Choosing invitations for Marisa’s bachelorette weekend turned out to be way more difficult than I expected. I didn’t think my criteria were too demanding. I wanted something classy and simple but fun. Marisa’s a graphic designer, so I knew the typography and design needed to be modern and clean. Little did I know that “modern” and “clean” don’t factor in to many of the invites on the market. Getting away from black and pink was almost impossible so we just embracing it in the end. But I didn’t want anything that overtly referenced lingerie or Sex in the City (you would be astonished at how overdone these themes are). Designers, there’s a niche here that’s under-represented in my opinion! Here are a few of my favorites that Alyssa and I tracked down after lots of searching and the invite we ultimately went with.

This one felt like a good balance between modern and vintage and the muted pink and black is subtle and still chic. It’s customizable but not custom, so the price is good. You can find it here on Wedding Paper Divas.

This one stole my heart. The chevron pattern feels so modern and the colors are tweaked toward gray and coral, which makes this invite feel sophisticated and unexpected. You’ll find these on Etsy and need to contact the designer directly for a personalized listing.

I loved that this one got away from pink and incorporated sparkle in a fresh way. The script feels hand drawn and the vibe is vintage modern. This listing is for a digital file and you can find it on Etsy as well.

Polka Dot Design is another good site if you’d rather set your own type rather than working with a designer. This invite is actually for a New Year’s party, but I thought it could easily be tweaked for a fancy bachelorette party.

If you’re going to go lingerie or kitsch, I think this is how to do it.The playbill lettering and ’50s pin-up balances perfectly with the cream paper and feels vintage without being busy.

This invite was our final choice. We loved the simple typography and the “All You Need Is Love” theme fit our bride perfectly. The hot pink seemed fresh with the crisp white instead of the black that I’d seen on so many other invites. Lisa from Blushface was also very easy to work with, responding quickly and sending us a few proofs until the invite looked just right. She also printed for us, which was something we were looking for.

In general, I recommend you shop around because prices can vary considerably. Print-on-demand sites like Wedding Paper Divas and Polka Dot Design are great for a budget and do have lots of options allowing for one-stop shopping and less time spent searching, but the templates aren’t completely customizable and I didn’t find very many designs that met my “clean and modern” criteria (the two sites I’ve mentioned were by far the best in that category). Designers can be more expensive, but not always. They also tend to have more interesting designs and will customize the invite to your needs. I found Etsy to be the best resource for this by far. Most of the designers on wedding website directories are looking for wedding invite orders, not smaller parties like showers and bachelorette weekends. Though I saw some amazing work, their clientele is focused on brides. Etsy invite designers were much more approachable for our purposes. Some designers provide printed files, but some don’t which means an extra expense. Alyssa and I used a board on Pinterest to display invites we liked all together, which helped to narrow our options and keep links at the ready for price comparison.

Please post links to invites you’ve found! I’m going to need ideas for the next time around…