Custom Wedding Invitations

Card Stocks and Print Finishes for Wedding Invitations

The card is the foundation of the look. Smooth white or ivory card gives a clean, classic finish that shows fine type beautifully. Textured cotton-style and felt-marked boards have a soft, handmade surface that suits romantic and rustic designs. Coloured card in sage, dusty pink, navy or terracotta makes a confident statement, especially with white or metallic print. Thicker board feels luxurious in the hand; duplexed board, two sheets bonded together, adds even more weight and can have a different colour on each side.

Full colour digital printing handles watercolour illustrations, photographs and gradients well. Foil blocking adds shine in gold, silver, rose gold or copper and is the most popular embellishment for names and monograms. A deep blind deboss gives a pressed, letterpress-style feel without ink. White ink on dark card looks striking for evening celebrations.

Painted or foiled edges are a subtle extra; viewed from the side, a coloured edge adds a flash of colour that guests notice when they pick the card up. The foil, laminate and edge options are compared in our print and finish comparison with examples of each on card.

Getting the Wording and Layout Right

Traditional invitations follow a familiar pattern: who is hosting, the request for the guest's company, the couple's names, the date and time written out in words, the ceremony venue and the reception venue. Modern invitations are more flexible and often simply invite guests to celebrate with the couple. Whichever style you choose, keep the main card uncluttered and move practical details to the information card.

Proofread carefully, ideally with two other people. Check spelling of names and venues, the day of the week against the date, and the RSVP deadline. Our free proof shows the exact layout and type, and we check that fine text and thin script fonts are large enough to print crisply, especially under foil.

If you are posting invitations, check the finished weight of the suite with your envelope before ordering; heavy, thick suites may cost more to post. The free proof made from your own artwork is laid out at print size, so hairline script and small dates can be judged properly.

Envelopes, Belly Bands and Finishing Touches

Matching envelopes complete the suite. Choose a colour that complements the card, and consider a printed or patterned liner for a lovely reveal when the flap is lifted. Belly bands made from paper or vellum wrap round the suite and hold the cards together, often with a monogram or a wax seal sticker on the front.

Vellum overlays add a soft, translucent layer over the invitation, printed with a pattern or the couple's initials. Ribbon, twine and pressed-flower details can be added by hand once the printed pieces arrive. We can also print guest names onto the invitations or the envelopes if you send us a list, saving hours of handwriting.

Keep a few spare invitations aside after posting. Late additions to the guest list and keepsakes for the couple and their parents always seem to come up, and a handful of extras costs far less than a reprint. Stationers who also offer shower stationery keep the same envelope sizes for their baby shower invitations and reply cards.

Working With Wedding Stationers

Many of our wedding invitation orders come from independent stationers who design suites for their couples and need reliable printing. We print to their artwork, without our branding on the products, and can deliver to the stationer or straight to the couple. Stationers often order a small sample set first to show clients the card and finish, then place the full order once the design is approved.

Couples who design their own invitations are equally welcome. Send a print-ready file with bleed, or a simple layout, and we check it before printing.

For stationers, consistency between orders matters as much as quality. Keep a note of the card, finish and foil you approved for each design so it can be reprinted exactly when a couple needs extra invitations or matching on-the-day pieces. We hold approved files, which makes small top-up orders straightforward even weeks after the main run.

Venues and planners who bundle stationery into their packages tend to work from a handful of house designs. Printing those designs on demand, with each couple's names and details dropped in, keeps their offer polished without anyone holding large stock of printed cards that may never be used. Our printed stationery and marketing print range covers the thank-you cards and table plans that follow the invitation.

Count the Households, Not the Guests

The quantity on a wedding invitation order is almost always wrong the first time, because couples count guests rather than envelopes. Go through the list and count households, add evening-only invitations as a separate line, then add ten spares for late additions and keepsakes. That number, by piece, is what to send us. Settle the card stock before the design is final, as foil and thin script type behave differently on textured cotton card and on smooth ivory, and settle the envelope at the same time so the suite is weighed for postage once. Couples who want the save the dates to match often print them on the same stock as their printed invitation envelopes with liners.

Send print-ready PDFs with 3 mm bleed, one file per piece, and a custom quote comes back within one working day. The free design proof that follows is the point to check every name, date and postcode with a second reader. Printing takes 4 to 7 working days after approval, and the suite arrives free and tracked on the UK mainland 2 to 3 working days later. A piece with a print fault is reprinted or refunded when reported within 10 days.