You want your wedding invitations to be perfect! So do we.
Designing wedding invitations yourself can be done. But much like the catering, the music and the photography, sometimes hiring the expert pays off and creates less stress. People who are experts in their field know the ins-and-outs. They’ve done the research. They have the resources. They are more efficient. They just know what works.
If you have ideas for your wedding invitations, programs, save the dates or menu cards, send them our way! Hitch Design Studio would love to help you with them! We keep your inspiration in mind as we design. We listen like a friend (usually over a glass of wine with you). And when you hire a stationery expert, you’re also hiring their design expertise, their wording & etiquette knowledge and their experience with pricing, printing and envelopes. (They can help you navigate A7s, Baronials, and postage for a square envelopes. Trust us. We know a good professional wedding stationer if you need one. Cough…Hitch Design Studio in downtown Brookings, South Dakota…cough)
So let’s go through the most common mistakes that occur when trying to navigate the wedding invitation design world without a professional to help you.
Mistake 1: Trying to use every detail of your wedding in the invitation design
You love the lace on your dress, you love the chandelier in your reception venue, and you love the skyline of the city you’re getting married in. Instead of weaving all three into the design, choose one. If absolutely needed, maybe a pattern of your favorite flower could pop in the envelope liner with the element you chose for your wedding invitation design. An expert can help you make the “look” be chic, modern, vintage, classic, or elegant, without being overwhelming.
Mistake 2: Text — Missing typos and choosing fonts
When choosing fonts, don’t over do it. Typically, you should choose two of these three: a serif font, a sans-serif font, and/or a fancy font (calligraphy-inspired, swirly, etc.) They nicely contrast each other. As for typos, ask your friends and family to look over the invitation and proof read it carefully for name spellings and common mistakes like “your invited” and “you’re invited”. I’ve also personally gotten an invitation where they forgot to list the time on the invitation. Oopsie. They had to insert little pieces of paper to correct it. A professional is a third party who would catch an error like that, and a close family member would catch errors like name spellings. Check with multiple people.
Mistake 3: Using too much color
Too much color can be overwhelming or can make the text difficult to read. One suggestion I always give is to divide your wedding colors into the 60/30/10 rule. Choose one color to be 60% of the color on your invitation (typically it’s a neutral shade like ivory, white or champagne gold), the accent color to be 30% of the color on your invitation (maybe the bride and groom’s names are in your bold color) and 10% to be the pop of color that’s accented in your flowers, or your cake (it’s that small dash of yellow or the kraft paper tag you add).
Mistake 4: RSVP card mishaps — giving guests too much time to reply and/or forgetting to put stamps on them
Give your guests about 3-4 weeks to reply. That gives you a good estimate by the time the caterer and venue need their numbers, and also gives you about a week to follow up with those guests you haven’t heard from. If you give a guest too much time to RSVP, they’ll lose the card or forget to respond completely. Another tip for RSVP cards is not forgetting to put postage on them. I’ve heard it’s nearly impossible to steam open an envelope once it’s sealed. As a courtesy, pre-stamp your reply cards.
Mistake 5: Ordering too many or not enough
Remember, not every guest on your invite list will get an invitation; every household will. Knowing that fact will cut your count in about half. Try to order extras for your scrapbook, lost invitations or late add-ons. (Same goes for programs, envelopes and save the dates!) Not ordering enough could make for a very expensive re-run and may put you behind on your mailing schedule waiting for the extras to print. (Hitch Design Studio can print any extras needed [most of the time] in less than two business days, if that puts your mind at ease.)
Mistake 6: Buying stamps without weighing a sample invitation
Your invitation can weigh no more than 1 ounce. Truly, how can you estimate that? When I send an invitation with 1. an envelope 2. the invitation 3. a backing card 4. two insert cards 5. the weight of two stamps, I know it will be close to or just over 1 ounce. I weigh invitations like that every time. You might be excited to mail the invites and check another thing off your list, but don’t make the mistake of not weighing your invitations first and then dealing with the hassle of returned mail because of insufficient postage. Also, the post office has strict guidelines on thickness (no thicker than 1/4 inch), so keep that in mind if you have bows, crystals, or anything else that might cause a “lump” in your envelopes thicker than the post office allows.
A professional stationer can also help you choose paper and designs to best fit your budget (like matte paper vs. letterpress) and serve in countless other ways for your peace of mind. When in doubt, inquire with a wedding invitation expert. Hitch is happy to help!