North Carolina beach wedding
Choosing unique invitations for your destination wedding will set the tone for your entire wedding extravaganza. Let guests know from the moment they receive your invitation that your wedding will be unlike any event they have ever attended. Give your guests a glimpse of what is in store for them if they join you for your wedding festivities.
Three-Dimensional
Unlimited budgets or very small guest lists may let you splurge a bit on three-dimensional objects to take the place of a traditional paper invitations. For example, any island or beach wedding could be represented by an actual message in a bottle. Order these or make them yourself. Any size bottle will do, as long as you can add some sand, seashells, starfish or sand dollars along with your message. Use paper with a rustic or aged look to print (or hand write for a truly personal touch) your wedding information. Little statues of the Eiffel Tower that are or engraved or come with a card will let guests know you will marry in Paris. Send poker chips and a custom deck of cards to invite guests to a Las Vegas or Atlantic City wedding. Statue of Liberty objects would be fitting for a New York City wedding. Snow globes depicting a winter scene could be used for snowy ski-resort weddings.
Small charms can also be included with postcard or traditional invitations. For example, a boat anchor charm would signify a cruise ship wedding. Flip flops could be used for beach weddings. Horseshoes, cowboy hats or cowboy boots are fitting for a ranch or western wedding.
Formal Affairs
Add a hint or reflection of the location while sticking to traditional elegant invitations for formal destination weddings. For example, instead of using phrases or terms meant to be cute or witty, stick to strict formal wording. However, embellish the invitations by using thick, white cardstock embossed or engraved with a small symbol. Find a symbol that represents your wedding location in a sophisticated way. Embossed hibiscus flowers would be fitting for a Hawaiian wedding. Small seashells or starfish would indicate a beach wedding. A wine or champagne bottle alongside grapes may tell of a wine country or European wedding. Cherry blossoms or the Chinese symbol for "love" would be indicative of a wedding to be held in Asia.
Reflection of the Location
For a less formal or downright casual wedding, be creative with your invitations. Search until you find something that fits the two of you along with the wedding you are planning. Flip flop, sea shell, sand dollar, sea turtle, message in a bottle, mermaid, hula girl or surfboard shaped invitations would indicate a relaxed Hawaiian or tropical beach wedding. Postcard or traditional sized invitations could be used depicting scenes with these images as well. The sun setting behind soft, blue waves with a heart drawn in the sand brings to mind a romantic and laid back affair.
Circular invitations made to look like poker chips or a roulette wheel would symbolize a high-energy, good time in Las Vegas or another gaming city. An anchor or ship's wheel can be used for a cruise or sail boat wedding. A tea pot with tea cups and saucers would work for an English tea-style wedding in London.
Create invitations that look like passports for out-of-country destination weddings. Plane or train ticket replicas would be fitting as well. For a cruise ship, design a boarding pass for your guests.
If you and your fiance have been to the location, or are planning a trip before you need to send out your invitations, consider using a picture of the two of you in that location. If it is a beach wedding, you can use any beach if the exact one isn't feasible. Another possibility is the two of you with your backs to the camera, looking at each other as the sun sets in front of you over the ocean. A photo of the two of you on a ski lift would work for a winter mountain wedding. Take a picture in front of your favorite landmark of the city and use that on your invitation.
If you can't get to the location, and you have sufficient Photoshop skills or know someone who does, create the picture of your dreams. Find a picture that you absolutely love of the location your wedding will be held at and Photoshop a picture of you and your fiance into the picture.
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