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Updated Oct 14, 2024Illustrations, Doodles & Scribbles Are All Over the Coolest Couples' Wedding Invites
Lovey-dovey doodles and handwritten details make each bid feel like a love letter.
If your Pinterest search history includes one or more of the following terms: heart-shaped wedding cakes, anti-bride wedding, dinner party wedding, cool girl wedding, flash wedding photography or vibey wedding—you've definitely seen invitations adorned with a wedding illustration, doodle or scribble pop up on your feed. You know the ones—with text that looks like your handwriting, but better and laissez-faire line drawings that read as chic iterations of notebook marginalia. The relaxed vibe is a definite departure from the traditional buttoned-up script and sleek typefaces, but scribble wedding stationery still feels timeless, with a thoughtful, romantic and personalized flair. To understand its rise in popularity and get to the root of how you can incorporate this doodle art style into your celebration, I chatted with our two in-house design and illustration pros to get some expert intel. Plus, find some inspo plucked straight from my wedding-editor Pinterest board to show your favorite stationery designer when it's time to design your own bids.
In this article:
- What is the Wedding Doodle Trend?
- How to Find a Wedding Invitation Illustrator
- Where to Use Doodle Wedding Illustrations
- Line-Drawn Wedding Illustration, Doodle & Scribble Ideas
What is the Wedding Doodle Trend?
The trend of adding wedding doodles to your invitations and other paper pieces falls in line with the rise of all things "anti-bride" and causal-cool in the wedding space. It's defined by whimsical, loose and loopy line drawings often depicting wedding- and romance-related iconography, like wedding cakes, champagne bottles and lovebirds. "The traits that define this aesthetic are minimalist, dainty, somewhat Parisian, casual cool girl and fun," says Tiana Crispino, an illustrator and The Knot's Editorial Designer. "It feels personalized and also very chic—I especially love it when a simple black-line illustration in this style feels very classic and gives off a hand-drawn vibe."
Text design that embraces imperfection and feels less restrained than classic calligraphy is also a hallmark of the style, like if you got your friend with really nice penmanship to write each one with their favorite pen. The style of these illustrated wedding invitations also feels really joyful, with wiggled borders and not a straight line in sight, which reflects the relaxed, celebratory energy couples are leaning toward in their wedding vibe. "I feel like it's appealing because there's a growing interest amongst couples for less serious-and-traditional weddings," says Natalie Romine, The Knot's Assistant Digital Designer. "I've noticed the scribble, hand-drawn aesthetic gaining popularity amongst Gen Z in particular… Typically, you'd think of a doodle as something fun and silly, but designers are elevating this style to make it feel modern and romantic within the wedding industry."
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What I, as an editor, personally think sets this style of illustration apart from the watercolors and sketches that previously held the ranks of popular wedding invitation trends is the fact that this approach doesn't make your stationery feel like invitations and dinner menus at all—rather, each piece feels like a handwritten love note, decorated with doodles that reflect a romantic soul.
How to Find a Wedding Invitation Illustrator
If you have your heart set on illustrated wedding stationery, you'll first need to find a designer who offers illustration services to score those whimsical drawings. It's easy to find a ton of talented pros in The Knot Vendor Marketplace, many of which can capture this doodle-scribble look (one of my favorites is Brooklyn-based Lovers For Life). Stationery pros are like wizards, so if you bring them an inspiration photo of what you're looking for, they'll likely be able to capture it within their own signature style. Though, we've seen lots of designers lean into this aesthetic on their own, showcasing a robust portfolio of doodle wedding invitation examples or even offering semi-custom suites that hit the mark. Some even specialize in this look entirely—especially younger designers, according to Romine—you'll be able to tell which pros consider this style their main focus by scrolling through their Instagram.
Crispino also recommends shooting a message to an illustrator you admire and commissioning them to make a few custom wedding illustrations. These drawings can be given to your stationery designer and repurposed throughout your invites and day-of paper. "It's the opportunity to further customize your paperworks as well by working with an illustrator who is able to create these illustrations to depict important details from your relationship or a specific place to you," says Crispino.
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Where to Use Doodle Wedding Illustrations
Of course, we see lots of line-drawing wedding invitations, but this trend has permeated into all facets of stationery. Drawings of champagne coupes look adorable on bar signage, while loose illustrations of bread, cheese, oysters and other gastronomic goodies will add some whimsy to your dinner menus. This style can breathe new life into escort cards and, even if you can't fit a full doodle on each of them, the look will be cohesive if you use handwritten text and a squiggle border. Crispino says it best: "There's a lot of different ways this style of illustration can be used, whether it is in the wedding industry to adorn invitations or menus, it gives a sense of the couple and their style."
Line-Drawn Wedding Illustration, Doodle & Scribble Ideas
Let these romantic, whimsical pieces of stationery be your North Star when writing up your questions to ask your wedding stationery designer. Because cool couples like you deserve the line-drawing wedding paper of your (and the entire anti-bride wedding community's) dreams.
1. Dinner Table Wedding Illustration
Simple doodles of fruit, grapes, wine and cake set the scene for an intimate affair, while swirling text winks at the relaxed and celebratory energy of the special evening to come in this save-the-date.
2. Cherub Wedding Illustration
This baby-blue save-the-date looks heaven sent—and not just because of the sweet cherub doodles adorning opposing corners. The handwritten font paired with the delicate color palette is truly otherworldly.
3. Couple Wedding Illustration
How darling is this wedding meal menu adorned with a doodle of a couple lounging atop a glass of wine and a bowl of spaghetti? It definitely captures the feel of a laid-back Tuscan affair.
4. Lovebird Wedding Illustration
A line-drawn bird with fruit in its beak overlaps with the lighthearted script and scrawled lines of this gorgeous invite.
5. Venue-Inspired Wedding Illustration
Venue illustration wedding invitations have been en vogue for a while now, but we love how dainty and bespoke a doodle version of that style is. A little lighthouse is the perfect wedding venue line drawing for Hamptons nuptials.
6. Classical Motif Wedding Illustration
Beautiful wedding doodles abound in this wedding invitation suite. The romantic line drawings of Grecian columns, candelabras and grapes feel perfect for an affair at a vineyard or at an estate boasting Corinthian design elements.
7. Wedding Cake Wedding Illustration
This triple-tiered wedding cake line drawing feels classic, yet whimsical. And it only looks cuter when it's rendered alongside hearts and arrows.
8. Wiggle Border Wedding Illustration
A colorful, doodled border adds a bold dose of energy to this wedding-day menu, which plays into the shape by adding squiggled tails to the script.
9. Romantic Parisian Wedding Illustration
There's so much eye candy when it comes to this stunning wedding invitation suite. From the hearts, to the bows, to the Parisian café tables—they're all so romantic. Though, the pièce de résistance is surely the tiered wedding cake doodle.
10. Wildflower Wedding Illustration
Watercolor-like wildflowers on the main invite play up the soft lines squiggling around the details card for this disco garden party affair.
11. Banner Wedding Illustration
Given how the text is an artistic wedding doodle on its own, this wedding menu doesn't need much to make it sing. But the delicate banner across the bottom adds a special touch.
12. Swan Wedding Illustration
An ethereal swan rendered in feathery strokes spans the top of this wedding-day menu, made only more captivating by the addition of scattered pearls across its surface.
13. Hummingbird Wedding Illustration
The wiggled border and pair of hummingbirds propping up the word "drinks" on this wedding bar sign is only made more whimsical with the perfectly imperfect handwritten text.
14. Flowers and Vine Wedding Illustration
Spindly handwritten text perfectly complements the line drawings of blue-flowering vines that climb up the sides of this wedding menu.
15. Wedding Bells Wedding Illustration
The spindly ink drawings decorating this invitation suite are so effortlessly elegant. A wedding bells doodle surrounded by flying doves is the focal point of the main invitation, while other stationery pieces feature equally romantic motifs—one even showcases a custom line drawing of the wedding couple.
16. Wedding Dress Wedding Illustration
A simple suit and wedding dress doodle crowns the top of this invitation scrawled in slanted script.
17. Wedding Rings Wedding Illustration
Chunky cursive plays perfectly with the thick-lined drawings in this invitation. The champagne tower doodle and wedding ring doodle are both simple, but get the celebratory mood across.
