You may be wondering what makes a formal wedding invitation formal. Typically a formal wedding invitation is created on a nice piece of white paper and has type that is black. The body type is usually all caps, typically the use of small caps is preferred, and the names of the newly weds are in a script font. Sometimes there is use of embossing on the paper. Formal wedding invitations also typically have a piece of tissue paper over the invitation.

Formal wedding invites almost always have inner and outer envelopes. These are used to help protect the inner envelope and make it easier to address them to people because there is more space. More than anything it does make the invitations more formal. Using the envelopes that have a pointed flap rather than a flat flap on the back also adds to the formality of the invitations.

Another thing that creates formality is in addressing formal wedding invitations. I go into more detail of this in my article about envelopes. This is something that should most likely be done whether you consider your invitation very formal or not, unless you are trying to create a very casual and fun atmosphere for your wedding. Wording for formal wedding invitations is another thing that can lend itself to creating that since of formality.

One of the most important things to consider when creating a formal wedding invitation, is what does the style communicate to your guests. Do you want the event to be a formal black tie event or do you simply like that style of wedding invitation. If it is the latter, then you should definitely address the dress code inside of the invitation. If you want it to be a black tie event, then it may still be a good idea to address this in the invitation.

In the past the things told people that the wedding was a formal event. Today, things seem to be a bit more ambiguous with people not really always being sure of the rules. If you have something in mind, it may be best to simply let your guests know. Of course it is not required to have this type of wedding invitation if a formal event is desired. There are many ways to create beautiful formal looking wedding invitations without following these conventions.

So what makes a wedding invitations traditional instead of modern, and which type is right for you. I think that it is important to not get too hung up on the rules, although understanding them and why they are in place is important. Primarily a wedding invitation should communicate the tone of the wedding and give the recipient the information that they need to get there and have some sort of idea of what to wear, for example whether it is a formal event or not. It should also be beautiful, of course. It is an added bonus if it communicates the couple’s style and personalities.

A traditional wedding invitation is usually created on a 5 x 7 light cream card, or an off white card. It is traditional to use inner and outer envelopes in order to protect the card and offer an added sense of formality. Typically a sheet of vellum is added to the front of the card in order to protect the design and to also enhance the formal aspects.

The items that are typically included in an invitation are:

An Inner Envelope

An Outer Envelope

The Wedding Invitation

The Response Card

The Reception Card

Whenever it comes to the type on the card, there are some specific rules that are followed. First of all the text should always be black whenever following the traditional style. The names of the people, parents for example, who are paying for the wedding, should also be on the card. If the couple is paying for the wedding then their parents’ names should not be put on the invitations. If both of their parents are paying then both sets of names should be put on the cards. It even goes as far as when the parents are paying their children’s last names should not appear, only their own last names.

Whenever it comes to creating the lines of text on the invitations, only the names, places and year should have capitalization. The location and the city and state should be listed, but never the full address!

I don’t know about you, but that just seems counter intuitive if you ask me! I personally think that a map should be added to the invitation. I believe that an invitation should be practical just as much as it is beautiful.

A traditional wedding invitation would never include the gift registry information, and I agree that this could easily appear a little unconsidered and perhaps could easily make you invitation appear tacky. Of course the way that this would traditionally be handled is that they would rely on word of mouth. Unfortunately the people that you will invite to your wedding will most likely be very scattered, coming from many places and may not even really talk to one another. You could include the mention of a website that you might create for your wedding which would have this information on it. Another way to handle it if you want to include the wedding registry information is to consider adding the information to a card that matches the rest of your invitation cards. At least this way it seems a bit more considered and will not throw off the entire look of the invitations.

Modern wedding invitations are more likely to include a broader color palette, layered paper and creative sizes, even pocket fold wedding invitations have become very popular. These are great because the practical uses of a wedding invitation have been thought out a bit more. They make it easier to keep all of the small pieces that are included in a wedding invitation together.

I honestly think that traditional wedding invitations are kinda boring. If you are going to spend all of this money on a wedding, why not have something that is more your style. There are so many amazing options out there these days that can really show off the personality of the couple and make wedding invitations a lot more fun. May be people may worry that this will make the invitation less formal, but this is far from true. The elements that will make an invitation formal include the typography, or fonts, and the color palette. It is also the design that will play a heavy role in the way of what looks formal or not. I highly suggest having someone design your wedding invitations. If you plan on doing them yourself then try not to use cheesy clipart or cheesy type. A good idea is to use a nice photograph for the main element engagement photos work best. Make sure to use a neutral font for the body type and limit the script type to the couple’s names. Following these steps will product a much better result that will be more professional and formal looking.

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