The wedding invitation is the first peek your guests will get at your big day, so you’ll want it to set a romantic tone and provide important information in an easy-to-read format. It’s also the jumping-off point for your on-the-day stationery, including menus and place cards. The color palette, fonts, and design style should align with the overall theme of your wedding, whether that’s rustic, modern, beachy or boho.

With a little bit of finesse, you can produce high-quality wedding invitations without the cost and hassle of hiring a professional printer or enlisting family members with a degree in Fine Arts. Using the right papers and embellishments can make or break an invite’s look. It’s also helpful to consider the etiquette of addressing, folding and inserting to ensure your wedding invitation suite is on-point from start to finish.

Before the invention of the printing press, the news of weddings was typically announced in public by a town crier or a messenger who delivered written invites. When Johannes Gutenberg invented the moveable type printing press in 1447, invitations became more affordable and a standard way to announce a wedding.

While etiquette surrounding wedding invitations has loosened over the years, some standards still apply. For example, guests’ names should always be spelled out in full on the outer envelope, and their preferred titles (Mr., Mrs., Miss, or the gender-neutral Mx.) should be spelled out as well, rather than the shorthand initials. If a guest is married, their name should be stacked with their spouse’s, rather than placed after the bride or groom’s name.

Depending on the size of your wedding, you may choose to include an inner envelope with the main invitation. This can be preprinted with the address of the sender or the reception venue and should be stamped before being inserted. If you’re offering a plated dinner, it’s also helpful to include a reply card with a specific date by which you would like guests to respond (typically two to three weeks prior to your wedding).

If you’re opting for assigned seating, table cards or napkins should be included in your invitation suite. These are typically a business card size and should list the guest’s name and seat number, or their first and last names in case you have guests with the same name (add a suffix such as Jr. or Sr. to avoid confusion).

If you’re ready to take your wedding invitations to the next level, consider a custom design with Minted. This crowdsourced marketplace features designs by thousands of talented artists. With a variety of customization options, from watercolor to illustrations, you can create a unique design that feels completely your own. Schedule a free consultation with a wedding concierge who will walk you through the customization process. They’ll help you select the perfect designs, colors and paper, and show you how to add a personal touch to your invitations with stamps, ribbons and other embellishments.