Vintage Wedding Invitations for your big day

Individually printed wedding invitations are a common feature in almost every wedding of the current age. It is however interesting to look back and see how this ritual has changed throughout history.
Getting your vintage theme invites, you can either buy them or make them by yourself. There are so many related online and offline stores offering wedding stationery nowadays. All you need to do is to be patient and pick up your favorite ones which match with your whole wedding theme at the same time. If you decide to buy them online, keep in mind to ask for some samples first to ensure the quality of the cards. However, creating your own vintage invites is sincerely recommended, fully conveying your affection for your guests and the hard work for your wedding, making your big day memorable. What’s more, handmade cards can save you a lot of money and your affordable wedding invitations won’t look inexpensive.
Today most of us take reading and writing for granted however in the Middle Ages illiteracy was widespread. In these times the town crier was the main source of news, such he was employed to spread the word. As a result anyone close enough to hear was invited to the happy couples special day. This method was typically not suitable for the nobility of the day. The only reliable source of mass printing was at the local monastery. Monks were regularly paid enormous sums of money to create elaborate invitations with detailed crests, the Wedding Invitations were dispatched individually by horse courier to the intended guests.

The next step was brought about with the invention of the printing press in 1447 . These were large cumbersome machines and lacked the printing detail required to create the elaborate designs that were possible with hand drawing. However, newspapers were becoming more common and wedding announcements were often placed in the newspaper to reach a wider audience. Printing techniques improved greatly in 1642 with the invention of metal plate engraving. This resulted in a far higher degree of printing detail and for the first time made bulk printing attainable by the middle classes. As with the earlier hand drawn examples these were often elaborate and highly detailed.

After the end of WWII ambitions of the common man increased and due to further improvements in printing techniques the first commercially available wedding stationary appeared. Guided by the likes of the Vanderbilt family the general population was taught the etiquette that had been the staple of the social elite for so many centuries. Finally wedding invitations could be purchased cheaply and dispatched by a reliable postal system to the chosen guests.
Today wedding invitations can take any form, but the desire to impress and announce the special day with flair remains.