Weddingbee boards

I was one of those brides who was crazy about stationary. I felt like the invitation sets the tone for the wedding. Looking back on it now, I don't think it matters. People will remember the wedding and spending it with the two of you.

I personally love stationery too and love pretty papers and different textures in print.  For me, we splurge on letterpress (just for main invite) with a specific design in mind because we wanted our guests to get an idea of what our wedding will be like.  Looking back, yes, it was a lot extra cash I didn't need to spend, but I don't regret it.  It's all about your preference.  Some people will spend more money on photographers, caterers, or their dress.  I chose to go with letterpress, but didn't get crazy bouquets or a crazy cake. 

It's your choice.  Most guests won't care what your invites will look like-  only recent brides or brides to be- or snobby people who would criticize everything anyways. :)  As for a vendor referral, I went with White Aisle (whiteaisle.com) and Rebecca was a doll to work with.

You can definitely get a formal look with flat printing. I'd start with using linen-textured paper, or at least something with a texture of some sort. It really makes the whole thing look more finished, somehow. Other things that convey "formality" to me: Monograms, borders around text, symmetry, calligraphic flourishes, rounded corners, dark colored inks.

If you want something more elaborate than printing but less expensive than letterpress, you could think about thermography. It's raised but pretty inexpensive. I used www.nwprintedsolutions.com  (it's based in Portland, but I did all my ordering online) for my thermographed invitations and they turned out great.

Guests won't really notice the technique you use unless they're soon to be or recent brides. But they will notice the overall feel of the invitation, so put some thought into it. Have fun, it's not supposed to be stressful! If you don't want to worry about it, then don't. Just order some basic white invites or get a kit from the craft store. Or pay someone to design them for you. You'll be fine.

Biggest thing for me is the language and the text.  Script says formal to me, "request the honour of your presence" or "pleasure of your company" says formal to me.  We're doing flat printing but think that we have come up with a way that conveys the "mood" and fairly high level of formality pretty well- I'll be posting about it within the next couple of weeks or so.

The most formal invitation, to me, is black or navy script on white or ivory paper.  This is also the cheapest sort of inivitation to get printed.