The Folding of Wedding Invitations

When shopping for your wedding invitations, thinking about whether they will fold is typically not an immediate thought.  Because there are several types of folds involved in different styles, it is a good idea to be familiar with them to know how they affect the look of an invitation.

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. A unique design or your printed first names will appear on the bottom of the back panel that is visible.
• Tri-fold divides an invitation into three panels by folding the paper twice either horizontally or vertically.  To cover the middle panel, both outer panels are folded together so they overlap, one on top of the other.
• 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.