Wedding Invitations

Invites are technically the very first word on your great event. If your invite has a warm and gorgeous character, your wedding will have one too, at least in so far as your guests expect it. Send a dry and typical invite and chances are your wedding is more of the same. Thankfully, a stunning invite doesn’t have to cost a fortune; rather just a few moments of thought and creativity will do. But first, we suggest you take the reins in your hands rather than delegating it to your parents.

Invitation Styles

First, the colours and design of your wedding invitation create the first impression and therefore both these features are crucial. Red, Maroon, Yellow and Orange are all-time classics, however, cadbury or brown are the pick of the day, says Ajit Rajdev of MyShadiCards. These wedding invitation cards are made of imported metallic boards as well as handmade papers. If you are doing a theme wedding, then your color and style should be well-coordinated with the theme.

Among card styles, handmade cards are in vogue and contrary to the popular belief, these can work to be less expensive than printed ones. These range from Rs.7 to Rs.100. If you are feeling a little adventurous on the colors; experiment with a new look using purples, greens or array of pastel colours. In fact, most couples are looking for something new lately. Vaishali Parikh, the designer we found who does awesome customized invitation cards narrates that most recent works of her have involved more paper cut designs backed with brocade, tissue cloth or metallic papers.

Fusion of different materials can also provide a distinctive look with processes like foil transfer or embossing. Shining metallic paper whether handmade or machine made are more preferred as they are available in a wide range of unusual colours like sage green, lilac, dusty pink, burgundy, etc. However, if you want to play it safe by going traditional and yet want a classy look, go for the scroll wedding invitation printed on velvety red or gold cloth. Experts will bear out that it’s the hottest selling style this season, albeit a tad expensive.

While designing an invitation card, less is definitely more. Avoid stuffing in tons of religious symbols and borders and focus instead on the paper type, color and the style. A single religious symbol or motif is generally adequate. Use borders sparingly. A card insert with just your invitation text and a background design or texture will look more wholesome than one crowded with borders.

Finally, if you have the budget, go for a completely custom designed card and create something that conveys your hobby and likes. For example, one couple made their invitation cards in the form of table coasters with bright martini colors of black and purple. A Bollywood junkie could do one that looks like movie post-cards with the invitation printed on the backdrop of a movie scene. The actor and actress, obviously, will be illustrations of you. And if humor is your thing, how about playing a little parody on the unsurpassed Mars vs Venus battle? The possibilities are endless; just need a tiny bit of imagination.

Wordings

When it comes to wordings, most families tend to run into a writer’s block. If you are going the traditional route, just ask your invitation vendor to serve you with its huge inventory of past samples; and it’ll be a piece of cake. But if you are doing something unique, a hatke script is in order. Here, again – less is more. Remember that all that’s really needed is your names and the event details.

A welcome message at the top and a short list of hosts at the bottom is all that’s required. Most couples these days also seek professional services of writers, who can provide them with a beautiful copy for their cards. These writings are sometimes most eccentric, amusing and creative in nature. Some also come with a hilarious dose to guests, while others are really poetic expressions on paper that touch the hearts of your guests. Another trend these days is to hire special services of calligraphers to write guest names on envelope. This gives the card a very warm feeling and will feel precious to your guests. And for those who stayed up to date on the hoopla surrounding Ash and Abhi’s wedding last year, a small poetry upfront is another way to add warmth to your invitation cards.