Tips for Choosing Your Invitation Colors | The Wedding Stationery Guide: Colors Part II

Incorporating a bride’s color palette into her wedding invitations has become one of my favorite puzzles to solve! There are so many ways to combine colors through the various pieces in an invitation suite, and something as simple as using a colored envelope for the RSVP card can have a huge impact on the overall look.

Besides incorporating the different shades of your wedding color palette, there are a few key things to keep in mind when you choose your invitation colors.
You’ll want to consider the design you’re ordering, the printing method, the color of any accessories you’ll add, and the paper you’re printing on. Also, think about the legibility and visibility of the color (I don’t recommend using light colors for small text, but a soft colored flower illustration can be a gorgeous accent).

Number of Colors

How many colors would you like to incorporate? Do you have a main color and an accent color? Are you using a rainbow of shades in your wedding color palette, or do you prefer a monochrome look?

If you’re having a very formal wedding, you may want to stick to darker, more traditional colors (think black, navy, or gray). But a modern wedding invitation might look better in bold, bright colors like fuchsia or peacock. If you’re going for a vintage feel, try lighter neutral hues like taupe, pale pink, or mint. Shades of blue often work well for beach weddings, and rich greens can be a perfect compliment to your outdoor ceremony.

The number of colors you choose will also impact your total cost. Letterpress and foil stamp pricing is based on the number of colors you use (because a separate printing plate and run through the printing press is required for each color).
The examples of the Harmony invitation below show the same design, but with a different number of ink colors. Left is one ink color (steel), center is two colors (blind + steel), and right is three colors (navy, blind, and gold foil)

Paper & Accessories

Keep in mind that there are lots of ways to bring color into your invitation suite beyond ink colors: think colored envelopes, envelope liners, colored papers, edge painting, or belly bands. You can also use different colors on each piece in your order if you like.

Design

Will the colors you picked work with the design you’re dreaming of? This is where I’m happy to step in! It can be so hard to picture an invitation in different colors, so I’m happy to provide proofs in a variety of color combinations. During the design process, we’ll continue to adjust colors until everything looks exactly the way you want.

As you can see from the examples below, the Hope design is versatile and works well in many different colors!

Printing Method

While you’re welcome to print a flood of color with flat printing, letterpress works best with smaller sections of colors. Also, keep in mind that flat print orders include unlimited ink colors, but letterpress, screen print, and foil stamp orders are priced per ink or foil color.

Looking for more tips on using colors in your wedding stationery suite? Read Part I and Part II of this series from The Wedding Stationery Guide!