Ideas For Casual Wedding Invitations

As more couples are starting to dress down their weddings, casual wedding invitations are becoming ever more popular. If you get rid of the tuxedos, chapel trains, and fancy flowers, you may also need to toss out the elegant fonts and stiff, formal papers of traditional wedding invites.

Why? Your wedding invitations should let your guests in on the style of your wedding so they know what to expect. If you send out very formal invitations, chances are that everyone will show up in formal dress, and there�s nothing more awkward than showing up at a wedding more dressed up than the bride and wedding party!

Coming up with ideas for casual wedding invitations may seem difficult, but it�s really just a matter of making a few changes. First, you need to think about what it is that makes traditional invites seem so formal. Then, you can make some changes to that typical formal design so your invites suit the tone of your actual wedding.

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What makes a formal wedding invitation?

When you think about a typical wedding invitation, you probably think of something printed on some shade of white, cream, ivory, or sand colored paper. The paper is typically stiff, and it may have a bit of an elegant sheen to it so you can tell it�s high-quality. Most formal invites are either embossed with metallic font or letterpressed with dark lettering. The fonts are calligraphy styled formal scripts. If there are any images, they�re small and evoke wedding traditions � interlocked rings, bells, doves, etc.

There�s nothing wrong with these formal invitations. With a few touches, they can actually be customized for a formal wedding. The problem comes if you aren�t actually having a formal wedding. When your wedding is more casual, you may need to change some of these elements to dress down your wedding invites.

How to create casual wedding invitations

Since we started describing traditional wedding invitations with the paper, let�s start there for the casual sort, as well. You may want to go with the traditional wedding whites and ivories, which is fine. If you do, though, you might choose a paper with a bit more texture. Natural papers with bits of fiber showing through are great for casual wedding invitations.

Of course, you could also forego the white paper idea altogether. Another option is to use brightly colored paper, which will definitely give your invites a unique feel. Hot pink, lime green, sunny yellow � every color is up for grabs with casual invites!

A quick font change is another good way to set your invitations apart and dress them down a bit. Bold letters, handwriting-style fonts, and funky fonts are all great ways to make your invites more casual. If you can�t find a font that you like on your computer, try fontspace.com where there are loads of fun fonts that you can download and use for free.

Many casual wedding invitations have more personal images involved, and they may include more images than traditional invites would. Pictures of the couple, the couple�s pets, or other things that are meaningful are all great options here. Whether you work with actual photographs or letterpress style silhouettes, you�ll end up sending a more laid-back message to your guests.

You can, of course, make very cute casual invites by hand. DIY invitations featuring scrapbook-style layers of paper are particularly popular right now. You can do nearly anything you want when you hand craft your invites, and you can really set them apart.

Just because you�re going for casual wedding invitations doesn�t mean you have to be exaggeratedly laid-back or have invites that look raw and unfinished. Dressed down invitations that send the right message for your wedding can still be beautiful � even elegant! Just change some of the traditional elements around so your guests will know what to expect from your wedding day.

Ideas For Casual Wedding Invitations

What makes a formal wedding invitation?

How to create casual wedding invitations

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