Dinner Invitation
Dinner is not only a time for eating but also a time to bond with family and friends to enjoy the food whether at home, a restaurant, or at a hotel. Compared to lunch, dinner is more of a lighter meal and focuses more on small servings, but it does not mean that one cannot enjoy a delicious and sumptuous dish.
If you are planning to invite guests over for dinner, or plan to organize a dinner event, you definitely need a dinner invitation. In this article, we have provided some examples and templates that you can download. To further help you create your own dinner invitation, we have provided tips as well as simple tips in creating a dinner invitation.
Elements of a Good Dinner Invitation
Listed below are the elements of a good dinner invitation. Take note that your dinner invitation should include all the elements that we listed to make the invitation effective and will increase the chances of guests attending your event.
- Name of host: As the host of the dinner event, always include your name in the invitation. This is not for bragging purposes but to mainly inform your guests in a personal manner that you are inviting them for dinner. If you are co-sponsoring the dinner with a family member (i.e. husband/wife, child, parent, other relatives) or a friend, you should list down their names in the dinner invitation as well.
- Name of guest: Always a make it your first priority to include the name of your guests in the dinner invitation. Again, writing their names makes the invitation more personal and your guests will definitely appreciate it if their names are spelled out in the invitation. Don’t write all of your guests’ names in one invitation, but instead create an invitation for each one of your guests (just like a wedding invitation).
- Invitation: The most important part of a dinner invitation is the invitation itself. The invitation can be a short phrase or a single sentence indicating that you are inviting the person or persons for dinner. There is no need for wordplay in the invitation, as it should be simple and concise.
- Date, time, and venue: Speaking of date, time, and venue, these three information are as important as the invitation. It’s really just basic information you should include in the dinner invitation. If these information are not included, how would your guests know where the dinner will be held? How would they know what time the dinner will be? How will they know if the dinner will really push through? These are the questions that you should keep in mind when creating the dinner invitation.
- RSVP or additional message: RSVP, which stands for Répondez S’il Vous Plaît or “please respond” in English basically informs the guest for a confirmation if he or she will be attending the event or not. An RSVP simply includes the name and contact number of the host, and it is common courtesy to contact the host at least a week or a month before the event (depending on the size of the event and the number of participants).
- Graphics and images: Graphics and images are an important element of a dinner invitation, but they are not required. Graphics and images only add to the visual aesthetics of the invitation, but who would not want to have a visually appealing invitation especially if you are the host of the dinner? There are thousands of images you can use for your dinner invitation, just choose the ones that are appropriate for the invitation you are creating.
33+ Dinner Invitation Templates
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Rehearsal Dinner Invitation Design
Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Invitation Template
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10+ Dinner Invitation Examples
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Acadia University Gala Dinner and Silent Auction Invitation
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Simple Tips for an Excellent Dinner Invitation
Use typography
Typography pertains to how you present the text in any type of design, dinner invitations included. Basically, typography refers to the font style and font size that you are going to use. Hundreds of font styles are available at your disposal, just choose the one that you think will create a bigger impact on your dinner invitation. Here are some fonts that you can use:
- Formal dinner: Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, Cambria, Didot, Garamond, Georgia, Helvetica
- Casual dinner: Uchronia, Desire, Wishes Script, Medusa, Badaboom
- Themed casual dinner: Use fonts for casual dinner
Use appropriate graphics or images
Typography is not the only thing that you should focus on when creating a dinner invitation. As previously mentioned, using graphics and images is not required for a dinner invitation, but if you intend on adding a few images, use the ones that fit your dinner invitation. There are thousands of images you can use and download (for free) from image websites such as Pixabay.com, Pexels.com, or Unsplash.com. Since this is a dinner invitation, you will most likely use images of food.
Here’s a tip: if you already have a menu before you create the dinner invitation, use images of those dishes in the invitation. Just download the images from the websites mentioned above as you don’t need to take a photo just to be inserted in the invitation. Remember to use high-quality images in your dinner invitation.
Include all basic information
Basic information refers to the name of the guest, name of the host, date, time, and venue of the dinner. Without these information, your guests will certainly not attend your event. Make sure to gather basic information first before you even start making the dinner invitation. Names are tricky, so make sure to double-check the names before they are written in the dinner invitation.
Edit and revise (if necessary)
An important yet often neglected tip. Before the dinner invitation is printed, you should edit the invitation and check if there are any typographical errors or issues with the graphics or images.
Steps to Designing a Dinner Invitation
Here are the steps in designing a detailed and visually attractive dinner invitation.
1. Create a concept
Before anything else, you first need to create a concept on how your dinner invitation will look like. If you will be working with a partner or with a team, brainstorm and gather ideas on the design you will be creating. Take time in creating the concept unless you plan on hosting a dinner event the next day.
2. Gather guest information
Once the concept is already in place and you already decided on the design, it’s now time to gather the basic information, mainly the name and contact number of your guests. As previously mentioned, you need to gather the exact names of your guests and not just first names, nicknames, and surnames. Also write down in a separate sheet of paper your full address and contact number for RSVP purposes.
3. Gather images
Once you have gathered the basic information of your guests, you should now gather your images. As previously mentioned, you can gather the images from free image websites such as Pixabay.com, Pexels.com, or Unsplash.com. Since this is a dinner invitation,
you will most likely use images of food. If you already planned out a menu before you started creating the dinner invitation, use images of those dishes in the invitation. You can download the images from the websites mentioned above as you don’t need to take a photo just to be inserted in the invitation. Remember to always use high-quality images in your dinner invitation.
4. Look for the best font style
Your aim is to create the best-looking dinner invitation. That is the reason why you should use the font style you think is the most attractive and the font style that you think will create the biggest impact to your guests. We already mentioned the font styles you can use, but if you found some fonts that you think are attractive, go ahead and use them.
5. Create the design in a graphic design software
Once the font, images, and guest information are ready, it’s finally time to create the dinner invitation. You can create the dinner invitation in various graphic design software such as Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator or Corel. Even if you don’t have experience using these graphic design software,
you can still use the basic Microsoft Paint and other online design software. If you don’t want to take the risk designing your own dinner invitation, get a friend or hire someone to create the invitation.
Types of Dinner Invitations
Here are the types of dinner invitations to guide you if you will be creating your own invitation. Remember not all dinners are celebrated for the same occasion, so make sure to create the dinner invitation which matches your occasion or event.
- Birthday Dinner Invitation: These dinner invitations are mainly used for birthday celebrations. They can be for a kid’s birthday party, a coming of age birthday party, an adult birthday party, or a birthday party for an old person.
- Family Dinner Invitation: Family dinner invitations are usually used for family events, mostly reunions, although they can used for small family events as well.
- Wedding Dinner Invitation: The name says it all. It can only be used for a wedding dinner event (specifically a wedding reception held during dinner time).
- Bridal Shower Dinner Invitation: Bridal showers are often celebrated these days. Although most bridal showers lean toward partying and drinking, a simple dinner celebration is also a great alternative.
- Office Party Dinner Invitation: This dinner invitation is used mostly to celebrate office or company achievements such as a business target or goal being met, a promotion, or a retirement of a long-serving employee.
- Holiday Dinner Invitation: Everyone loves the holidays. This dinner invitation is best for holidays such as Christmas, New Year (Chinese New Year), Valentine’s, and Halloween, to name a few, if you want guests to come over to your place and enjoy good food as well as great company.
- Graduation Dinner Invitation: This dinner invitation is used when an individual graduates and a celebration is called upon. A graduation dinner invitation can also be combined with a family dinner invitation.
Dinner Invitation Sizes
- A1 invitation: The smallest invitation in this list. Use this if only minimal text is used. This size is also great for note cards and thank-you cards.
- A2 invitation: A slightly bigger version of the previous size which is also great for greeting cards and reply cards.
- A6 invitation: The perfect size for all types of invitations, dinner invitations included.
- A7 invitation: A slightly bigger version of the A6 size but also recommended for invitations.
Dinner Invitation FAQs
How do you make a dinner invitation?
Here are the steps in creating a detailed yet visually attractive dinner invitation: (1) create a concept, (2) gather guest information, (3) gather images, (4) look for the best font style, and (5) create the design in a graphic design software.
Why is a dinner invitation important?
A dinner invitation is important since it informs guests in a professional manner that they are invited for a special event. To be honest, no one wants to be invited a day before, or worse, hours before an event. It seems that they were not planned on being invited in the first place.
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