5 Common Wedding Invitation Mistakes to Avoid
Background photo by Caroline Lima
I think it's safe to say your invitations are one of the most important aspects of your celebration, so you definitely want to take the time to avoid wedding invitation mistakes! Your wedding invitations set the tone for the style and mood of your event and give your guests pertinent information about the event itself along with other logistical details for out-of-town guests.
Here are 5 wedding invitation mistakes to avoid and keep in mind as you begin working with your designer:
Mistake #1: Trying to match an exact color palette. If you're trying to match the exact color of your bridesmaids' dresses, an exact flower, or an eact linen, you are likely going to be disappointed. Colors printed on paper are never going to be an exact replica of another tangible object, so it's best to just avoid an exact match altogether. Instead, work with your designer to stay in the same color family and/or portray your overall style, rather than trying to color match.
Mistake #2: Not having someone else proofread for you. It's easy to fall in love with a beautiful invitation design when you see your proof, but the design means nothing if the details of the event are incorrect. Your designer will most likely do a quick proofread for you when they are putting your proofs together (I definitely do!), but they also don't know the exact spelling of venues, streets, and proper names. They also don't know if things such as the time of your wedding are accurate! After you review your proofs, have a friend or family member review them, too, to ensure no details were overlooked.
Mistake #3: Waiting too late to place your order. While it may seem like getting your custom invitations created is a quick and easy process, I am here to tell you it definitely is not. Custom invitation designers want you to have a unique, personalized design that reflects you, not someone else. Because of that, we often start with a blank piece of paper and spend time getting to know you. Not to mention, most of us custom invitation designers want the experience for you to be amazing! We want to love on you through the process, and it's hard to do that when we don't have plenty of time to work with you. Plan to order your invitations about 4-6 months before you actually need them in your hands in order to enjoy the process.
Mistake #4: Saving money in all the wrong places. I get it. You feel like you're spending money left and right for your wedding day and you're trying to find ways to save money. You're even considering printing the design yourself. Let me just tell you right now, before you even have that thought for one more second, it is not that easy. You could even end up spending more money just by trying to save money on areas like this! As a custom invitation designer, I've worked for years to hand-pick tons of papers, material options, and printers. This research and vetting is not going to be possible for you to master in just a couple of weeks (as an example, I am still constantly sourcing new materials and vendors!). Save yourself the stress, and quite possibly money you may end up spending to print and reprint, and trust your designer to do their job.
Mistake #5: Ordering too few invitations. This is so important, y'all! Make sure you order plenty of invitations, even if it means ordering extras you aren't even sure you'll use. I know you want to save money where you can (see #4 above), but I guarantee you'll end up spending more money if you don't order the correct quantity the first time around. Almost every custom invitation designer I know will have increased costs for reprints - this isn't because we're trying to make more money, it's because often times there are costs involved that you don't necessarily see - creating a custom plate again, ordering smaller quantities of supplies, a shorter turnaround time...all of these things cost money and most of those fees are the same regardless of ordering 100 invitations or 20 invitations. So do a really thorough guest count prior to placing your final order, and always, always plan to order more than you expect you'll need!
Now that you're armed with these common wedding invitation mistakes to avoid, you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the invitation process! Let's get started on your custom design today!