Blog

If there is One thing that will likely never go digital is the long tradition of sending wedding invitations. According to etiquette expert Lizzie Post, co-president of the Emily Post Institute, it's not appropriate for a wedding to go paperless – especially considering that it is kept as a keepsake, not to mention the older guests. Wedding invitations are lively and popular at Etsy and in bookstores around the world that still print the old school. Beautiful wedding invitation design is a surefire way to make a statement on the big day before the big day.

"Weddings are such an important event in a person's life, and for many people this may be the only formal event thrown in their honor," said Post. “An invitation sent by post is characterized by clout and sentimentality for such an event. The formality of the invitation reflects the formality of the event. A physical representation of this event in the communication phase is still important, even if it is a small wedding. "

To celebrate the design of wedding invitations in print, here are some outstanding examples of graphic design for weddings – and what distinguishes them.

1. Nothing is better than a treasure hunt card

Portland-based graphic designer Ian Collins designed his own wedding invitations with his wife. With their home printer and a rented laser cutter, they gave their wedding invitation design a touch of "In the Woods". "Our wedding took place in the forest and we hoped the pop-up trees would give our potential guests a taste of the event they would attend," said Collins. “The RSVP card was perforated so that the guest could remove the reply card and keep a handy map of the area. An accordion style field guide was also included, with illustrations my wife made of native plants and animals. "

2. Anecdotes illustrate a couple's love story

Dallas-based graphic designer Emily Holt says the advantage of being a graphic designer is to create your own design for a wedding invitation. "But the disadvantage of being a graphic designer?" She asks. "You can design your own wedding invitations – and basically have to – I could have easily spent over 50 hours on mine, so I tried not to rethink things and keep them simple." She explains how they are had an appointment with her partner Brad for six years before she made an effort to incorporate her love story into the design. "I illustrated symbols for important milestones in our relationship for the back of the main invitation. From then on they are a mixture from simple graphic patterns and my favorite color palette. "

3. In this way, the vision of the wedding comes alive

Hello Areite's graphic designer Melissa Arey has made countless wedding invitations. Since she first entered the business after making invitations to her own wedding. "When my husband and I got married, I made all of our wedding papers. I enjoyed every minute of it because I thought it would be so much fun to make a living," she said. “I was so shocked at how many compliments we received from the invitations to the programs and reception reminders. What started with a series of invitations quickly grew through word of mouth and here we are almost seven years later and every year gets more busy than the last one. "

Arey says she wants the invitations to give a good introduction to the couple's big day. "I love meeting new brides and bringing their paper wedding vision to life," Arey said. "I'm trying to make your wedding invitation one of the first glimpses of your special day, as unique and beautiful as possible."

4. It is a way to charm wedding guests

For Mount Pleasant-based designer Sarah Reed, wedding invitations are a way to take guests into the big day with illustrated stationery, from storing the date to the place card. She is known for the watercolor card invitations, which are ideal for out-of-town guests traveling to the wedding. This map contains a where-where map with hotels, receptions and attractions in the city.

"We don't just make invitations – we go through all the logistical and design elements of the big day to ensure that no details remain unaffected," quotes Reed Charles Eames. You do the design. "

5. This is the ultimate way to demonstrate next level creativity

Designer Kelli Anderson created a paper record player as a wedding invitation for a couple. Karen, a rights lawyer, and Michael, a Grammy-nominated sound engineer. "The music brought them together, so it is only fitting that their invitation be delivered in music," said Anderson. "Your invitation is a record player who, when rotated, plays a song that he wrote together."

Anderson explains that the booklet-style invitation has folds of paper that enhance the sound of a sewing needle that moves across the grooves of a Flexidisc record. "The hand-spun record provides a garbled but searchable hearing of an original song by the couple," she said. “You have to tinker and fold a little to effectively promote the inner science nerd child in the recipient. The whole thing serves as interactive packaging for the song, which can be experienced on the record player. "

"It felt really important that the invitation clarified the social role of music in bringing people together … and ideally included an original song by the couple to seal the deal," she adds.

6. How to remove the photography from Instagram

Elana Dweck is the founding designer of Mélangerie, a New York-based bespoke paper project company that designed Viewmaster Invitations to genius level, where guests receive mailed retro photo toys from the 1980s as wedding invitations. Immerse the rotating photo card and adjust your own picture role for wedding guests. "It will be sent with the wedding card and of course a Viewmaster," said Dweck. "Guests can look at your photos and have a little fun themselves."

The Post 6 reasons why wedding invitations never go digital first appeared on HOW Design.