Announcing your love (and upcoming nuptials) via snail mail is a centuries-old tradition that brings together family and friends for your big day. Wedding invitations don’t just tell your guests when and where to be, they’re a beautiful keepsake for you and your partner to remember your story! Wedding invitations are the perfect chance to show off your unique love and personality.
Looking at wedding and invitation trends in 2023, we see a resurgence of bold colors, maximalist designs, and playful twists on classic elegance. One of a kind details and personal touches that reflect your personality is key. At Volk, we love infusing wedding stationery with all the little things that make each couple unique, whether that’s including your furry friend on your save the dates or blind embossing floral patterns to match your bouquet.
We’ve rounded up the most unique 2023 wedding stationery trends so you can create an unforgettable stationery suite.
Letterpress Meets Modernity
Letterpress wedding invitations (and other letterpress wedding details) are a staple for nearlyweds. This traditional printing technique presses a raised template into paper and adds an elegance to your invitations that digital printing just can’t do. It creates an effect that no other printing process can replicate, so it’s the perfect way to create one-of-a-kind invitations.
In 2023, letterpress is being combined with less traditional printing techniques to create bold and interesting suites. Laser-cut acrylics and risograph printing in particular are on-the-cusp methods to incorporate non-traditional elements into your wedding suite (and day!).
Letterpress invitations often have a reputation of being expensive. And it’s true if you go custom. Custom wedding invitations mean you have complete control over color, paper, type, and more — and that’s worth it to a lot of folks.
If you want to participate in the trend but are concerned about the cost, consider semi-custom letterpress suites! It’s all the unique luxury of letterpress without breaking the bank.
Shiny and Bold Foiling
For those of us that love tilting things back and forth in the sun to watch them twinkle, this is our trend. Foil-printed invites take center stage in 2023, and it’s the wedding invitation trend we’re most obsessed with this year.
Foil printing is the process of adding pigmented foil (often metallics) onto paper. It adds a luxurious finish to any suite and can be just the pop you need to make your invitation shine like your love.
If your wedding mood board features ideas like Night Luxe or paparazzi-style shots, foil print will let your guests know exactly what kind of glamour and glitz to expect from your bash.
Foil printing is also a perfect match for vintage and retro-themed weddings. In 2023, we’re gearing up for more disco balls, jewel-toned, thrifted glassware, and 70’s style looks. Foil-printed wedding stationery is as versatile as it is gorgeous. Whether you choose gold or bubblegum pink, it’s a detail you’ll appreciate in the long run.
Consider foil printing for save the dates or chic after-party invites. Day-of ceremony programs and napkins are another gorgeous opportunity for foiling!
Cheeky Wording
Wedding invites can serve a dual purpose: conveying important logistical information to your guests and proving once and for all that you are the funniest cousin. In other words, you and your personality should be part of your invitation!
In Volk custom (or any custom choice), you can add your unique sense of humor anywhere, from the envelopes to the menu cards. Inside jokes, smiley faces, or anything that feels like you. This wedding invitation trend is all about moving towards how you speak. Let your guests know!
Little switch-ups, like “Wedding Shenanigans” instead of “Schedule of Events” or “Are You In?” instead of “RSVP” are a great way to set a more casual, relaxed tone.
Playful wedding invitation ideas are our bread and butter, so no matter how kooky or oddly specific, we’ll help you strike that perfect balance. You want to make your guests chuckle, but not diminish the importance of the evening!
Pets in Print
Pets are extensions of ourselves, but we often assume our furry (or scaly or slimy or smooth) friends can’t be involved in our wedding ceremonies. Luckily, you’re wrong! Including your pets in your invitation is the cutest way to involve your entire family in your wedding joy.
A foil kitty on your envelopes? Your pup’s cute face on a letterpress coaster? Animals are never not cute. Putting your pets in print is a trendy way to include all loved ones on the big day. Find a design and print studio that can encapsulate your sweet animal in illustration and the options are endless.
A recent Volk bride went the extra mile and actually walked down the aisle with her pets — a decision which we endlessly support.
Blind Embossing
Blind embossing is the practice of making a detailed impression on soft cotton paper without any ink. From floral patterns to monograms to tiny frogs, blind embossing adds a subtle elegance to your invitations that sets them apart from the rest.
When you emboss your invitations, you’re adding a little piece of personality — without shouting it from the rooftops. It’s an old-school detail that gives sophistication and class.
This year, some brides are going back to what wedding planners have dubbed “Elizabethan-Core”. If you are using long taper candles and chose a lacy gown with elegant sleeves, Elizabethan-Core is definitely your vibe. Adore the lace on your dress? Volk can help recreate the pattern to blind emboss on your invites for a special touch.
Challenging Tradition
Marriage can be a funny, complicated social institution, but at the end of the day, it’s all about love, joy, and being together. More and more often, nearlyweds in 2023 are ditching the traditional aspects of weddings that don’t reflect who they are — and as they should!
When it comes to stationery, why should your wedding invitations have the exact same wording as your parents’ invites circa 1984? Whether it’s the typeface you choose or what kind of engagement photo you include, your wedding invitations should look like you and your partner — not how society expects them to!
In 2023, we’ll also see more inclusive addressing practices, like eliminating gendered titles in front of names or writing all invitees’ names on envelopes. At Volk, we’re happy to help make every detail just right for you, no matter what tradition begets. And our in-house calligrapher can address your envelopes however works best for your guest list.
Custom Inserts
One of the many perks of custom wedding invitations is that you can add as many fun details and special touches as you want. In 2023, we’re seeing a growing number of couples who want to include additional card inserts with accessibility and accommodation information for their guests.
When you think of trending wedding invitation cards, you may have seen suites with aesthetic, custom information cards enclosed, like these. This idea is a great way to equip your guests with all the details they’ll need to enjoy your ceremony and reception to the max.
Custom info cards make including useful information, like handicap accessibility, or fun details, like how you met your significant other, easy and gorgeous. Letting folks know in advance about strobe lights at the reception or a firework display at the end of the night can help your guests avoid tricky situations or even medical issues.
Small, mindful details like this add up for your guests and will make your wedding a day to remember in the best way possible.
Just the After-party for Me, Thanks
Is your dream wedding just you, your partner, an officiant, and a mountain in the background? Hoping to keep things low-key with only family in attendance? Reception-specific invites or after-party invites can be a good approach to keep your ceremony intimate, while still including a bigger group in your overall celebrations.
Elopements and micro weddings are huge in 2023 and this year, we’re leaving behind the guilt of not inviting all of our childhood neighbors to all of our wedding festivities. Instead, invite them to the reception with unique letterpress invitations for just the party.
Custom, post-ceremony invites can supply a quick summary to get all your guests on the same page, i.e. we’re very in love, so we eloped on (past day) and would love to party with you on (future day). Avoid any awkwardness with a short and simple outline of events and let your invitations do the heavy lifting for you.
This year, couples are more excited than ever to celebrate their quirks and all the adorable, odd puzzle pieces that make up their love stories. It’s important that your wedding details feel unique to you and your partner – all the way down to your save the dates!
Wedding invitations are for you! They should become meaningful keepsakes — something you want to frame and put on your wall in memory of the special day. Wedding invitations are also how you communicate with your guests about your event! Your guests will take their cues from your wedding stationery, so spend the time and money on details that are special to you.
Volk offers custom and semi-custom letterpress wedding stationery. Get in touch to start creating your paper dream today!
