Wedding Invitations – Will You Be Folding Them?

When shopping for your wedding invitations, thinking about whether they will fold is typically not an immediate thought.  On the other hand since many styles do involve some type of fold, you really should be familiar with all the different folds so you know exactly how they affect the look of the invitation style.

Some of the more common folds include:

• Invitation Folder which has a single fold dividing the paper into equal halves.  The fold can appear either at the top or on the side of the invitation with your wording appearing on the front of the folder or on the inside once it’s opened.
• French-fold means the paper is folded twice creating an invitation with four equal sections or panels.  Invitations created out of parchment paper are most commonly seen with this fold.
• Short-fold is created with one fold that is off-centered from the middle of the paper so the front panel of the invitation is shorter than the longer back panel. The bottom of the back panel that is visible may show a special design or be printed with your first names.
• Tri-fold divides an invitation into three panels by folding the paper twice either horizontally or vertically.  Both outside panels are folded inward so they overlap, one on top of the other, covering the middle panel.
• Z-fold is formed in accordion fashion meaning the paper is folded twice in opposite directions creating a three-paneled invitation.
• Gate-folds can be fashioned with either three or four panels where the two outside panels fold inward to meet in the center.  There are three panels in an open gate-fold with the bottom panel being twice the size of each folded panel.  Four panels, usually of similar size, make up a closed gate-fold with the outer panels being folded together to meet.  In some cases, the folded panels are uniquely designed to interlock together.  

Of course not all invitations are designed with folds.  Many styles are simply one-panel wedding invitation cards.