The wedding’s booked! You’ve got a date and a venue after lots of hard work. Now it’s time for the invitation: a save the date for your guests and their first glimpse at what your wedding is going to be like. So what’s the best way to give them a great first impression?

Invitations should usually be sent out a couple of months before the day, so by then, you’ll probably already have decided on your theme and colours. The best invitations will be a distillation of those.

Be on the cutting edge

Rather than going with a plain printer, for beautiful, detailed wedding invites consider trying out laser cutting in Melbourne. With laser cutting, you can explore unique designs and finely-detailed patterns in your invitation, turning it into an art piece for your guests. 

Keep it simple

It can be so easy to get caught up in detail, color, and theme for so long that your creative eye can grow tired. When you find an old invite in your cupboard in a few years, you don’t want to find yourself saying ‘what was I thinking?’

Remember that the most important part of the invite is for your guests to get all the information they need and get excited about your big day, so keep it simple and easy to read.

Simplicity doesn’t mean a lack of creativity - it just enhances it.

Go local

Much like in other industries, it’s best to buy local when it comes to spending money on your wedding invitations. Not only will you be supporting local business owners, but you might find that they reflect your values and ideas better than a more widespread, generic business. Get behind the #buyfromthebush campaign to support drought-affected rural businesses.

To avoid using a template that might have been used before, get in contact with a local artist you like and work with them on an original design. This will get people talking about your unique invite, and attract business for the artist.

Think about incorporating your wedding’s location into your invitation as well. Getting married in the bush? Include some local leaves and flowers in your design (Victoria’s state flower is the beautiful pink heath flower). A beach wedding? Maybe intricate coral designs are the way to go. Australia has a unique, beautiful environment and celebrating that in your wedding invite will certainly make you stand out.

Change up your medium

Instead of giving yourself a headache choosing between paper thicknesses and texture, take a step outside the box and explore alternative options for your invitation: linen, leather, pressed acrylic and even slate can be used as unconventional substitutes for traditional paper.

Buck the trend

Right now florals and nature themes are the go-to for wedding invites, so if you want to avoid seeming “trendy”, try paring back the design or lean into some artistic options: colour blocking, patterns, brushstrokes, or gradients.

These add interest and style to your invite without distracting from the main information.

Be bold

Using colour might seem like an obvious element, but where you might want your wedding to be in subtle shades, your invite can be a bright pop of colour to catch your guest’s eyes while it hangs on their fridge. Have you chosen silver and lavender for your wedding colours? Go for a pop of bright purple on the invite.

Finding the right words

You’ve picked your colours and theme for the invitation. Now, what on earth do you write on it? Just as it said at the start of this article - keep it simple. Generally what you’ll want on the invite card is a basic “who, what, when, where” of information.

Of course, guests may need more information on things such as plus-ones, directions, and whether children are invited, so including an information card along with the main invite is a good idea. Weddings can get complicated, so check out a detailed checklist to make sure you haven’t missed anything on the invite!

While a wedding invitation is just a piece of paper (or linen!) in the end, it’s what helps a wedding come together. Putting in the effort to make your invitation stand out will give you and your guests an exciting reminder of the big day to come.