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Wedding Invitation Inspiration and Advice for Rustic Brides

It’s true. Wedding invitations can make a powerful first impression to your guests about your wedding. They can set the mood, and give your guests little hints for what’s to come. If you’re a wedding invitation junkie like me, you know there’s something about fine paper, clever design, and strong personal statements that send a gal “over the moon” (to use a wedding blogger cliche). But before you go out and start ordering the first set of mass-produced invitations you see on The Knot,  (yep, I went there,) take a step back, take a deep breath, and consider these lovely bits of rustic wedding invitation inspiration, and some solid tips for making sure this project goes smoothly. (When you’re done here, check out these additional wedding invitation tips.)

rustic artful wedding invitationsHand-illustrated with an original folk-art drawing and printed on a rare paper made from recycled tobacco plant pulp. Via Magpie Paperworks

Tip #1

Just because you have 100 guests, doesn’t mean you need 100 invitations. Think about it. Auntie Jane and Uncle Pete have been married 40 years. They live in the same house. They only need one invitation for the two of them. Same goes for Cousin Lauren and her husband and two kids–one invitation goes to 4 guests. 6 guests = 2 invitation suites.

 classic faux bois wooden wedding invitation
Letterpress invitation suite by Alee & Press via Elizabeth Ann Designs

Tip #2

Use light ink on dark paper, including colored paper. This may seem like a no-brainer for black envelopes ( above). Right? Use white ink. But it also holds true for colored envelopes and darker gray envelopes. The darker the envelope, the lighter the ink.

hand painted tree inspired invitationCustom Hand painted Fruit Tree Wedding Invitation by PueoPaperie

Tip #3

Weigh and mail one fully assembled invitation to yourself. You’re probably cramming many pieces of paper into that envelope. You have your invitation, your RSVP card, your RSVP return envelops (with stamp, please), your directions card, and maybe your envelop liners, all of which are taking up room and adding weight, which can add postage.  Take and extra invitation suite to the post office, have it weighed, and mail it to yourself. By mailing it to yourself, you’ll get and idea of what condition your invitation is likely to arrive in your guests mailbox. I wish I had known this before securing my belly bands with a Martha Stewart butterfly cut out. The cutout was almost always broken upon arrival.

handkerchief and kraft paper invitationHandkerchief wedding invitations by Lucky Luxe Couture Correspondence via Oh So Beautiful Paper

Tip #4

Order extras. Conventional wisdom states you should order 25 extra envelopes in case you make mistakes while addressing them. I also recommend having a few extra invitation suites for two reasons. One: you may have a last-minute addition. I know everyone says “hold firm on your guest list,” but hey, shit happens. Two: if you have a particularly beautiful invitation suite, you’ll want to have an extra for photography and an extra for your wedding album (The one you bring to the wedding may or may not come back, and it may or may not be in the greatest condition it.)

rustic daisy inspired wedding invitationFlat printed invitation with cross-stitch inspiration by Ruby and Willow via Magnolia Rouge

Tip #5

Proofread, proofread, proofread! Make sure you carefully proofread your sample invitation before approving it with the stationer. Another no-brainer? Maybe. But here’s the deal: Don’t rely only upon yourself to proofread. Show it to a couple of friends or family. You may be too close to the project to see small errors, like misplaced periods or transposed numbers.

Vendors, bloggers, brides who have already done this step:

What are your wedding invitation tips? Let a comment and share the wisdom!