Fonts with Flair: Spicing up Fiesta Invitations

In my typesetting position here at Polka Dot Invitations, I see hundreds of cards every week. Each card and manufacturer has its own personality that makes our site great for finding the perfect invitation for your event.

Here in Fort Worth, the weather is getting warmer and the air is just starting to get that sticky, early summer feel to it. That means one thing: it’s fiesta party time. Throwing a party with a fiesta theme can be a fun way to get your friends together for Cinco de Mayo, or a way to spice up a Rehearsal Dinner.

One of our staff members, Haley, is planning her wedding early next month. She chose the Fiesta Fun Invitation by Paper So Pretty. The sample typestyle, Fligerish, is a great font for casual parties and lends a bit of its fun to a lot of invitations. But it was a bit too informal for her event, so she asked me for some help. I took the sample typesetting and threw it out in favor of something that fit her personality. Here’s how:

In our Design Studio, I chose two fonts and varied their sizes to create interest and promote unity. Generally we recommend two or three typestyles at the most per invitation, which gives a clean, unified look.

The intro line, “honoring” and the time and location information are all set in GillSans, size 14. The “Rehearsal Dinner” is set in size 24 La Portenia de la Boca; Haley & James in La Portenia de la Boca size 36; and “Carol and Johnny Latimer” in La Portenia de la Boca size 18. And the “Hosted by” and response information are set in GillSans size 12.

When we receive our customers orders, we do any necessary tweaking to make sure that the design will print well on the card. Here, I varied the sizing and switched some of the text to bold to better balance with the weight of La Portenia. I also played a bit with the proportions of the location information and date to make this stand out a bit more. And voilà, the final printed invitation:

When placing your own order, if you’re not sure where to start, we are always more than happy to make suggestions or take the reigns entirely if you feel a bit lost. Just let us know this in the special instructions area of our Design Studio, or you can email me directly at [email protected].