• Middle Ages & Before – Obviously, in the middle ages, printing presses were yet to be invented and wedding invitations couldn’t be submitted to paper. As such, wedding invitations became the responsibility of town criers who would walk the streets bellowing impending wedding ceremonies. The printing press was devised in 1447 but illiteracy was widespread at this time, so, wedding invitations tended to only be utilised by the noble classes.
• 1600 Onward – Even though the printing press had been invented by this time, it wasn’t a widespread tool and few wedding invitations were created by using it. However, the announcement of weddings in newspapers became popular around this time. The 1642 invention of the metal plate engraver meant that many wedding invitations at this time were engraved prior to being sent out.
• Industrial Revolution – The 1798 invention of lithography led to the first mass producing wedding invitations which made them distinctly more accessible to the general public. At this time, wedding invitations were still delivered on horseback due to the unreliability of the fledgling postal system.
• Modern Times – It was around the end of World War II that wedding invitations as we would recognise them today began to be used regularly in the UK. The increased prevalence of wedding invitations at this time also coincided with the dawn of thermography which was a more accessible method of engraving wedding invitations.

Wedding invitations needn’t just be run of the mill, white invites that lack flair and any sort of panache. There are numerous methods which can really bring wedding invitations to life and create a buzz about impending nuptials. Wedding invitations are the first inkling that most people will get that a ceremony is on the cards, which is why it is so important that wedding invitations create the right first impression.

• Unique Shapes – Wedding invitations don’t have to conform to the stereotypical rectangular shape. By being a bit more creative, your wedding invitations can really stand out from the crowd. For example, perhaps wedding invitations delivered in a cylindrical tube like a scroll may be one way to go.
• Origami – The art of Japanese paper folding is definitely one way to make wedding invitations look that bit different. Wedding invitations that incorporate origami are a unique way to invite people but it’s probably a good idea to use professionals as origami is a specialist skill.
• Different Textures – The textures use on wedding invitations is a good method of making them a more interesting proposition. The number of textures that can be used to create bespoke wedding invitations is vast and the only limitation is your own imagination.
• Be Suspenseful – Sometimes when wedding invitations arrive in the post or are hand delivered, it is often abundantly clear what is in the envelope. Wedding invitations may be successful if they come as a genuine surprise to the person opening the envelope.

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To create a buzz about your wedding, it can often be as simple as getting the wedding invitations spot on and this can be easily achieved by following the primary principles of writing wedding invitations. When a couple decides to get married, their minds invariably turn straight to the ceremony and this typically includes the location, date of the ceremony, wedding invitations and guest list.

• Punctuation – Typically speaking, punctuation isn’t required at the end of lines on wedding invitations. This includes commas, semi-colons, full stops etc. Punctuation is, of course, acceptable in the body text e.g. to separate names.
• Time & Date – On most wedding invitations, it is traditional to spell out dates and times in full. For example; two thirty on the twelfth of January.
• Abbreviations – Abbreviations should be avoided on wedding invitations. For example spell a person’s name completely and don’t shorten it in any manner.
• Tense – The phrasing on wedding invitations should be written in the third person e.g. Peter and Karen Cooper request your presence…
• Capitals – On wedding invitations, it is customary to only capitalise proper nouns such as place names, people’s names, months etc.