Here comes the bride! Imagine a ceremony where the wedding music is playing, the cake is ready to be served, the bride and groom wait at the altar, and the priest is about to wed the couple… but the pews are empty, there are no cars in the parking lot, and the reception hall is silent. This nightmare scenario occurs to many brides during the wedding planning process. What if there’s a mistake? These questions haunt the minds of brides while they go over the details of their wedding. There is a safeguard from this sort of mishap from occurring: wedding invitation cards are more than just beautifully crafted pieces of art. They also hold the details of the ceremony and reception. For a portion of your guests, these cards can be the first announcement they hear of the upcoming nuptials. For another percentage of your guests, they will have to reference your card to make sure they have the details down flat. Only a handful will know all of the times, places, and details off the back of their hand. This is where the wedding invitation becomes important. You want to have an invitation that is eye-catching, gorgeous, and beautiful while still having all of the information that guests need that can be read with a glance. How do you balance these two needs? Read on for an explanation of how to plan cards that fulfill all its duties without a hitch.

Plan Your Delivery

Sending out the cards and the time of year which you do it in can be just as important as planning the card itself. You have to strike a balance between sending it too early and sending it too late, while also avoiding times of year in which peoples mailboxes become congested with mail. According to The Knot, a popular community for brides to be, wedding invitation cards should be mailed out six to eight weeks before the ceremony.  This gives guests all the time they need to make arrangements and get the necessary chores done without making them feel rushed. It’s also close enough to the date that the invitation card will be relevant. If you send something a full year before the date, it’s likely to get lost in the shuffle or put in a drawer somewhere, forgotten until it’s too late. Six to eight weeks is the sweet spot. The exception is if you’re planning a destination wedding in which your entire guest list will need to travel; in that case, send them out three months in advance. An optional addition is ‘save the date’ cards, which remind your guests of the day without giving out details. These cards make sure that the date is put on their calenders six to eight months in advance, while the invitations hold all the details and jog their memories. Try to avoid sending out cards at Christmas or other busy times of the year lest your invitation get lost in the flood of cards.

Stylish

Don’t forget that you want your cards to be eye catching and beautiful. When you have wedding invitation cards that are dull, bland, and purely meant for explaining details, you may as well just put up a Facebook event. You want something that is visually stunning. Your guests will never forget the date if it comes wrapped inside a beautiful invitation! Choose something that invokes a feeling that is relevant to your relationship. Pastel colours give a soft, romantic feeling. Bold jewel tones are strong and stylish. White with metallic highlights is elegant and minimalist. Choose wisely, and you’ll end up with invitations that guests won’t be able to take their eyes off of. Keep in mind that invitations are often kept after the wedding as a reminder of your ceremony, so don’t choose something that is ‘in the moment’. A contemporary look may look silly in a decade, but a timeless look will be forever.

Function

If you think making a stylish card is difficult, then steel yourself, because making functional wedding invitations can be just as vexing! You want your wedding invitation cards to give guests all the details without being cluttered or hard to read. There are a few steps you can take to make sure this goal is met. First of all, look at your font and its size. Some fonts, while being gorgeous, are hard to read. Other fonts may look great at a large size, but if you fit them down into your invitation. Design your wedding invitation with more than one set of eyes on it. You may feel that one thing is beautiful, but another person may find it unreadable. Make sure that key details are clear. Numbers should be extremely distinct. Consider using styles and fonts that prioritize readability over style. You’ll also want to pick font that contrasts strongly with the background. Two colours may be individually beautiful, but blend together or clash so hard that making out the fine details becomes difficult. Guests may confuse a 7 for a 1 if it’s in pale silver against white, for instance. Be sure that your card also includes all vital information.

Following this advice will give you wedding invitation cards with both style and function. Your wedding won’t be a ghost town if you follow these simple steps. Be sure you send your card out at the right time, giving your guests enough notice without jumping the gun and sending them too early. Make a stylish card that your guests will notice amongst the bills and invitations, and they’ll read the details happily. Just be sure that your guests actually are able to read the details! If you make an error with your invitations, guests could show up too late, too early, or to the wrong place entirely! Avoid this disaster by taking your time with the invitations and ensuring everything is clear, readable, and memorable. Your ceremony will be far more enjoyable with every guest accounted for!