Dinner party invitations
Small guest lists, high expectations, and the one occasion where the design should almost disappear.
$65
Your details set by hand, usually back the same day. $145 to rebuild it in your own colours.
A dinner party invitation goes to eight people, not eighty, and that changes everything. When you are inviting a small group personally, an over-designed card feels strange, almost impersonal. The best of these are type-led, quiet, and read like a beautifully set note rather than a piece of party stationery.
What they do need to carry is precision. A start time that means the start time, whether it is seated, and any dietary question. Dinner parties are the occasion where being vague about arrival costs the host a ruined first course.
These are also almost always sent digitally, often in a single text thread to the whole group. That suits a clean, tall layout that reads well at thumbnail size without anyone needing to open it.
What changes for this one
Type-led, minimal decoration, generous margins. Arrival time gets precision rather than a casual window. A dietary line, if included, sits at the base and is worded so people actually answer it.
When to send
Two to three weeks. Any earlier feels formal for eight people; any later and everybody already has plans.
Colours that work
Almost monochrome. Bone and ink, with one small warm accent. Let the food be the colour.
Questions people ask about dinner party invitations
How do I ask about dietary requirements?
One direct line, near the RSVP: "Let me know if there is anything you do not eat." Open questions get better answers than a checklist, and people will tell you about an allergy far more readily than they will tick a box.
Should I say what time we are eating?
Yes, and it is the single most useful thing on the card. "Drinks at seven, dinner at eight" tells people exactly how to plan their arrival and saves the host from serving to an empty table.
Is a designed invitation excessive for eight people?
It is a $65 digital card that makes an ordinary Friday feel like an occasion, which is generally the whole point of throwing a dinner party. It is the cheapest thing on the table.
1,900
US searches a month for dinner party invitations, measured rather than guessed. Nearly every page here targets a term almost nobody is defending properly.
- brunch invitation — 1,000/mo
- tea party invitation — 480/mo
How to have this made
Digital and paperless invitations
Designed to be texted, emailed or posted. Not an Evite template.
From $225
Day-of event paper
Menus, place cards, table numbers, programs and signage.
From $95
Custom invitation design
Designed from nothing for one event. No template underneath.
From $285
Start with a First Look
$45 for one finished concept designed for your event, back in three days. It comes off whatever you book, and if you do not love it you keep the file and owe nothing.