Invite Font Help

[akw94]

Hi everyone,
I''m having a hard time deciding what font to use for the invites. I''m DIYing them so I can use any font regularly on Word or that I can download (for free) from any site. I haven''t d/l any fonts yet so I''ve just been playing w/the ones from Word.
I really like Vivaldi for our names but can''t figure out the rest. Also, what size do you think I should use?

This is harder than I thought!

 

[cara]

if you are going to go with the vivaldi, how about a nice clean sans serif font for the text. if you want caps, how about copperplate. for lower case, try myraid, or kabel BT, arial, skia, or optima.

 

[akw94]

Sorry for the huge post. I don''t know how to make it smaller.

Do you think lower or upper case is better? My original thought was lowercase but I wonder if that''s my problem. Maybe I just don''t like that.. not sure.

Thanks for the font suggestions! I will try them out.

 

[Blenheim]

Regardless of whether you decide to use lower case or upper case or a mix, you should be consistent. If you don''t capitalize the t in together, then don''t capitalize the s in saturday, etc.

I like the look of all lowercase or all uppercase (like Copperplate). All lowercase is going to give it a more modern, possibly more informal look. All uppercase will look more traditional. I think that it''s really up to you as to what you''d like.

I agree that a sans serif font might work better. dafont.com has a lot of free fonts, and you can just look through them, download any that look interesting, and try them out. I think that a lot of experimentation to see what looks best to your eye will help. (When I designed our programs, I spent hours playing with fonts.)

 

[akw94]

It is soooo annoying when there''s an error and you have to write your post all over again! Luckily, it wasn''t too long.

What I said was:

Blenheim, thanks for the suggestions. I hadn''t even noticed that the capitalization wasn''t consistent. I will check out the site you suggested.

Also, what is a sans serif font? Is it a particular type of font?

Thanks!

 

[Blenheim]

Also -- I feel like most of the invitations I''ve seen with mixed fonts like yours have the "to" or the "and" linking the bride and groom''s names in the basic font instead of the script. Typically, the names are larger than the rest of the text. I forget what formality you''re going for, but luncheon generally sounds fancier and more elegant than lunch.

Have you picked out paper? Do you know what the rest of the invitation will look like?

 

[Blenheim]

Sorry, I missed what you wrote. Word automatically capitalizes things that it thinks should be capitalized, so I wasn''t sure if you were aware of the inconsitencies.

I think it''s a lot easier to illustrate serif and sans serif fonts with visual help, so just check out the box in the upper right corner of this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serif

 

[akw94]

Date: 5/22/2007 9:31:02 PM
Author: Blenheim
Also -- I feel like most of the invitations I've seen with mixed fonts like yours have the 'to' or the 'and' linking the bride and groom's names in the basic font instead of the script. Typically, the names are larger than the rest of the text. I forget what formality you're going for, but luncheon generally sounds fancier and more elegant than lunch.

Have you picked out paper? Do you know what the rest of the invitation will look like?

I wondered if the 'and' should be in the basic vs script font.

I figured out what the sans serif font was... there are a lot of great fonts on that site, thanks again! The wedding isn't going to be extremely formal. I wondered about putting reception vs. lunch but wanted people to know they will be served a meal.

I attached the pic of the invitations I bought. Very simple but I'm happy w/them. I think the green is a lot prettier in person and matches my sage green color scheme. I thought about doing our names in a deep pink, which is our other color but thought that might be a bit much.

ETA: You can't really tell by the picture but there is an inner border which is very thin, lighter green and the inside space is an ivory. Also, the ivory and lighter green are raised a bit from the outer green border.

 

[akw94]

I think it''s a lot easier to illustrate serif and sans serif fonts with visual help, so just check out the box in the upper right corner of this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serif

Ah, that was very helpful! Thanks! Of course, the ones I seem to prefer are the Serif fonts

but I did d/l many at that site so who knows.

 

[Blenheim]

Those are pretty! I was wondering if they lended themselves more to a certain style, but they look really versatile.

I''m playing around on my computer and personally like all caps the best if part of the wording is going to be in a script font. I had to really shrink this to get it within the size requirements, but something like this maybe?

 

[akw94]

I will try some all caps too. I also decided on a different script font... I think.
I''ll post some others tomorrow (when I figure out how to attach a file w/o it being gigantic and then having to ask PS to fix it).

If I do go lower caps for the basic, should our names be completely in lower caps too?
Also, does there need to be a Miss and Mr. before our names?

Thanks!

 

[cara]

The invite nazi in me has to speak up:

I like the all caps look.

The "Ninth" should be uncapitalized.

You don''t need the the "At" in the time line. "Twelve o''clock" is clear.

 

[jcrow]

Date: 5/22/2007 10:00:55 PM
Author: dixie94

I think it's a lot easier to illustrate serif and sans serif fonts with visual help, so just check out the box in the upper right corner of this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serif

Ah, that was very helpful! Thanks! Of course, the ones I seem to prefer are the Serif fonts

but I did d/l many at that site so who knows.

what feeling are you trying to portray? what wedding vibe? serif is and older traditional look. i used serif for my invites. sans serif can seem more fresh and contemporary. the same can be true regarding all caps vs. all lowecase. if you do all lowercase and use sans serif, it's a VERY modern look.

 

[jcrow]

after seeing your invitation paper, i completely suggest going with a serif typeface. the flourishes in the envelope scream for serif. i'd probably steer clear of the all lowercase in this instance as well.

 

[jcrow]

i used 9 pt. type for main information in my invites. our names and headers were a bit bigger. i wouldn''t suggest going too big. it starts to look clumsy.

 

[akw94]

Date: 5/23/2007 11:09:21 AM
Author: cara
The invite nazi in me has to speak up:

I like the all caps look.

The ''Ninth'' should be uncapitalized.

You don''t need the the ''At'' in the time line. ''Twelve o''clock'' is clear.

Cara, thanks for your tips! If I use all caps, is ''ninth'' still uncapitalized? Or did you just mean when using all lowercase? I didn''t like the ''at'' either so thanks for pointing that out. I just copied something else I saw.

 

[akw94]

Jcrow, good question about the wedding vibe. I don''t want it extra formal. It''s a lunch-time, outdoor wedding w/family and close friends. Not a big, huge, formal event. So I''m fine w/something a little different, w/the lowercase possibly (but I still haven''t played around w/all uppercase). Part of the reason I thought lowercase is b/c I feel like it is less formal. Also, I thought it helped to make the names stand out more. I really like having the names in the fancier font and much bigger.

I definitely like the serif fonts more than the sans serif. The sans serif just don''t seem to go w/the script letters to me. But I''m just not sure about this.

W/just 9pt., does it fill out the whole invitation? My invitation is approx 5x7 so I wonder what do I do w/the leftover space if the font is so small?

Thanks again everyone! Once I learn to crop, I will post some more samples. My initial deadline was to send out invites by the end of the month so I''ve got to get w/it!

 

[jcrow]

Date: 5/23/2007 8:52:59 PM
Author: dixie94
Jcrow, good question about the wedding vibe. I don''t want it extra formal. It''s a lunch-time, outdoor wedding w/family and close friends. Not a big, huge, formal event. So I''m fine w/something a little different, w/the lowercase possibly (but I still haven''t played around w/all uppercase). Part of the reason I thought lowercase is b/c I feel like it is less formal. Also, I thought it helped to make the names stand out more. I really like having the names in the fancier font and much bigger.

I definitely like the serif fonts more than the sans serif. The sans serif just don''t seem to go w/the script letters to me. But I''m just not sure about this.

W/just 9pt., does it fill out the whole invitation? My invitation is approx 5x7 so I wonder what do I do w/the leftover space if the font is so small?

Thanks again everyone! Once I learn to crop, I will post some more samples. My initial deadline was to send out invites by the end of the month so I''ve got to get w/it!

to fill out the invite with a small font, use more space between the lines. you can also use a flourish between two lines at the top or bottom.

 

[jcrow]

i'm not sure what typefaces you have, but bickham script is a popular script that you can use for your names. tribute or mrs. eaves are nice serif typefaces. i'd suggest going to an invitation website that shows you options. find out what they are using as far as typefaces go. usually they tell you the names. find a combination you like and use that on your own.

 

[akw94]

Here''s what I think I like best so far re fonts.
Does it look odd to have capital letters in our names and nowhere else?
Do I put Mr. or Miss in front of either of our names (I see the Mr. sometimes but never the Miss--why one and not the other)?
Any typo''s or things that are wrong?
Do you think the first or second line regarding lunch is better?

Also, I''d like to create a separate card with the website on it. This has all our directions, things to do, registries, etc..
Any ideas on wording for that?

Thanks!