Wedding Invitations and Elopement Announcements
A wedding invitation is an important detail for your wedding photographer to capture. As a photographer myself, I LOVE getting to play with creative invitation suites and other small details of your day. I know it might seem a little weird to order wedding invitations when you're eloping instead of the traditional wedding. But you totally can. Elopement announcements are a HUGE trend right now. So even if you choose to elope you can still inform your family and friends with a gorgeous announcement.
Basic Invite Wedding Invitations
With Basic Invite you can create your own free wedding website, organize your mailing list, and order seal and send invites with a click of a button. Traditional wedding cards are still popular but elopement-styled invitations are becoming part of the norm. If you're planning on eloping, it's still important to have wedding invitations. Wedding invitations can carry a sentimental value that will last forever. Basic Invite offers over 150 color options and endless template ideas. You can mix and match to customize the perfect invitation for any occasion!
When Basic Invite first contacted me to photograph and blog their invitations I was a little worried I wouldn't find anything on their website that I liked. Being an elopement photographer with a propensity for dark & edgy, I wasn't expecting the variety of products they offer. I was most excited about the wedding stickers and clear wedding invitations. I'm sure you've seen this trend on Pinterest. The clear wedding invitations are a fun way to create personalized invites with a splash of color behind them. You can lay them down on large leaves, napkins, or just the table! With Basic Invite's editor tool, you can choose your background color, text styles, and even add some pops of flare with the foil options.
A Wedding Invitation: Elopement Style
When ordering my samples on the Basic Invite website, I was intentionally looking for wedding invitations that could be used by eloping couples. I wanted something a little less traditional and more unique and personal to my couples. When you first start browsing their wedding invitations it can be a little overwhelming with all the options you have. One of my favorite things to customize was the envelopes. I adore colorful envelopes because not only do they look amazing but they shine inside your guest's mailbox. I think a colorful envelope makes it even more exciting to open. You just know its going to be good.
If you're still inviting a few guests to your elopement then choose between any of the traditional wedding cards. Or if you're choosing to have an intimate wedding day with just the two of you then the elopement announcements might be a better place for you to start. I chose one of their clear plastic wedding invitations and changed the wording to an elopement announcement because I thought it looked really modern and fancy.
Save The Dates: Do You Need Them?
Short answer? Not really.
Save the dates are a pretty retro concept and aren't very eco-friendly. Sure, it can be fun to order a cutesy card to send everyone and their brother but in all likelihood, it will just end up in the trash. If you're eloping then you probably aren't inviting a lot of people anyway so save the dates aren't something you have to worry about. However, if you have more information you want to tell your guests then you can use the save the date templates to create a little info card. Be creative and invent a one-of-a-kind invitation suite.
How to style your wedding invitations
Styling your wedding invitations is one aspect where your photographer gets to be creative and showcase all of your important details in one photo. I love it when my couples give me their invitation suite, 1-2 envelopes, any jewelry they will be wearing that day, cufflinks, wedding shoes, and anything else that brings them joy. Putting together a personalized setup with a modern twist gives you the sentimental feelings you'll love for a lifetime.
What to have ready for your photographer:
- Invitation suite
- Jewelry
- Shoes
- Veil
- Knick-knacks
- Cuff links
- Loose florals
Basic Invite has a ton of templates you can choose from no matter what type of wedding you plan to have. Give yourself some time to really explore their website, see all the colors you can choose from, and build the perfect invitations. If you'd like to book your wedding with me and see what cool ways I style your wedding invitations, contact me here.
Black Salt Photography is an elopement photographer and intimate wedding photographer based in Portland, Oregon. Photographing in the surrounding PNW areas and traveling often for destination love stories. Specializing in intimate candids and editorial portraits to craft a one-of-a-kind wedding day for every couple. Her moody photography style plays with natural light and shadow, laced with raw emotional moments, to create an authentic narrative experience. She photographs you as you so you'll love your photos authentically.
"Destiny definitely stood out amongst other photographers because we absolutely loved how involved she was from the very beginning. She really wants to get to know you- which makes for really intimate photos! She asks tons of questions, which is awesome because you feel like you know her before even meeting her! And once you finally do, she is so so sweet!!! Destiny is so great at communicating and being really involved in every detail! She captured every emotion and detail perfectly, whenever I look at our wedding pictures, it brings back every feeling on our special day. TEARS!"
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