Of course, even if you don’t have a wedding theme, you still need fonts, and fortunately, there are tons of free fonts available online. Below are some examples of cool fonts that I really like. Read my “How To Add Fonts To Your Computer” post if you need help finding and downloading them. For layout ideas, check out some of my tutorials:

• Save The Date Cards
• Engagement Announcements
• Engagement Invitations
• Wedding Invitations
• Beach Weddings

Handwriting Fonts
For a more informal look, fonts simulating handwriting are great, and give the whole affair a more laid back, casual feel.

Bernhard Fashion BT
Bettys Hand
Brush Script
Brush Flash
Dali
Daniela
Handscript
Joe Hand 2
LizzieLongstocking
Mistral
Stylograph
Tekton Bold

Classic Sans Serif Fonts
Some classic fonts that always are in style are the sans serif Helvetica, Optima, Gill Sans and Arial. It’s hard to go wrong with either of them. For a similar look with a tad more pizzazz, check out Champagne & Limousines. It’s a bit more rounded with thin, elegant lines.

Arial
Avian
Aubrey
Berlin Sans FB
Champagne & Limousines
Gill Sans
Helvetica
Optima
Tyro Sans

Script Fonts
These fonts give the invitation a nice formal look. If you don’t want to use them for the entire text, they are great for making the bride and groom’s names stand out.

Adine Kirnberg Script
Champignon
English Script
Kunstler Script
Linotype Zapfino
Nuptial Script
Park Avenue
Ribbon 131 Bold BT

Small Caps
Small caps are very popular and add a sophisticated feel. And they are easy to read.

Atlantic Inline-Normal
Bank Gothic Light BT
Biondi
Carleton
Copperplate Gothic Light
Encino
Farfel ICG
Graverplate
Kismet-Normal
LitographLight
Perpetua titling
Socrates

Miscellaneous Favorites
These are a few other of my favorite fonts that don’t really fit into any of the other categories:

Aerofoil
Arcane Wide
Architecture
Colonna MT
Croix Regular
Elisia Openface Regular
Papyrus
Stylus BT
University

What about fonts for the aforementioned 60s, Arabian nights or a Victorian tea party themes? I think any one of these would work nicely:

1960s
Alba
BellBottomLaser
Dreamland
LMS Hippy Chick

Arabian Nights
Arabian
Arabolical
XXII Arabian Onenightstand
Kara Ben Nemsi

Victorian Tea Party
Armenian Circus
Belshaw
Trinigan

Happy font hunting!

Related posts:

1. Which Font Should You Use For Your Printable Wedding Invitations? Well, that depends on what sort of feel you want...
2. Text Layout Ideas For Your Printable Wedding Invitations If you decide to go with homemade save the date...

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For those of you who are interested in continuing to design your own cards and other items, I think Adobe Illustrator is a very worthwhile investment. And if you’re a student (or faculty), you can get it for a really good price ($199 as opposed to $599 for Illustrator CS4). Sometimes you can get a lower price even if you’re just taking an evening course, so definitely check that out.

I’m calling today’s Save The Date card “China Dream” because that’s what the illustration we’re basing it on is called, and here how it all comes together:

1. Download China Dream by Mariannasm here. Read the License & Usage.

2. Unzip the file

3. Open a word document. Go to Insert – Picture – From File and click on the jpg of the unzipped file.

4. Right click on the illustration and go to Format Picture. In the Size tab, uncheck “Lock Aspect Ratio” and put in the dimensions you want (I made mine 4×6). In the Layout tab, select “Behind Text” in the Wrapping Styles. Click OK.

5. Go to Insert – Text Box and drag a text box anywhere on the page (it’s a little bit easier to work with if it’s not right on top of the illustration for right now). Right click on the text box and go to Format Text Box. In the Colors and Lines Tab, select No Fill and No Line.

6. Type in your text. I used Papyrus 14 pt for the text part and Adine Kirnberg Script 32pt for the bridge and groom, all aligned right.

If you don’t like the fonts I used, or the ones you have on your computer, look on the internet – there are tons available for free online (if you need inspiration, check out my “More Font Ideas For Your Wedding Stationery” post). You just need to download the ones you want and add them to your font library. See my “How To Add Fonts To Your Computer” post if you need help with that.

7. Move your textbox over the illustration and position it where you want it. You may have to tweak the size of the type and paragraph spacing a little bit, since we can’t change the illustration in Word. Once you like what you see, you’re done!

You could easily turn these into wedding invitations as well, you just have to change the wording and maybe adjust the font sizes a bit.

Related posts:

1. “Funky Chic” Save The Date Cards – An Illustrator Tutorial Today’s Save the Date card is very easy to make,...
2. Another DIY Engagement Announcement using Microsoft Word This is part 2 in our series of DIY projects...
3. Save The Date Postcards – A Step-By-Step Illustrator Guide Making your own Save the Date cards is fun and...

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For font inspiration, check out my “More Font Ideas For Your Wedding Stationery” post.

Also, fonts are not always just letters – you can find font sets that are great illustrations, decorative borders, and all kinds of stuff which can be very useful if you are creating invitations around specific wedding themes. Give it a try – do a search for “Music Fonts’ or “Tattoo fonts” or “fonts for beach weddings“, etc. and you’ll find lots of great designs.

To add the fonts to your computer:

• download the font you want (make sure you choose the appropriate format, Mac or Windows) and unzip it (they’re usually zipped)

• if you’re working on a Mac, find your Font Book (usually in your Applications folder), open it (by double clicking on it), click on the cogwheel in the upper left hand corner and select “Add Fonts”. A new window pops up, find your new font, click Open and it’s added. You’ll have to close out and reopen the programs you’re in to see the font in the list.

• If you’re on a PC using Windows Vista, once you’ve unzipped your font, move it to a folder on your C-drive (I created one called New Fonts where I put all my downloaded, unzipped fonts so that I easily can find them)

• Now, go to Control Panel, switch to classic view (if you’re not already in that), double click on “Fonts”, wait a little bit until all fonts are displayed, then right click on the Fonts folder on the left hand side of your screen and select Install New Font. A new window pops up. Make sure “Copy Fonts to Fonts Folder” is checked.

• Find your unzipped font in the windows on the lower half of the screen (once you click on your New Fonts folder, the fonts in that folder will appear in the window up top). Select the ones you want to add (by clicking on them) and click Install, and when they’re done, click Close. Click on another folder on your computer and then back on the Fonts folder – you’re new fonts should show up in the list. You will have to close out of and re-open any open programs for the fonts to show up in your font lists.

• If you’re on a PC using Windows XP, the procedure is pretty much the same as in Vista. The only difference is that once you’re in your Fonts folder, instead of right clicking on the Fonts folder, you need to go to File – Install New Font. Then proceed as you would in Vista.

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