Choice of wedding invitations is one of the first stages in wedding preparations. Usually their turn comes after the date of the wedding is chosen and the list of the guests is complete. But it isn’t really correct. Of course, for it is necessary to decide on the date of a wedding, on the number of guests and where celebration would take place, but it isn’t necessary to hurry with buying invitation cards.

It is necessary to think over the concept of your celebration, maybe even approve agenda of the wedding day, because style of your invitations should match with your idea. Besides, the more information about the coming event will be included in invitations, the higher interest guests will show.

Where to buy wedding invitations?

So, you shouldn’t hurry with a choice of invitations, but you also shouldn`t delay it. However it isn`t necessary to worry, nowadays purchasing of wedding invitations isn`t a problem. Here are some recommendations for you:

1. to buy ready-made cards in shop;
2. to order special wedding invitations in printing house or in a wedding shop, offering such a service;
3. to order to a designer special hand-made invitations.

Which variant should be chosen?

Ready-made cards

It doesn`t really matter where and by whom they are made. They should be in style of your wedding, beautiful and creative. But I can`t say, that all of them are so creative. Most of them are really typical and boring with all their stamped golden letters, white swans, doves, crossed rings and other standard attributes of weddings. If you are planning traditional wedding or need economy, you should definitely choose them. It is possible to find something nice and cheap.

Special wedding invitations from printing house

The most popular and rather elegant choice. Special cards could be ordered in limited edition in printing house. Usually it costs a little more because you should pay for design. And the shorter edition is, the higher is the price of one single copy. Materials which can be used in your invitations (designer paper, crystals, bands, flowers.) probably won`t be very cheap.

Besides, this choice allows you to send to guests different invitations. For example, colleagues and the boss could receive official classical invitations, relatives – bright and creative invitations with warm words, and your friends – creative, with some fun or humorous text.

If ready-made cards from shop are too laconic (a double card with the standard text inside, sometimes in some envelope), ordered invitations give you space for imagination, art, creativity. The most widespread types of the invitations popular nowadays are presented in the following examples:

• invitations made of paper, given in packages (in a box, a tube or an envelope);
• invitations made of design paper with a tracing-paper in packing;
• invitations of book shape;
• invitations-envelopes (the envelope could be fully unwrapped – on its inside the text is printed);
• rolled books – simply rolled or tied up with a lace or belt.

Package of your wedding invitation can be made of a cardboard, plastic, fabric. But if invitations will be delivered not personally, by mail or e-mail or with a courier, you should take care of a big envelope which would contain your invitations. It is desirable that the envelope was made in the same style as other elements of the invitation.

Hand-made wedding invitations

Future couple can use hand-made invitations. There are two ways: to make invitations yourselves (if you are acquainted with handmade equipment), or to order invitations to designer – graphic designer specializing on a paper plastics, painting, producing hand-made souvenirs, etc. The second way will probably cost very much, but invitations will surprise you with their creativity .

It is possible to make invitations by yourselves with the help of the computer. In this case use photos – special photoset is better than ordinary. Pick up pictures and backgrounds which will reflect the concept of a wedding, if it is possible. It is necessary to create the text of the invitation, choose an original font and use photoshop (or other graphic editor), made template of special invitation. Several templates will be better. Consult your relatives and friends, choose the most successful one and to print out invitations on a photoprinter. It is possible to print out wedding invitations on ordinary office paper, and then laminate.

Electronic wedding invitations

Ready-made electronic models can be used not only for paper invitations, but also for e-mail invitations. This way becomes more and more widespread. Thrifty, but not suitable for all the people, especially for senior generation, who still can own no electronic box. But electronic invitations come in a moment and you can receive the answer very fast. So nowadays couples usually use both types of delivery: by e-mail and the courier (or personally).

By the way, it is possible to use ready templates of electronic invitations from the Internet. You can add there your text and photo – that`s all. Also there are online services which could help you to create original models of invitations for sending by e-mail or for publishing. It is possible to dispatch the created invitations at once. Some services even afford texts for invitations.

Creative wedding invitations

If you are planning thematic, unusual wedding, invitations must also be creative and unusual. Traditional wedding (for example, Japanese or Scottish), requires wedding invitations made in the same style with a suitable ornament, colour, fonts. The image of Oriental cherry will look nice on Japanese wedding invitation, tartan wedding invitations will match with the atmosphere of Scotland. It is a good opportunity to give a hint about the theme of the future event which will intrigue your guests.

The invitation shape can be unusual too. For example, invitations to Hawaiian wedding could be made in shape of a cockleshell or beach slippers. For a wedding in Russian style it is possible to order small souvenir like Pavlov-Posadsky scarf with the text of the invitation printed on it. Such a wedding invitation will impress your guests and will leave a memory for all the life.

If the wedding prepares, for example, in a gangster style, it is possible to order wedding invitations looking like the old-fashioned yellow newspaper with various comic notes on a subject of the forthcoming event given in the suitable style. In the center of the page place the photo of the groom and bride with invitation text on it.

You may order invitation posters and send them in a tube. This variant is good for wedding in Hollywood style. By the way, Hollywood wedding invitations could to be absolutely unusual if you make video card. Make a real trailer of your future wedding, free your inner director (and scriptwriter, operator, and actor of course).Send it to your relatives and friends a DVD in a creative package, cool flash card, or by e-mail with attached file of a video.

The interesting idea is wedding invitations- souvenirs. For example, the invitation in shape of a lop-leaf calendar with the first page in which is not January as usual, but the month of the wedding. Invitations in a bottle are also popular today – most of guests will keep such a souvenir invitation. Making creative wedding invitations you also create memories.