size
your wedding venue and details about post-
A 4.5-inch-by-6.25-inch rectangular card is
wedding activities for your and/or print
the traditional size and shape for wedding
them on separate enclosure cards. One piece
invitations. But couples are channeling more of information that doesn't belong anywhere
playful or modern vibes with circular, scal-
on your suite: where you're registered. The
loped and square invitations. Don't forget to only acceptable place to list information is on
consider that veering away from the stan-
your wedding website.
dard envelope size can increase the post-
age—bulky or extra-large invites may cost
Start Early
more to send.
Your should go out six to eight months be-
fore the wedding. It can take anywhere from
Make Sure They're Legible
a few days to a few weeks—or longer, de-
As you consider colors and patterns, don't
pending how fancy you go—to print them.