Wedding Invitations

Wedding is the most important event for two people who want to spend their lives together.  Today people announce weddings by sending wedding invitations. But these official wedding announcements have not always been made by using written cards. Before Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1447, there was no way of mass printing wedding invitation cards. Many people were also illiterate during the Middle Ages so the most effective way of announcing a wedding was by word of mouth. A person called town crier was in charge with spreading news and important events to the public. Anyone who could hear the town crier's announcement was, therefore, invited to the wedding.

Wealthy noble families were the only who could afford hand-written wedding invitations. These were very expensive and were written by monks who were proficient in the art of calligraphy. These invitations would likely include the family's crest or coat of arms, a tradition which is honored even today by some  families.

After the invention of the printing press, literacy increased and so did the popularity of the printed invitations. Despite the capability of mass producing printed invitation card, these were not high quality. This changed in 1642 when Ludwig von Siegen introduced the metal plate engraving technology, making customized engraved announcements available to middle class citizens. The technology behind this was simple: the text or graphic was engraved in reverse on a metal plate which was inked and imprinted on to the paper. In order to avoid smudging a thin tissue of paper was placed on the invitation card. Modern invitations still have this element although it has a more decorative purpose.



In the 17th century, with the printing of the first newspapers, couples started spreading the word of  their weddings in the newspapers. This custom was an easy way to announce such events and rapidly became very popular.

A new technique called lithography, which replaced engraving and produced better quality invitations arose in the late 19th century. Due to the unreliability of the postal system which was at an early stage, most of the wedding invitations were delivered by hand.  For better protection the invitation was sealed in a so-called double envelope. The outer envelope was to be removed by the receiving servant who will then take the invitation to the household master. The double envelope practice is still favored by many people even today.

After World War II the introduction of thermographic printing decreased the price of the wedding invitations allowing, at the same time, more sophisticated designs. The thermographic printing produced a bevel effect which is used for a wide variety of stationery and even for Braille writings.



In 1973 the US postal service started issuing annual "love" stamps for people who used mail to send wedding invitations. Although "love" stamps were not a requirement they became very trendy.

Today most couples choose to personalize their wedding invitations with a wide range of elements and designs such as favored cartoon characters, photographs, ribbons, celtic symbols and even pressed flowers.