Vintage wedding styles have that beautiful, timeless elegance that can’t be equalled, and it all starts with the perfect vintage inspired wedding invitations. If you are looking for vintage wedding invitation ideas, you’ve come to the right place. Paperlust has a premium selection of vintage invitations created by the best designers across Australia, ranging from black and white with clean lines and striking gold foil right through to soft flworals and watercolour motifs. Browse our stunning collection to find your perfect match.

Vintage invitations by era

While you don’t spot too many Elizabethan themed weddings in bridal magazines these days, the vintage wedding theme is still alive and well. Beginning at the start of the 19th century, here are some movie and era based themes that people still love to incorporate into their weddings today:

• Turn of the Century wedding - buttoned boots, boat neck dresses and penny farthings.
• Anne of Green Gables wedding (Edwardian theme) - high necklines, sweeping updos with flowers, and vests with a newsboy cap.
• Gone With the Wind wedding - huge dresses, umbrellas, set on a plantation style property.
• Breakfast at Tiffany’s wedding - pearls, long gloves and Tiffany blue bridesmaid dresses.

The Roaring Twenties: prohibition, flapper skirts and Gatsby

Paperlust has the perfect Great Gatsby themed invitations to kickstart your 1920s style wedding. Consider a beaded headpiece and drop waist gown for your bridal look, then complete the theme by arriving to your ceremony in a 1924 Chrysler and hiring a swing or jazz band for your reception dance.

Old Hollywood Glamour

A vintage glamour wedding conjures up breathtaking mental images of a chic, stylish bride walking down the aisle to a classic tune and later driving off into the sunset with her man in a suped up old Cadillac. Bliss. Your first step towards that sunset is vintage glam wedding invitations. Nothing makes us think of vintage glamour as much as the golden age of Hollywood. Old Hollywood wedding invitations could be simple black and white or dramatic red with real gold foil accents - the main thing is that they exude elegance.

War-time 30s and 40s

If you are looking for vintage wedding theme ideas in a 1940s style, picture victory rolls, fascinators and light toned pinstripe suits. For 1940s wedding invitations look for calligraphy and rustic florals, as well as geometric patterns and real gold foil. A 1940 wedding theme is perfect for history buffs or a couple who just love the fashion and music of the era.

50s retro - post war freedom and social change

By the 1950s, a social revolution was already in full swing, brought to completion by the radical and carefree 60s and 70s. The world looked completely different in just one century and 50s wedding ideas should be a combination of old world nostalgia and a modern new world. 1950s invitations or retro invitations can be found on Paperlust in the form of bright coloured stripes and polka dots combined with delicate flourishes. The perfect retro wedding invitations or 50’s themed invitations for you are ones that match the colours and tone of your event. Keep it simple if you prefer, or lash out with your 50s themed invitations - just make sure the day is balanced and cohesive in terms of style.

Very vintage: a Victorian themed wedding

Of all the queens of England, Queen Victoria’s style has to be one of the most celebrated and emulated across the western world. If you want to take your vintage wedding theme to the next level, consider an antique wedding theme with Victorian wedding invitations. The Victorian age combined both intricate detail and restraint, so Victorian invitations and weddings should do the same. Focus on fine details, but don’t let your styling or decorations be over the top. Antique stationery will never go out of style - it always looks stunning. Old fashioned wedding invitations don’t mean that your whole wedding has to look old fashioned or outdated. Many people choose to go extra traditional with stationery at a formal wedding (it’s the one time you can, these days!) and still have a modern ceremony.

Vintage wedding invitations by style or location

The postcard style

In the early 1930s, postcards were produced more affordably and therefore exploded in popularity. What better way to announce your wedding or engagement than with vintage floral postcards? You can even get vintage stamps for wedding invitations on postcards to complete the look. At Paperlust our photocards are ideal as old fashioned postcards for your wedding, especially if the photo is black and white or sepia toned. If you want to get really creative, you could even dress up in period costumes. Vintage postcard wedding invitations are a great way to give your guests a heads up if you have a old school vibe happening for your wedding. A note on your vintage postcard wedding invite like ‘bow ties and hats welcome’ is a great way to invite your family and friends to join in on your theme, making it all the more vibrant.

Classic vibes

A vintage romance wedding theme can mean many things. From Mr Darcy inspired details to place cards using an antique letterpress technique, vintage romantic weddings are about shout outs to history and culture that suit your personality and wedding style. Print on wood, calligraphy or vintage lace wedding invitations are perfect for classic vintage weddings and your theme can be carried throughout the rest of the day by your transportation, photography style, wedding dress and decorations.

Location

The location of your wedding can determine the theme or style you go with. Whether vintage beach wedding or country vintage wedding, your invites should be appropriate to what you’ve chosen. A vintage country wedding is the perfect chance to break out rustic vintage wedding invitations, so pick a design you like and start personalising.

Cheap vintage wedding invitations

Want to do your vintage wedding invitations cheap? Elegant and affordable vintage invites are definitely possible. By choosing a simple design or selecting digital printing, you can find a cheap vintage invitation template to customise and make your own. We print your wedding invitations vintage style on luxury paper - without the luxury prices. Voila! Cheap vintage accomplished.

Vintage with a modern twist

A vintage invitation doesn’t mean that you have to go old school for your whole wedding. Vintage modern weddings are a fantastic hybrid that combine classic elegance with modern chic. If you want modern vintage wedding invitations, look for simple designs and sleek gold or silver foiling. 

Other ways to give your wedding vintage theme some modern flair is some of the following combinations:

• Old Hollywood crimped hairstyle with a simple modern dress
• Arrive to the ceremony in a vintage car but have your bridesmaids wear short dresses
• Use a polaroid camera for your guest book and serve a sleek modern cake

Beyond invitations

There is more to a retro wedding than just vintage style wedding invitations. You could also consider:

• A styled vintage wedding photo
• Antique table settings
• Wedding vintage photo booth
• Vintage wedding save the date
• Vintage bridal party cars
• Vintage wedding set (just make sure you love the rings enough to wear forever)

When planning your ultimate elegant vintage wedding, start with your retro invite and create your dream day from there. Remember stay true to the heart of your vision while not stressing the small details. The day is there for you and your partner to enjoy!

The difference between a vintage invitation that feels authentic and one that feels like a costume is almost always in the details.

Good vintage stationery doesn't just borrow surface motifs - a cameo here, some scrollwork there - and call it done. It understands what made printing beautiful in a given era and translates that quality into contemporary production. The result is an invitation that feels genuinely timeworn, not fancy dress.

What makes a vintage invitation feel authentic

Authentic vintage design is about typographic language as much as visual motifs. Victorian and Edwardian invitations used tight, formal lettering with ornate serifs and engraved detail. Art Deco invitations used geometric letterforms, bold contrast, and architectural structure. Mid-century designs embraced illustration and a slightly editorial looseness. Each era has its own visual grammar.

The invitations that feel authentic are the ones that commit to that grammar rather than mixing elements from multiple eras without logic. If you're drawn to a particular vintage reference - Art Deco, Edwardian botanical, Victorian engraving - follow it consistently through typography, color, and paper stock.

Print methods that suit vintage

Letterpress is the most historically faithful print method for vintage invitations. Before digital printing existed, letterpress was how all formal invitations were made. Using it now creates a genuine connection to that tradition - not as pastiche, but as craft. Letterpress on thick cotton or uncoated card, with a single ink color, produces an invitation that has genuinely old-world character.

Foil stamping on vintage designs works well when the era you're referencing was itself extravagant. Gold foil on an Art Deco invitation is appropriate to the period. Rose gold foil on a Victorian botanical design adds a contemporary twist while keeping the richness. Foil on Edwardian script invitations can read as heavy - test it with a sample first.

Digital print allows for the reproduction of detailed illustration and watercolor wash that letterpress can't achieve. For vintage designs that feature florals design, complex engraving-style illustration, or aged paper textures, digital print is the right method.

Paper stocks for vintage invitations

Uncoated, slightly warm-toned paper stocks feel the most period-appropriate. Cotton paper has a texture that reads as genuinely aged; thick uncoated card (400gsm plus) has the weight of formal stationery. Avoid glossy or heavily coated stocks - they immediately read as contemporary and undercut the vintage aesthetic.

Aged or warm-cream stocks - slightly off-white, with a warm undertone - are more authentic than pure white. Natural paper has that slightly imperfect warmth that pure white doesn't.

Color palettes for vintage invitations

Victorian: deep jewel tones (burgundy, forest green, navy), aged gold, ivory. Cameo and blush for softer Victorian designs.

Edwardian: softer and more feminine - rose, sage, lavender, pale gold. More botanical, less architectural than Victorian.

Art Deco: high contrast. Black and gold. White and gold. Deep teal and rose gold. Geometric and bold, black and white

Mid-century: muted, slightly desaturated - dusty rose, sage, terracotta, burnt sienna. Earthy without being rustic.

Wording for vintage invitations: how formal to go

Vintage invitations call for more formal wording than contemporary designs, but not necessarily the most formal register possible. A genuinely traditional wording style - third person, full names, hosting parents listed - suits Victorian and Edwardian designs. Art Deco invitations can carry a slightly sharper, more direct tone that reflects the period's modernism. Mid-century designs work with wording that's warm and celebratory without being overly formal.

The rule: match the formality of the wording to the era of the design. A highly ornate Victorian invitation with casual wording creates an odd disconnect; a clean Art Deco invitation with fussy Victorian-style wording does the same in the other direction.

Modernizing vintage without losing the character

Contemporary couples often want vintage aesthetics with modern sensibility - the character of the past without the stuffiness. This works well when you pick one or two period elements (a typeface, a motif, a color palette) and allow the rest of the design to breathe in a contemporary layout. An Edwardian botanical border around a clean, modern sans-serif invitation is more wearable than an invitation that fully commits to the most ornate Victorian excess.

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