Colors are being used more for ink, paper and envelope liners now than they used to be. There are a lot of variations other than the traditional cream paper with black ink. One new style is parchment paper with embossing or printing done right on the parchment. Many brides love to have bows on their invitations, and there is a tremendous variety of bows offered now through the invitation companies, which are available at Elegant Impressions. It is best to start shopping for full sets of invitations about six months in advance to make sure you have plenty of time to select the style that's right for you and get them printed and in the mail to guests about eight to ten weeks before wedding.
Some people also choose to have the direction cards printed to match the invitations.
Or to save money, Massimino suggests using parchment paper to print them yourself. If you don't have the best handwriting, some brands offer calligraphy printing of guests names and addresses done by machine or you can find many people locally who can do calligraphy by hand. Wedding programs, place cards, napkins and matches can also be done through the invitation companies in styles that will match your cards. If budget is an issue, one thing to keep in mind is the size of the invitation. The larger it is, the more expensive the postage will be.