Contemporary Couples Will Love These Wedding Invitations Featuring Negative Space

By Hannah Nowack
Jeremy Chou
Focusing on lots of white space, these invitations prove that less is often more.
Start Slideshow

1 of 28

Jeremy Chou

While the type and details featured on your wedding invitations are important, negative space is equally important when it comes to achieving a balanced, cohesive design. Negative space (otherwise known as white space) is, quite simply, the open space that surrounds an object or collection of typography.

Why is negative space so important? This airy space helps define the boundaries of the objects present on your invitations while bringing balance to the overall composition. Negative space also gives the text and design elements space to breathe so nothing feels to cramped or forced, allowing the finer details to really shine. Another important benefit of negative space in invitation design is that it directs your wedding guests' eye and helps them focus in on the important content. If a wedding invitation had text and illustrations filling the entirety of the paper, it's more likely that a guest would miss a crucial detail.

Take this invitation, for example. Natalie Choi Events and Refine Studio worked together to create this contemporary suite, and it's clear that leaving ample empty space is what made the design so successful. Plus, a Simply Rooted styling surface and Susie Saltzman ring helped style the suite in a modern-meets-romantic way that was totally wow-worthy.

While modern, clean, and contemporary design may come to mind when you first think of negative space, that doesn't necessarily have to be the case. Negative space invitations can just as easily be ethereal and romantic with calligraphy and deckle-edge paper.

No matter your big day's aesthetic, wedding invitations—and all wedding stationery for that matter—can benefits from well-designed concepts that focus on thoughtfully incorporating negative space. Ahead you'll find examples to inspire you to incorporate negative space into your own paper goods.

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 28

Illustrated Florals

Joy Michelle Photography
The Prettiest Floral Wedding Invitations

A line-drawn poppy and calligraphed names were front and center on this Pluma Palomino suite thanks to a soft gray background and thoughtful white space. Floret and Vine florals and a By Angeline ring rounded out the ethereal styling of this romantic suite Social Graces Weddings dreamt up.

3 of 28

Classic Letterpress

Written Word Calligraphy
The Most Popular Invitation Printing Methods, Explained

A classic serif typeface and bold lines anchored this Written Word suite, while ample white space ensured the whole look felt balanced and elevated. When you're working with a letterpress printed suite, part of the charm is the deep surface texture created by the plates, and this clean design successfully highlighted the storied printing process.

Advertisement

4 of 28

Modern-Meets-Romantic

Laura Gordon Photography

In keeping with their "modern-meets-romantic" wedding, this couple chose Julie Ha invitations with modern typography and prominent calligraphy. The romantic end result was aided by white space that left the suite feeling ethereal and airy.

5 of 28

Modern Monogram

Rebecca Yale Photography
Monogram Wedding Ideas We Love

The ample negative space at the top of these Written Word invitations directs your eye to focus on the couple's unique monogram, making the whole suite feel personal and intimate.

6 of 28

Extra Border Space

JB Marie Photography
Trending Now: Deckle-Edge Wedding Invitations

Instead of consolidating the negative space to a section of the invitation, Iris and Marie Press designed this stationery piece with a wide border. This allowed the design, which featured Leen Machine calligraphy, to feel central while also highlighting the deckled edge texture of the Farmette Press paper.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 28

Die-Cut

The Fancy Cat Studio
Laser-Cut Wedding Ideas You'll Love

This round die-cut invitation from The Fancy Cat Studio used strategic white space to highlight the wedding date while keeping the other pertinent details separate.

8 of 28

Invitation Booklets

Mirim Seo
Beautiful Invitations from Real Weddings

To ensure there was enough room on these invitations to include all the pertinent information, Mirim Seo deftly designed layered booklets instead of traditional cards. The result allowed for clean lines and ample negative space.

9 of 28

Line Drawing

Maria Lamb Photography

Although large swaths of this invitation, designed by Danny Skitsko, were intentionally left blank, line drawn arches pull everything together to ensure the negative space doesn't feel too barren.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 28

Pop of Metallic

Domino Photography
Ways to Add a Pop of Metallic to Your Wedding

Creating negative space in an invitation suite doesn't always mean you need to leave a portion of the paper goods totally barren. Here, a smattering of foil printed speckles added a hint of whimsy and shine to the suite from A Fabulous Fete.

11 of 28

Minimalism

Vicki Grafton Photography
Ways To Make Your Wedding Feel More Modern

This Julie Ha invitation was minimal in the very best way. Small typefaces benefitted from ample negative space, resulting in an airy suite. The design, dreamt up by Curated Behavior, East Made, and Shotgunning for Love Letters, was perfectly befitting of the deckled-edge paper it was printed on.

12 of 28

Work of Art

Levi Tijerina

With text kept to a minimum and plenty of negative space throughout, this suite's line drawn hands were the focal point. The invitation's thoughtful design made the whole piece, from The Wells Makery designed alongside Waters Flowers, feel more like a work of art than a wedding invitation.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

13 of 28

At an Angle

Pura Soul Photography
Glamorous Metallic Stationery Suites

By arranging the type in an angled way, this modern The Idea Emporium invitation has a whimsical aesthetic, which is only aided by the ample negative space.

14 of 28

Subtle Watermark

The Fancy Cat Studio

Since most of the type on this suite was kept to the bottom third of the page, that left a large area of white space on top. The Fancy Cat Studio creatively added a subtle watermark of the couple's wedding date to add depth to the suite, ensuring the white space didn't feel too stark.

15 of 28

Bold Names

Kate Ignatowski

Chances are, an invitation will end up on wedding guests' fridge or desk. Ideally, they should be able to quickly reference the suite and absorb the pertinent information. This crisp, modern Julie Ha invitation quickly reminds guests of who is getting married before directing your eye to the various minutiae.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

16 of 28

Ocean-Inspired

Orange Photographie
Nautical Wedding Invitations Perfect for a Waterfront Celebration

Although large areas of this Lilac and White suite were kept empty, a varied background and Brooke and Benjamin calligraphy added depth and intrigue to this ocean-inspired design.

17 of 28

Romantic Minimalism

Jolie and Co.

Since your invitation is likely going to have a details card with the pertinent information guests need to know, feel free to leave the main invitation card minimal. This botanical card was full of movement and charm, even though the design from Jolie and Co. had only a few components.

18 of 28

String Accent

O'Malley Photographers
Easy Ways to Upgrade Your Wedding Invitations

If you're afraid negative space might feel bare, consider adding string or ribbon to your suite for texture. Thin thread was wrapped around this invitation, from Grey & Cake for a Kaleb Norman James event, for a pop of something special, while still maintaining visual balance and space.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

19 of 28

Soft Hues

Jasmine Lee Photography
Our Favorite Wedding Color Palettes

The invitation is the first time your guests get a glimpse of your big day's color palette or aesthetic. Let the look shine through by focusing on white space that highlights the colors and materials of your invitation, as this Isadore Augustine design did for a Natalie Choi Events wedding.

20 of 28

Black-and-White

Theo Milo Photography
Simple, Beautiful Black-and-White Wedding Ideas

A business card, of all things, inspired this black-and-white One and Only Paper invitation suite. One of the key parts of the design was its white-on-white debossed treatment which added detail to the look while maintaining ample negative space throughout.

21 of 28

Other Mediums

Jessica's Photography
Modern Wedding Invitations We Love

The couple went for a minimal, all-white suite by Refine Studio, but wrapped the suite in ribbon and leather for a touch of warmth. Although two-thirds of the invitation itself was devoted to white space, the addition of other mediums and textiles brought intrigue and interest to the suite.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

22 of 28

Perfect Thirds

Cecelina Photography
Gorgeous Wedding Invitations with Wax Seals

Elins Art Studio split this design into thirds, adding negative space to delineate the areas of focus on the wedding invitation. Since the suite was decidedly modern and simple, the couple chose to accessorize with flair through string, vintage stamps, and wax seals.

23 of 28

Minimal and Modern

Paper Paper Co.

Paper Paper Co. was responsible for this modern, minimal, and refined invitation. While the couple's initials are front and center, crisp san-serif typography below the white space fills guests in on all the details in a sleek way.

24 of 28

Petite Typography

Renee Hollinshead

While one way to add whitespace to an invitation is to simply put less information on the page, another great option is to decrease the size of typeface being used. This With Wild and Grace invitation did just that. Petite typography let the oatmeal-hued paper shine through and simple thread finished off the whole look.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

25 of 28

Horizontal Orientation

Roots of Life Photography
Trending Now: Bee-Inspired Wedding Details

Negative space isn't a design technique exclusive to vertical invitations. This horizontal suite from Emily Rose Ink, for an Amelia Cole Event wedding, added in a cushion of negative space from side to side as a buffer for various design details, like illustrated bees.

26 of 28

Abstract Art

Kenzie Victory Photography

Art-focused and effortless, this suite from Lindsey Greaves and Mila Adams is a great reminder that invitations are about more than simply conveying information. An abstract profile drawing, surrounded by abundant negative space, is just as much an art keepsake as it is part of a wedding invitation.

27 of 28

Old-Meets-New

Elodie Winter Photography

A classic serif typeface and a traditional Bible verse quote juxtapose the modern layout and shape of this Majenia invitation, which was conceptualized by Elodie Winter, for a result that feels updated and dimensional.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

28 of 28

Prominent Calligraphy

Blush Wedding Photography
Ways to Decorate Your Wedding With Calligraphy

Custom calligraphy was the focus of this LeLe Chan Designs invitation suite, but thoughtful negative space ensured the rest of the invitation didn't detract from that detail. Each element of this suite features a large portion of negative space, allowing the words to feel more like titles than simple phrases.

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Up Next

Advertisement
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.marthastewartweddings.com