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5 tips to help you create your own stunning wedding

invitations…

© alltheprettypaper.com 2018
WELCOME

Welcome to my mini eBook on how to use different fonts


for your DIY wedding stationery!
I’m Marie, a DIY wedding invitation nut and blogger
over at alltheprettypaper.com. I created all my
own wedding stationery back in 2015 and have
been addicted to pretty paper ever since.

You can have the nicest card stock and cutest envelopes, BUT if the
fonts you choose don’t work together then your wedding stationery
will miss the mark. This guide is here to help!

You’ll find tips to help you choose the perfect fonts for your wedding
stationery. PLUS, I’m sharing where to find fonts, samples of font
pairings that work great for different styles AND instructions on how
to download and use fonts for wedding invites!

Need help deciding what kind of wedding invites you want to make?
Check out my bumper post on How to Make Your Own Wedding
Invitations to get some ideas. Then come back to this guide to get
some font pairing inspiration. Let’s get going…

IMPORTANT NOTES:
• Some links in this eBook are affiliate links (denoted with *) which means that
if you click and purchase I receive a commission, at no extra cost to you.
• ALWAYS check the license for any fonts you use, I can’t be held responsible for
any issues you may have in downloading or using a font mentioned in this
eBook.

© alltheprettypaper.com 2018
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FIRST UP - A QUICK LESSON ON FONTS!

There are sooooo many different font choices out there. My aim is to
help you narrow down your font choices for your wedding stationery.

Here’s a quick rundown on the types of fonts I’ll be referring to.

(I’m not a designer and I know you’re (probably!) not one either so I want
to explain things in plain English…)

SERIF: According to Wikipedia, “a serif is a small line attached to the


end of a stroke in a letter or symbol.” These look more formal and can
suit a more old-fashioned look.

Examples of serif fonts: Baskerville, Garamond, Playfair Display, Times New


Roman

SANS-SERIF: Sans-serif have no serifs or lines at the end of the


letters. They tend to look more modern and simple.

Examples of sans-serif fonts: Arial, Lato, Open Sans, Josefin Sans

SCRIPT/ CURSIVE: These are handwritten or calligraphy style fonts.

Examples of script fonts: Brush Script, Crafty Script, Loveline

DECORATIVE: These are more quirky or novelty fonts. Use sparingly!

Examples of decorative fonts: CelticMD, Desdemona, JACKFONT

© alltheprettypaper.com 2018
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LIMIT THE NUMBER AND TYPE OF FONTS

DON’T CHOOSE TOO MANY FONTS

You don’t want to overwhelm your stationery with too many


competing fonts. I recommend 2 fonts - at a maximum 3. Every font
should have a role. You want a plainer font for the body of the invite,
as well as a more decorative font to highlight important points.

COMPLEMENT BUT CONTRAST

It’s important that the fonts you choose complement each other. But,
at the same time there needs to be contrast between them so they
don’t look too similar. For example, choosing 2/3 variations of script
calligraphy would be quite confusing for the eye…

© alltheprettypaper.com 2018
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THINK ABOUT READABILITY

MAKE SURE IMPORTANT POINTS ARE LEGIBLE

There’s nothing worse than receiving a wedding invitation and having


to pore over it to decipher the key information.

Often the culprit is the size of the font, or even the colour. But, the
type of font can also impact legibility.

I’d recommend that you keep ornate script fonts to highlight certain
points of the stationery only (such as your names). Use something a
little easier to read for the most important information, such as the
date, time and location of your wedding!

© alltheprettypaper.com 2018
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CONSIDER YOUR WEDDING THEME

THINK ABOUT YOUR WEDDING STYLE

What kind of wedding are you having? The fonts that you choose
should make sense in the context of your wedding theme and style.

For example, I wouldn’t use a casual, childish font like Chalkboard for a
very traditional wedding invite. Likewise, an ornate script font like
Edwardian Script really wouldn’t make sense for a more
whimsical, relaxed wedding.

Some things to consider for choosing fonts to match your style…

Formal - look for traditional serif fonts, or for calligraphy style fonts
look at script styles.

Modern - choose simple sans-serif fonts (‘light’ version if possible for


a more minimalist look). Opt for loose handwritten calligraphy fonts.

Rustic - quirky serif fonts work well, along with brush script
calligraphy fonts.

Vintage - work an art deco look with very defined serif fonts.

Casual - choose looser whimsical sans-serif fonts and simple


calligraphy fonts

TURN THE PAGE FOR SOME REAL-LIFE EXAMPLES!

© alltheprettypaper.com 2018
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FONT PAIRING IDEAS (1/2)

TRADITIONAL

We’re Getting Edwardian Script and


Libre Baskerville (available for free in Picmonkey*)
work well to create a formal vibe

— MARRIED —
MODERN

Here Comes the Argentinian Nights* and


Alegreya Sans SC combine well for a

— BRIDE — clean, modern feel

CASUAL

Beyond The Mountains* and


Get Me To The Lato (available for free in Picmonkey*)
give a laidback look
— CHURCH —
FUN

Will You Be My Loveline* and The Hand* work well for


a whimsical font combination

— BRIDESMAID? —

© alltheprettypaper.com 2018
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FONT PAIRING IDEAS (2/2)

ART DECO

Wedding Bells Castro Script and Naive Deco Sans*


are the perfect combination for a

— ARE RINGING — 30s style art deco wedding!

GROWN UP GLAMOUR

Botdoh Script* and Josefin Sans


You’r e Cordially
combine well for a minimalistic
— INVITED — grown up vibe

RUSTIC / VINTAGE

Get out and Challista Script* and


Bodoni (available for free in Picmonkey*)

— DANCE — work together for a vintage look

© alltheprettypaper.com 2018
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WHERE TO FIND FONTS

FREE FONTS:
Free fonts are a great option if you’re on a very strict budget.

Some sites to check out are Dafont, 1001 Free Fonts & Fontsquirrel.
Also, if you use Picmonkey* to design your stationery then you have
tons of fonts (including premium ones!) as part of your subscription.

Top tip: sign up for the Creative Market weekly freebie email* -
there’s always at least 1 premium font offered for free on a
Monday. I’ve collected TONS of gorgeous premium fonts for
free this way!

For some further free font ideas check out my posts on 20 free calligraphy
fonts and Brush script fonts for wedding stationery.

PREMIUM FONTS:
I invested in one premium calligraphy font for our wedding and used
another free font to complement it. You can pick up premium fonts
from c. $10 - $40.

My favorite places to buy premium fonts are Creative Market* and


Etsy*.

© alltheprettypaper.com 2018
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HOW TO DOWNLOAD & USE FONTS

Before you go and download a font you like, check to see if it’s already
installed on your computer. A quick way to do this is to open a Word
or Pages document on your computer and scroll through the fonts
that are available to you - you might be surprised!

If you download a free font, or buy a premium one, you will download
it to your computer as either an OTF or TTF zipped file (If you have a
choice between OTF and TTF, choose OTF).

Open the font folder on your computer, double click on the OTF/ TTF
file you want to download and click ‘install font’ when prompted.

Restart your computer and your new font should now be available for
use on your computer (and on design programs such as Picmonkey*).
Easy peasy!

© alltheprettypaper.com 2018
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THANK YOU!

I hope you’ve found this guide on choosing fonts for your wedding
stationery useful.

Need more DIY wedding stationery inspiration? Check out all my blog
posts at alltheprettypaper.com.

I’d love your feedback. Do you think I could improve or add anything
to this eBook? Email me at ns@alltheprettypaper.com to let me know!

© alltheprettypaper.com 2018
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