Casual wedding invitations have become increasingly popular in recent years. With wedding costs on the rise, there has been a growing trend where young couples, plus older couples remarrying after previous failed marriages, are seemingly abandoning the flourish and regalia of formal wedding ceremonies. Weddings are just so expensive anymore. A casual wedding allows for more relaxed dresses, less lavish digs, simple decorations and a low-key ceremony. It's not very uncommon for people to get married in relaxed khakis, jeans or beach wear, with just a few friends and family present.

Theme weddings have become increasingly popular in recent years with many of them necessitating casual wedding invitations. Beach weddings, for instance, have become more popular, allowing for a destination/vacation experience for the couple, friends and family. Nothing says casual more than white sandy beaches and startling blue ocean waters. Couples are just looking to erase the perception that weddings are associated with stuffiness, stress and worry by ensuring their wedding is a stress free event for everyone to enjoy. One particular area of focus, if your wedding will be casual, is to make sure that your invitation conveys this to the recipient.

You can begin by keeping your wedding invitation itself simple in concept and design. Casual wedding invitations can be simple or silly. Cartoon invitations, humorous/funny invitations, are all examples of less formal casual wedding invitations. People may be more likely to keep an invitation if there is a funny caricature or something humorous and unique with the invitation. Motorcycle wedding invitations are an example of the invitation itself spelling out a casual wedding ceremony/reception. Chances are, if your invitation includes a picture of the bride and groom riding a Harley, with an winged heart tattoo, people will know not to rent a tux or dust off their suit for the event.

The wording of your casual wedding invitations should also coincide with the type of invitation in order for all guests to understand that this is a casual event. It's not a bad idea for the bride and groom to incorporate their own style into their wedding invitations by keeping the wording informal and friendly. The invitation can also include a remark indicating that the dress code is casual. Please remember, however, that the informal tone doesn't mean that pertinent information should be neglected in your casual wedding invitations. Even your casual wedding invitation needs to include necessary information for guests like the full names of the bride and groom, date, time and location of the ceremony and reception.

Tim Olden is a respected author offering advice and reviews of Handmade and Custom wedding invitations.