Colours may range from the conventional white with gold, silver or black print to a kaleidoscope of coloured papers and inks. You could opt for anything from handwritten invitations on fresh floral handcrafted sheets to the understated elegance of silver ink on pale pastels hues. What's more, invitations no longer have to be rectangular but come in all shapes and sizes, from oval to hexagonal, folded origami-style and sealed with wax, ribbon or raffia.

Current styles include brightly coloured card, ribbon and silk or dried flowers to decorate and embellish in your theme colours. Alternatively, create gorgeous, glittering treasures in glowing metallics using gold, silver or bronze sheets of card, paper and tissue paper, as well as ribbon and thread. Carry your sparkling ideas through from invitations and reply cards to menus, place cards, wedding favour nametags and boxes.

When choosing a printer it helps to first check examples of their work and get separate quotes for comparison's sake. Orders should be placed no less than three months before the wedding - ask for more invitations than you expect to use in case you need to discard a few. Other stationery requiring the same colours and motifs, such as reply cards and thank-you notes, can also be printed with the invitations.

When it comes to sending out invitations, time is of the essence, as you will need to know well in advance how many people are attending. As a rule, invitations should be sent out around two to three months (and no less than six weeks) before the event. It is a common courtesy to include your celebrant as well as the groom's parents in your invitations.

Word for word

Wording an invitation: what could be easier? Brace yourself, this seemingly simple task is governed by rules of etiquette and protocol, all of which you need to familiarise yourself with!

Firstly, the wording used depends on who is hosting the wedding, and should be cleared with them in advance. Usually this would be the bride's family and thus the invitation would most likely be sent from the bride's mother and father.

A somewhat less-formal invitation could read:

George & Cheri Coleman invite you to join in celebrating the marriage of their daughter Emma to James, etc.

If the bridal couple themselves are hosting the wedding then the invitation would read something along the lines of:

Emma Coleman & James Weatherby take great pleasure in inviting you to their wedding, etc, or even Emma & James will begin the first day of their new life together on... and will be exchanging their marriage vows at, etc.

Slightly different wording may be chosen, depending on a variety of circumstances. In some cases the groom's parents may host the wedding, and the invitation could read:

Mr & Mrs Alan Weatherby request the honour of your presence at the marriage of Emma Coleman to their son James, etc.

If the bride's parents are divorced, or one of the parents widowed, either her mother or father could host the wedding and issue invitations. However, if the parents are divorced but still hosting the wedding together the invitation would read:

Mrs Cheri Coleman & Mr George Coleman, etc, or Mr George Coleman & Mrs Cheri Nel, etc, if she has remarried.

Irrespective of whom the invitation is coming from, remember to keep the wording simple and include all relevant data regarding the wedding. In addition to stating who is getting married (in other words, the names of the bride and groom!), the invitation ought to give the basic whens and wheres of the big occasion. This consists of the wedding date as well as the times of the marriage ceremony and reception, and the physical location of the ceremony and reception venues. Other facts you may wish to include are whether children are welcome and the expected dress code for your guests.

Of course you also need guests to RSVP in order to plan the wedding reception and finalise numbers with the caterers in good time. Traditionally this is done by enclosing a reply card with a stamped and addressed envelope as follows:

I/We ..........

will be able/unable to attend,

Number of persons .....

However, it may be easier to simply print the RSVP information and telephone number on the invitation itself. Whichever method you choose, don't forget to provide a reasonable cut-off date (no less than four weeks before the wedding) by which guests should RSVP.