Beach Invitations: Design & Ordering Guide

Getting Your Beach Invitations Right

Okay so beach wedding invitations are honestly one of my favorite things to work on but they can go wrong SO fast if you don’t think through the practical stuff first. Like, yes, everyone wants those gorgeous watercolor waves and the cute starfish illustrations, but I’ve seen couples spend $800 on invitations that literally fell apart in the mail because they didn’t account for humidity during shipping in July.

First thing – and I cannot stress this enough – you gotta decide if you’re doing actual beach vibes or just “coastal elegant” because those are completely different directions. Beach vibes means you can get away with kraft paper, twine, maybe some sand dollars attached to the invite. Coastal elegant is more like navy and white stripes, gold foil, really crisp letterpress. I had this couple in spring 2023 who kept sending me inspo pics that were all over the place, and we wasted like three weeks going back and forth before I finally made them sit down and pick ONE aesthetic direction.

Paper Stock Actually Matters Here

So here’s something that annoyed me for years until I figured it out – most couples don’t realize that beach destinations mean your invitations are traveling in some seriously questionable conditions. I’m talking about invites sitting in hot mailboxes in Florida, getting tossed around in beach bags, possibly getting a little damp from someone’s beach tote that still has a wet towel in it.

You want a heavier cardstock, minimum 110lb cover weight. I usually push people toward 130lb if they’re doing a flat card design. The flimsy stuff that’s like 80lb? Nah, it’s gonna arrive looking sad and crumpled. Also think about texture – a smooth finish actually holds up better than those super textured linens when you’re dealing with moisture in the air.

Matte finishes are your friend. Glossy can work but it shows fingerprints like crazy and if anyone handles these with slightly sandy hands (which WILL happen if you’re having people pick them up at a beach house or something), you’ll see every single grain.

Color Choices That Don’t Look Cheesy

Look, I love a good turquoise as much as the next person, but there’s a fine line between “elegant beach wedding” and “Jimmy Buffett concert.” Not that there’s anything wrong with Margaritaville vibes if that’s your thing, but most couples want something a little more sophisticated.

Coral and navy is classic for a reason. Seafoam and taupe. Dusty blue with sand/cream tones. If you want to go brighter, commit to it – like a really vibrant coral with white and gold can look amazing, but if you try to tone it down halfway it just looks… I dunno, uncertain?

Watercolor washes are huge right now for beach invites, and they CAN be gorgeous, but you need to work with a designer who knows what they’re doing with print files. I’ve seen so many brides order from Etsy templates where the watercolor looks beautiful on screen but prints all muddy and weird. Always always always order a printed proof before you do your full run.

The Actual Design Elements

Shells and starfish – okay yes they’re beachy, but do you need seventeen of them scattered across your invite? Probably not. I usually tell people to pick ONE coastal element and make it your signature. Maybe it’s a simple line drawing of a wave at the bottom. Maybe it’s a small shell icon you use as a bullet point. Maybe it’s literally just the colors and the fonts doing the work, and then you add one really beautiful illustration of a palm tree or something.

Fonts matter more than people think. You want something readable (your grandma needs to be able to read the time and location without her glasses, ideally), but also something that feels right for the vibe. Script fonts are pretty but if your ENTIRE invite is in script, good luck to anyone trying to figure out if that says “Beach” or “Bench” or who even knows.

I usually do: a nice script for names, a clean serif or sans-serif for all the actual information, and maybe a fun hand-lettered style for section headers. Mixing three fonts sounds like a lot but it actually creates hierarchy and makes things easier to read.

Information You Actually Need To Include

This is where people get weird and try to be too creative. Your invitation needs to clearly state: who’s getting married, where it’s happening, when it’s happening, and how to RSVP. Everything else is optional.

For beach weddings specifically, you really should include:

• The actual address or specific beach name, not just “Sunset Beach” because there are like 400 beaches called that
• Parking information or a note about where guests should meet if it’s a public beach
• A heads up about the terrain – “ceremony on sand” is helpful so people know not to wear stilettos
• Weather considerations or backup plan – even just “rain location: [venue name]”
• Dress code that makes sense (I love when couples say “beach formal” like what does that even mean, but okay)

Some of this can go on a details card instead of the main invite, which is actually what I recommend. Your main invitation should be clean and pretty, then you have an info card that has all the logistics.

The Whole Suite Situation

Do you need a full suite? Ehhh, depends. A “suite” usually means: main invitation, RSVP card, RSVP envelope, details card, maybe a weekend events card if you’re doing welcome drinks or a day-after brunch, outer envelope, inner envelope if you’re fancy.

For beach weddings, I actually think you can skip the inner envelope unless you’re doing a super formal affair. It’s extra paper, extra cost, and kinda unnecessary? The details card though – that’s important because beach weddings usually have more logistics to explain.

Oh and here’s something – consider a wedding website card instead of trying to cram everything onto paper. Like a small card that just has your website URL and maybe a QR code. My cat knocked over my coffee onto a whole stack of detail cards once and I had to reprint everything, but if most of that info had been on the website anyway… you see where I’m going with this.

Ordering Timeline and Quantities

Okay so working backwards from your wedding date: you want invitations to go out 8-10 weeks before the wedding. For destination beach weddings, I actually push that to 12 weeks because people need more time to arrange travel.

That means you need to ORDER your invitations at least 12-14 weeks out, maybe 16 if you’re doing something custom with a longer production time. Letterpress can take 4-6 weeks. Foil stamping takes 3-4 weeks usually. Digital printing is faster, like 1-2 weeks, but you still need time for addressing and assembly.

How many to order: take your guest count and add 20-25%. So if you’re inviting 100 guests (which is probably like 40-50 invitations since couples/families get one), order 50-60 invitations. You want extras for keepsakes, mistakes during addressing, last-minute additions, and that one person who swears they never got one.

I learned this the hard way in summer 2021 when a couple ordered exactly the number they needed, then realized they’d forgotten to invite the groom’s aunt, and we had to do a rush reorder for literally three invitations and it cost almost as much as their original order because of rush fees and setup minimums.

Where To Actually Order From

You’ve got options and they all have pros and cons honestly.

Minted, Paperless Post, Zola: These big online platforms are great for convenience and they have tons of beach-themed templates. Quality is pretty good, prices are mid-range. The downside is your invites might look similar to other weddings happening that same season since lots of people use the same templates. But you can customize them enough to make them yours.

Etsy: Can be amazing or can be a disaster, it really depends on the seller. Read reviews carefully. Make sure they’re actually printing the invitations themselves or at least managing the printing – some Etsy sellers just sell you a PDF template and then you’re on your own for printing. Always get a proof. Ask about their revision policy before ordering.

Local print shops or stationery designers: This is gonna be more expensive but you get way more customization and someone holding your hand through the process. I work with a few local designers and yeah, couples pay more, but they also don’t stress about any of it because the designer manages everything.

Vistaprint, Costco, Staples: Budget-friendly options that are totally fine if you’re doing a casual beach wedding and don’t want to spend a fortune on paper. Just manage your expectations – these are basic but functional.

Assembly and Addressing

Okay so you’ve got your beautiful invitations printed, now what? Assembly time. For a basic suite (invite, RSVP card, RSVP envelope, details card), here’s the order from bottom to top: invitation, then details card, then RSVP envelope (flap up), then RSVP card tucked under the envelope flap.

Some people do belly bands (those paper or ribbon strips that hold everything together) or vellum wraps which look really pretty for beach themes. You can also do a pocket folder style where everything tucks into a pocket, which is nice because nothing slides around.

Addressing – you can handwrite them if you have nice handwriting and lots of time, or you can… not. Digital calligraphy printing has gotten really good and most online printers offer it as an add-on for like $1-2 per envelope. There’s also hiring a calligrapher which is gorgeous but expensive, probably $3-5+ per envelope.

For beach weddings specifically, I kinda like the look of a clean printed address in a nice font rather than super fancy calligraphy? It feels more relaxed and appropriate for the vibe. But that’s just my opinion, do whatever makes you happy.

Postage and Mailing

Do NOT just slap a regular stamp on these and call it done. First, weigh your assembled invitation at the post office. Anything over 1 oz needs extra postage. Anything square needs extra postage. Anything with a wax seal or bulky embellishments needs extra postage and might need to be hand-cancelled so it doesn’t get destroyed in the sorting machines.

Beach-themed stamps exist and they’re actually cute – look for the USPS coastal or nautical collection stamps. Makes the whole package feel more cohesive.

Mail them all at once if possible, and consider mailing from the post office directly rather than a mailbox, especially if you’ve got 50+ invitations. That way you can make sure they’re processed correctly.

Digital Invitations for Beach Weddings

Real talk – digital invitations have come a long way and for casual beach weddings, they can totally work. Paperless Post has some really pretty beach designs, and Greenvelope is another good option. The bonus is you can do fun animated elements like waves moving or palm trees swaying which you obviously can’t do with paper.

They’re also way easier for destination weddings because you can include clickable links to your hotel block, registry, wedding website, all of that. And no risk of invitations getting lost in the mail or arriving damaged.

The downside is some older guests might not be tech-savvy, and there’s something nice about having a physical invitation to save as a keepsake. I usually suggest doing digital save-the-dates and then paper invitations, or vice versa. Gives you the best of both worlds.

Save The Dates For Beach Weddings

Oh right, I should probably mention save-the-dates since those come first. For beach/destination weddings, these should go out 6-8 months in advance, maybe even earlier if your wedding is during peak travel season or a holiday weekend.

Save-the-dates can be more fun and casual than your actual invitations. Magnets are popular (people actually keep them on their fridge). Postcards are perfect for beach themes and they’re cheaper to mail. You could even do a photo save-the-date with a picture of you two at the beach.

Just make sure they include: your names, wedding date, location (city/beach area at minimum), and a note that a formal invitation will follow. You can also include your wedding website if you’ve got one set up with hotel and travel info.

I’ve been watching this show about wedding disasters and it’s wild how many of them could’ve been avoided with better communication, which is basically what invitations are, right? Like just tell people clearly what’s happening and when and where, and include the info they need to plan accordingly. That’s really what all of this comes down to – making sure your guests have what they need to show up at the right beach at the right time wearing appropriate shoes and knowing where to park and whether Aunt Susan can bring her boyfriend even though you’ve never met him.