A Guide to Paper Sizes for Wedding Stationery

A plain-English guide to paper sizes, weights, finishes, and special techniques for wedding stationery - from A6 invitations to seed paper programmes - by London-based designer Bruna Andrade.

If the stationery dictionary told you what to order, this guide tells you what to print it on. Paper is not a detail. It's the first thing your guests feel — before they read a word, before they see the illustration, before they understand what you're inviting them to. The weight of a card in someone's hand communicates something instantly. This guide is here to make that decision easier.

A note before we begin: European paper sizing (the ISO A-series) is different from American sizing. If you're planning a wedding in the UK, Europe, or Brazil — or working with a UK-based designer — all the sizes in this guide use the European standard. If you're ordering from a US-based printer, the sizes won't match directly. Always check which system your printer uses before placing an order.

The Paper Formats Most Commonly Used in Wedding Stationery

A6 — 105 × 148mm

What it is: Half an A5 sheet. A comfortable card size, slightly larger than a postcard.

What to use it for: This is the workhorse of wedding stationery. Save the dates, invitations (for simpler or more intimate suites), details cards, RSVP cards, and thank you cards all work beautifully at A6. It fits neatly into a C6 envelope - the most widely available envelope size in the UK - which makes it practical as well as elegant. It also works for place cards folded in half, creating a 74 × 105mm tent card.

Weight recommendation: 300–350gsm for standalone cards. 250–300gsm if it's accompanying a heavier invitation.

A5 — 148 × 210mm

What it is: Half an A4 sheet. A generous, versatile size - larger than a standard card but not oversized.

What to use it for: A5 is ideal for invitations where you want more space - room for an illustration, a longer text, or a more elaborate layout. It also works for ceremony programmes as a single folded sheet (which, when folded, becomes an A6 booklet), and for menus where you want a full portrait card on the table.

A5 feels substantial and considered without being unwieldy. For many couples, it strikes the right balance between presence and practicality.

Weight recommendation: 300–350gsm for flat cards. For folded programmes, 250–300gsm folds more cleanly.

A4 — 210 × 297mm

What it is: The standard office paper size - but in wedding stationery, it becomes something else entirely.

What to use it for: Larger menus, ceremony programmes as full-size booklets, illustrated map inserts for destination weddings, and large-format place name cards for table displays. A4 is also the format used for most printable PDF templates - when clients download their Canva files, they're typically working in A4 or A5.

At 300–350gsm, an A4 card feels like a piece of art. At 170–200gsm, it's more of a printed document. The weight choice matters enormously at this size.

Weight recommendation: 300gsm+ for standalone cards or statement pieces. 150–170gsm for inner booklet pages.

DL — 99 × 210mm

What it is: One third of an A4 sheet in portrait orientation - a long, narrow format that fits in a standard DL envelope.

What to use it for: DL is one of the most elegant formats in wedding stationery, and one of the most underused. It works beautifully for invitations that want to feel different - the narrow format forces a considered layout and creates real visual impact when it arrives in the post. It's also ideal for details cards, RSVP slips, and day-of menus where you want a slim card rather than a full portrait piece.

DL cards fit DL envelopes (110 × 220mm), which are widely available and often more affordable than C6 options.

Weight recommendation: 300–350gsm for invitations and standalone pieces. 250gsm for inserts.

A5 Folded (creating A6 when closed)

What it is: An A5 sheet folded in half along its longest edge, producing a folded card with four printable panels.

What to use it for: Ceremony programmes, order of the day booklets, and folded invitations that have information on the inside as well as the front. The folded format gives more space for content without increasing the footprint - useful for ceremonies with many readings, songs, or named participants. It also works for folded menus laid flat on a table.

Weight recommendation: 250–300gsm. Too thick and it won't fold cleanly. 350gsm at A5 will crack along the fold unless scored first — always ask for scoring when ordering folded pieces.

Scoring note: Some printers offers scored folding as a finish option. Always request this for folded items - it creates a crisp, professional fold and prevents cracking on heavier stocks.

Square Formats — 130 × 130mm / 148 × 148mm / 90x 90mm/ 100x 80mm

What it is: Square cards, most commonly 13cm or 14.8cm (half A5) per side or 90x90mm and 100x80mm for tent-fold placecards.

What to use it for: Save the dates, invitations, and RSVP cards where you want something that feels different in the hand - unconventional, graphic, contemporary. Square formats work particularly well for bold, modern illustration styles. They don't fit standard envelopes without a bespoke option, so factor in the cost of square envelopes when budgeting. Often used for tent-fold placecards, printers usually refer to it by using the final folded size, 90x 90mm will be listed as 90x 45mm.

Weight recommendation: 300–350gsm.

Large Format — A3 (297 × 420mm) and A2 (420 × 594mm)

What it is: Poster-scale printing.

What to use it for: Welcome signs, seating charts, order of the day signage, bar menus, and any piece that lives at venue scale rather than hand scale. A2 is the most popular size for seating charts and welcome boards - large enough to read from several feet away, manageable enough to transport and display. A3 works for smaller welcome signs or table-based signage (for example drinks menu at a bar).

Large format pieces are typically printed on foam board, mounted on board, or simply on heavy card (350–400gsm) for framing or display. Discuss mounting and display options with your venue before ordering.

Weight recommendation: If printing flat on card: 350–400gsm. If printing on board-mounted material: weight becomes less relevant as the substrate provides the rigidity.

Shapes, Cuts, and Custom Formats

Examples of hand-painted custom-cut Menus and custom-sized creased invitation

Standard rectangular cards are not your only option. Two techniques open up a world of different possibilities.

Kiss Cut and Custom Die Cut

What it is: A die cut is where the entire card is cut to a custom shape - an arch, a circle, a leaf, a silhouette of your venue, a shape that echoes a motif in your illustration. A kiss cut is similar but refers specifically to stickers and layered materials where the cut goes through the top layer but not the backing - used for sticker sheets, layered envelope seals, and decorative elements applied to other pieces.

What to use it for: Die cutting is where your invitation can become truly sculptural. An arch-shaped invitation is one of the most popular contemporary formats. A circular save the date. A leaf-shaped place card. A venue-silhouette tag attached to a favour. The shape of the card becomes part of the design, not just its container.

Important things to know: Custom cuts require a custom die or a digital cutting setup, both of which add to the cost of printing. They also take more time.

Effect on design pricing: A custom cut shape can require additional file preparation - the cut line must be precisely constructed alongside the artwork. This adds time to the design process and is reflected in the quote. If you're interested in an unusual shape, raise it early - it affects how the layout is planned from the beginning, not something that can be added at the end.

Some printer providers already offer more popular custom-cut shapes as a ready-to-order option, without the need of additional file preparation. The shapes usually are: arch (top, bottom or double), pebble (an oval-ish organic shape), wavy (wavy border cut all around),

A Quick-Reference Table

Format	Dimensions	Best for	Typical weight
A6	105 × 148mm	Invitations, save the dates, details cards, thank you cards, place cards (folded)	300–350gsm
A5	148 × 210mm	Larger invitations, menus, flat programmes	300–350gsm
A5 Folded	Opens to 148 × 210mm	Ceremony programmes, folded menus	250–300gsm (scored)
A4	210 × 297mm	Large menus, booklet programmes, map inserts	300gsm (standalone) / 150gsm (booklet pages)
DL	99 × 210mm	Elegant invitations, details cards, slim menus	300–350gsm
Square 130mm	130 × 130mm	Contemporary save the dates, invitations	300–350gsm
Square 148mm	148 × 148mm	Contemporary invitations, menus	300–350gsm
A3	297 × 420mm	Smaller welcome signs, table signage	350–400gsm
A2	420 × 594mm	Seating charts, welcome boards	350–400gsm (or board-mounted)
Seed paper	Various	Ceremony programmes, place cards, favour tags	Varies by supplier

One Final Note: Always Order Samples

Whatever size, weight, and finish you choose - order a sample pack before committing to a full print run. Most printers offer sample packs, and they are genuinely worth ordering. Paper looks different on screen than in your hand. The weight you think you want may feel different from the weight you actually want.

A sample pack costs a few pounds and takes a few days. It can save you from receiving 150 invitations on a stock that doesn't feel right.

We always recommend clients order samples before approving any print-ready file for production.