Monday, January 17, 2005
Styles of Wedding Invitations
There is quite a range of choices for wedding invitations. It is a good idea to buy the envelopes together with the invitations as a package or kit, because sizes can vary, and the colors, especially with off-white, ivory or cream can be slightly different as well.
Single or Single Panel
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| This invitation is the most traditional and we believe, still the most commonly used, and that is the single or single panel. It is not designed to be folded over. We have never seen this style used for anything but invitations or occasionally menu cards. The card measures approximately 5.5" across (half of the longest side of a standard sheet of paper) and about 7 1/2" to 7 3/4" high, but may be slightly smaller. If you took a standard sheet of typing paper and folded it on its longest side, it measures 5.5" x 8 1/2", and will give you a good idea of the size. These cards should be the heaviest of all wedding stationery (85 lb. weight), and traditionally have either a raised panel border (least expensive) or a design embossed on the edges (can be expensive). This card is printed on one side only. ThinkWedding's Blank Single Panel Invitations |
The Bifold or Booklet Invitation, with or without a raised panel
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| The second type of invitation is a bifold or booklet type card. This measures 5.5" wide and 7 1/2" to 7 3/4" tall when folded; when unfolded, it measures 11" wide by 7 1/2" to 7 3/4" tall (measurements are approximate). They can be used as wedding invitations or as wedding programs. When used as an invitation, this style of card--the raised panel card--can be folded on the outside as shown, or on the inside. If you're planning to print your own wedding invitations, this card would need to be printed on both sides, so you would print on the first side, then feed it into the printer again to print the second side. The bifold card is slightly lighter in weight and is scored so that it folds cleanly. If used for a wedding invitation, Its weight should be no lighter than about 60 lbs., with 65 lbs preferable. ThinkWedding's Blank Bifold Wedding Invitations |
The Trifold Invitation
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Z-fold |
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Gatefold |
Gatefold |
We have never seen this style available with a raised border, but we have seen printing and embossing on the two "flaps" of the card. If you're planning to print this style yourself, it will need to be printed on both sides and can be challenging to set up properly without a premade template. ThinkWedding's Blank Trifold Wedding Invitations | |||
The Royal Style Invitation
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| This is a relatively recent style of invitation, and can also be used as wedding menus. It measures 7" x 7", so it's perfectly square. It's printed on one side only and is not designed to be folded. It should be of the heaviest weight, approximately 85 lbs. It may or may not have a raised panel or embossing--that depends on the style. Only the invitation is square; matching R.S.V.P. and reception cards are a rectangle, and of standard size. A disadvantage of this style of card is the post office now charges an additional $.10 postage in the United States to mail it. That fact is too often not mentioned by suppliers. |
The Marquis Style Invitation
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| This card has the same specifications as the Royal style of card. That is, it is not designed to be folded, it should be of a heavier weight (65 to 85 lbs.), it is only printed on one side, and is also perfectly square. The difference is that it is slightly smaller--between 5.25" x 5.25" and 6.25" and 6.25", and it does not cost extra to mail. The marquis invitations shown were printed on an ink jet printer with ThinkWedding's wedding invitation templates. |
The Translucent Invitation
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Marquis |
Gatefold |
Single |
Royal |
Translucent invitations are a relative recent introduction, and have proven very popular. They are available in all the sizes above; that is, in single invitations, bifold or booklet invitation, marquis invitations, royal invitations, and trifold or gatefold invitations. In addition, an invitation with a design on solid paper with vellum included can also be called a translucent--even thought the invitation itself is not in fact translucent! Pictured on the upper left is a marquis invitation; the second from the left is an example of a gatefold invitation.
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The R.S.V.P. and reception card is essentially the same card. Both cards are invitations to the reception after the ceremony; however a reception card does not require a response, and the R.S.V.P. card does. For that reason, the R.S.V.P. card should be sent with the invitation enclosed in its own stamped, self-addressed envelope, while the same card, if used as a reception card, does not require an envelope--it is not designed to be returned. If all of your wedding guests are to be invited to the reception as well, you might also consider adding a line or lines to your invitation at the end that says:
Reception following the ceremony
Lakeview Country Club
3516 Lake Shore Drive
Willamette, IL
This is an acceptable social form, and allows you to omit the reception card entirely, you are not asking for an R.S.V.P. and wish to leave out a reception card, or if your R.S.V.P. card is rather small and you wish to conserve space.
R.S.V.P. or reception cards can be either single, shown on the left and right or a fold-over informal as shown in the center. These cards measure approximately 3" by 5", but may be smaller. If you are using an inner and outer envelope for your invitations, these cards should be placed in the inner envelope with your invitation. We have also seen reception cards that were business card size rather than post card size as shown above, because they did not need to be mailed. Regardless of size, they do not need to match the style of the wedding invitation.
If you're planning on printing these yourself, the single cards can come either as single cards as shown on the extreme left or in sheets of four (known as 4-up), as shown on the right. If you have purchased your cards in sheets, make sure that they are microperforated, so that when they're separated after printing they don't have irregular edges. They would be printed on one side only. Fold-over informals can be printed on one side or both sides, depending on the design. ThinkWedding's Blank R.S.V.P. Cards
We hope that these explanations and illustrations have been of some use to you. Good luck!
