You can’t have a successful event if your guests don’t know when and where to turn up! If you think of your save-the-date as a tap on the shoulder, the event invitation is the formal greeting. You can certainly choose whatever design calls out to you, but there are a few things to consider if you want the best experience for your guests.
Material Matters
These days almost anything can be turned into an invitation. If you’re choosing wedding invitations, you may think you need to go with more formal, but you don’t. Your style rules the day. In our DIY, Pinterest culture, whether you’re planning a wedding or a birthday party, the only limit is your imagination. Love lollipops? What about kites? Are you throwing a spa party? No matter what, you’re good to go!
Depending on the theme of your party, you can go after a specific color, fun idea or, if you’re throwing a holiday party, a concept representative of the day.
If you’re sticking with a traditional paper invite, there are loads of different paper types to choose from. Should you go with cotton? Cardstock? What about a vellum overlay? For a professional printer, you’ll also need to decide if you prefer engraved or printed.
The Kit and Caboodle!
If you just want quick, easy and traditional for your invitations, your best choice is an invitation kit. Whether you use a store-bought kit, a third-party printer or customize your invites from a template online, there are virtually endless options. Depending on your comfort level with technology, the kits are easy to design and look great whether you print at an office store or on your home printer.
Trying it on Your Own
If you’re stepping outside the boundaries of what is offered in a kit or from an invitation shop, don’t leap before you look. Avoid a Pinterest Fail. Don’t run into a situation where you’ve purchased 50 lollipops, but you can’t quite make it work. Start early, and initially buy just enough to give your idea a few tries. If the vision doesn’t match execution, you haven’t lost much. You can move on and try again. And even if the initial try turns out great, and you decide to move forward, buy a few extras for the inevitable glue-splosion or broken piece.
Do you have the perfect invitation? We’d love to see. Share in the comments below!