29 Ideas for Unique Wedding Invitations

By Emily Platt
April 06, 2013
Erich McVey

For paper goods that'll stand out to your guests, get inspired by these creative stationery suites.

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Erich McVey
Get More Stationery Ideas for Your Wedding

Getting mail that isn't an advertisement or a bill is usually seen as a pleasant surprise. But don't you want the members of your guest list to be downright excited when they open up your wedding invitation? Of course, the reason behind it should be exciting enough—you and your spouse are getting married! But the design can offer its own sort of thrill by being as one-of-a-kind as your relationship.

You'll likely spend a significant amount of time selecting, wording, and distributing the stationery for your big day, not to mention deciding on who to send it to. Make the process worth it by picking a style that you truly love, and that your nearest and dearest will want to put on display on their fridges, memo boards, or somewhere else in their homes. One of the best ways to guarantee both? Choosing paper goods that are truly unique.

Your wedding invitations are one of the first representations of your celebration's vibe, whether it centers around a color palette, destination, season, or some other theme. They're meant to inform your attendees of the event's details, but they're also a good way to get everyone excited about your big day. So, don't be afraid to turn to the rest of your wedding's elements for inspiration, even if that leaves you with a stationery suite that isn't quite "traditional." The more creative, the better!

For ideas, turn to real couples like you. The following invitations were more than just pieces of paper—they were works of art.

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Illustrated Wedding Invitations

Karen Hill Photography

Illustrations covered everything from the itinerary to the envelope liner in this stationery suite by Wide Eyes Paper Co.

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Wedding Invitations with Monogrammed Envelopes

Erich McVey
See More from This Oceanside Wedding

These ocean-inspired  Papillon Card invitations were adorned with Veronica Halim calligraphy and watercolor accents. The couple's initials were also placed in the top corner of the envelopes.

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Colorful Wedding Invitations

Larissa Cleveland Photography
See More from This Colorful Wedding

This Lena Tramutola wedding stationery (with Barbara Callow calligraphy) featured a blend of Turkish and Californian elements (including lanterns and citrus), much like the rest of the couple's celebration.

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Tile-Inspired Wedding Invitations

Abby Jiu Photography
Go Inside This Three-Day Wedding

A tile print decorated this meaningful Haute Papier stationery suite, which was inspired by Lebução, Portugal, where the bride's father grew up.

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Moody Wedding Invitations

Samm Blake
Go Inside This Modern Wedding

This bride based her entire wedding off of her artsy invitations by The Wells Makery, which showcased a mix of deep and muted shades.

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Mountain-Inspired Wedding Invitations

Carrie Patterson
See More from This Elegant Wedding

Everything about this Rock Paper Scissors invitation suite was inspired by the mountains near the couple's wedding, from the watercolor landscape to the shape of the die-cut festivities card.

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Passport-Inspired Wedding Invitations

Blue Rose Photography

Vintage passport-inspired invitations by Destination Wedding Invitations clued guests in on the location of this wedding.

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Floral Wedding Invitations

KT Merry
Go Inside This Personalized Wedding

Cheree Berry Paper dreamt up the floral design that was used throughout this couple's wedding, including all over the stationery suite.

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Wedding Invitations with Cutouts

Joel Serrato
Go Inside This Napa Wedding

A Day in May designed this stationery suite, which was personalized with the couple's overlapping initials. The front page of the papers also featured their names cut out.

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Bordered Wedding Invitations

Ether and Smith

Elements of the botanical border used on the wedding invitation were used in smaller ways on the rest of the suite.

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Watercolor Wedding Invitations

Lucky Malone Photography
See More from This Outdoor Wedding

These brides enlisted Jolie & Co. to design their watercolor invitations, which were finished with a lovely deckled edge. "The stationery was one of the elements of the wedding that I felt really strongly about," one woman shared with us.

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Warm Wedding Invitations

Henry + Mac

We love the prominent font used on this Gus & Ruby Letterpress stationery suite, and how its warm colors—bronze, red, and pink—go surprisingly well with the dark-blue accents.

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Wedding Invitations with Swatches

Lacie Hansen Photography
Go Inside This Intimate Wedding

This bride and groom included something unique on one of their Written Word Calligraphy inserts—five circular swatches meant to represent  the shades that they wanted their guests to dress in.

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Wedding Invitations with Velvet

Corbin Gurkin
See More from This Christmas-Themed Wedding

For this Christmas wedding, the couple added a religious accent to their Lettered Olive invitations—a green, velvet band bearing a debossed cross.

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Postcard-Inspired Wedding Invitations

Sara Weir Photography
Go Inside This Old Hollywood-Inspired Wedding

This groom drew inspiration from 1960s postcards to design his invitations. He then worked with Cards of Wood to print them on wood veneer.

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Gold-Leaf Wedding Invitations

Elizabeth Messina
See More from This Chic Wedding

Stationer Alissa Bell hand-applied gold leaf to this letterpressed wedding stationery.  

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Photography Wedding Invitations

onelove photography

Photographs of the couple made these Minted invitations one-of-a-kind. The shimmering pink accents helped it pop.  

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Fern-Inspired Wedding Invitations

Olivia Leigh Photographie
See More from This Music-Filled Wedding

Hand-painted flora and fauna were paired with fern cut-outs for these woodsy Yeti and the Beast invitations.

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Striped Wedding Invitations

Melissa Jill Photography

Stripes made for a modern accent on these Union Press & Paper invitations.

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Wedding Invitations with Watercolor Envelope Liners

Katherine Miles Jones

Watercolor blues lined this suite's envelopes, and the cards themselves included metallic text.

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Folio Wedding Invitations

Mia Collis
Go Inside This Kenya Wedding

Custom raw-silk folios by Regas held the wedding invitations for this cool wedding. They also contained booklets that listed the rest of the celebration's details.

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Eclectic Wedding Invitations

Emily Delamater Photography

Pieces of this unexpected stationery suite boasted different designs, making the mix uniquely eclectic.

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Rustic Wedding Invitations

Jose Villa
Go Inside This Autumnal Wedding

"I stared at the invitation box for an hour when I got it," shared this bride, who was that impressed. The Amber Moon Design suite included calligraphy by Curlicue Designs, plus the couple's crest by Emily J. Snyder.

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Painted Wedding Invitations

Abby Jiu Photography
See More from This Art-Filled Wedding

Talk about custom. Ellen Weldon Design created these invitations using the bride's stunning paintings.

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Marbleized Wedding Invitations

Hunter Ryan Photo
Go Inside This Bohemian Wedding

Colorful, marbled paper and feather adornments made these August Blume invitations so memorable.  

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Creative Wedding Invitations

Brett Heidebrecht Photography

Details were creatively framed on these pink, white, and gold wedding invitations.  

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Wedding Invitations with Rough Edges

Erich McVey
See More from This Miami Wedding

The colors contrasted gorgeously on this timeless, moody wedding stationery by Tara Spencer.

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Old World-Inspired Wedding Invitations