**UPDATE** Find our roundup of 20 Adorable Love Story Wedding Invitations from Etsy here

Here’s a little trend I am weak at the knees for. Maybe it’s because I’m a sucker for romance, and maybe it’s just because I like to have something to read on my fridge, but I love the idea of sharing your love story with your guests as part of your invitation. It’s a great reminder of how it all began and what you’re getting together to celebrate, but more than that, from a design perspective, it’s the perfect marriage between sentiment and beautiful typography. Form and function. Goosebumps. As far as I know, it all started with this one – a totally original invitation dreamed up by New York designer Matt Dorfman for his own wedding.

Source: Matt Dorfman

Adorable, non? As I mentioned, I love the interplay between the vintage typography and the story itself, and I LOVE the way it leads up to “when you know, you just know” and the final “dinner and dancing and eternity to follow”. Swoon. It’s old school romance, and it works.

So Matt Dorfman started it, and now it’s a mini phenomenon. And the great thing is, each invitation is so personal because each couple has a story, and that story is unique. It works particularly well for a couple who have been together for some time before they get married, like our own Cape Town photographer Christine Meintjes, who met her husband Iaan when they were still at school. I loved their take on this invitation style:

Here’s the full text:

Source: Christine Meintjes via The Pretty Blog

So sweet and so playful, and I love how Christine and Iaan made this concept their own. Other couples have done the same:

Source: Two Paperdolls via FPO

Source: Zamira Drew via Rock My Wedding

Source: RSVP Candy

Source: Seven Swans

Others have added a new twist. You could use a timeline:

Source: A Day in May Design via Chasing Dreams

Or pictures:

Source: Seven Swans

This couple had their story literally unfold from when guests first opened the envelope…

… bit by bit, fold by fold…

… to eventually reveal a map of their destination. Isn’t it brilliant?

Source: Lovely and Gracious Design Studio

So, how do you go about getting one of these beauties for yourself? I’d recommend a professional designer (love the ones above by Cape Town’s own Seven Swans, and I know of at least one other design firm that actually specialises in these). But how do you go about writing your story? I’ve helped a friend to create something similar before, so here are my top tips:

• Start with the classic: how you met. Did one of you say something cute or silly that kicked things off? Include that. Even if it’s a long story, try to sum it up as much as possible. And if you think your first meeting wasn’t especially unusual, you can still turn it into something sweet – see how Christine and Iaan brought in the high school sweethearts reference, or how Hilary and Ryan make a crack with “they met in a bar (very fitting)”.
• Move through the story chronologically, mentioning the highlights. What experiences have you shared? What have you taught one another?
• Include references to how you felt or feel about one another, or what you thought of each other. A he said/she said approach can work really well.
• As a general rule, use short sentences and write in the third person, as if the story is being written by someone else.
• Keep it sweet and positive. Every relationship has its ups and downs, but this isn’t the time and place for them. I like the way Kelly and Clayton dealt with a period where they broke up with “they dated for a few years… then they didn’t date for a few years” (and used the opportunity to mention how they fell in love, again).
• Finish with the proposal, and then let it lead into a traditional invitation. The contrast between the first and second part of the invite is one of the features that really makes it work, and makes it clear that the wedding is the happy ending everyone looks for at the end of a romance. And they lived happily ever after! :)
• Finally, have fun with it! It’s a great thing for you and your fiance to work on together, reminiscing about the things that brought you together and the love story that is uniquely yours.