15 Beautiful Envelope Liners to Pair With Any Wedding Invitation

Nod to Your Venue

To give your guests a sense of place, decorate the inside flap with a watercolor illustration of your venue, whether it’s a French chateau or your childhood home. This bride, Ying Huang, went the extra mile by hand-painting her wedding's locale, a villa in Lake Como, and collaborating with an invitation designer to work it into her liner. If you’re saying “I do” in a new place, you can also familiarize your guests with the region by including a map into your stationery suite.

Embrace Texture

Looking to make a statement without an overpowering design? Instead of bold colors or patterns, play up the texture with an etched envelope lining on a white background. A design that embraces depth and dimension is especially impactful if you’re hosting a minimalist wedding with a neutral color palette. To make the textured design stand out even more, seal with white invitations calligraphed in a muted hue.

Customize a Motif

If you want to set your stationery apart from the rest, personalize your lining. To introduce guests to their locale in Sun Valley, Idaho and to capture their personality, Maddie Hunt and Noah Archibald-Seiffer created a custom toile with repeating symbols. Once guests opened the invitations, they found mountain bluebirds to represent the state bird of Idaho, a stethoscope as a nod to the couple’s careers as doctors, Ernest Hemmingway’s face to signify his final years in Sun Valley, and a potato to reflect their venue’s location.

You can also conceptualize a design that symbolizes your hobbies, favorite sports team, or a frequented date night spot. If you’re thinking about going the custom route, incorporate the toile into the rest of your wedding design, from the welcome bags to the cocktail napkins. 

Highlight Your Monogram

More and more couples are looking for unique ways to express their identities on their special day, and designing a custom crest effectively accomplishes that task. Since highlighting your joint initials sets the precedent for a lifetime together, why not showcase your monogram right off the bat on the liner of your envelopes? The green typeface and vibrant floral border pictured above is perfect for warm-weather weddings or garden ceremonies. To make your monogram pop, choose a neutral base, particularly white.

Illustrate the Setting

Does the landscape play a major role in your vow exchange? Maybe you’re saying “I do” amid the mountains of Colorado, or your reception is set against a backdrop of the Mediterranean Sea. To establish your location in a stunning way, give a shout-out to your setting on the inside of your envelopes. Since Jessica Erickson and Adam Pauls were hosting their ceremony in Napa Valley, California, they painted a watercolor drawing of the vineyards on their lining. Consider placing a smaller iteration of that illustration at the top of your invitations in addition.

Add a Historical Reference

Calling all history buffs: If you’re throwing a vintage-inspired soirée, place an emblem from that time period on the inner fold. Are you channeling the Victorian era in your nuptials? Display the grandeur fashion from those years in a black-and-white sketch. Tying the knot in a Gatsby-esque escapade? Capture the 1920s with an art deco design. Doing so will hint at your aesthetic in a visually appealing way. 

Paint a Pattern

For couples who want something more design-focused, consider lining your envelopes with a pattern. A paisley print is a suitable option for bohemian weddings, but you can also choose plaid, argyle, or gingham in shades from your color palette. This is an especially effective element if you repeat the design throughout your celebration, such as on your welcome sign, ceremony programs, or tablecloth. As a bonus, include the decoration on the border of your invitations or save-the-dates as well.

Focus on Bright Colors

Want to make a splash with something bright and bold? Use color to your advantage. These teal envelopes bursting with a rainbow-shaped design on the interior is a statement-making look for colorful weddings with upbeat palettes. To drive the theme home, choose vibrant cardstock for the rest of your paper goods.

Recreate a Work of Art

If exploring art museums is your favorite date activity or putting paintbrush to paper is one of your most treasured pastimes, look to your favorite artist for envelope lining ideas. Annie Wallace and Spencer Tinsman's entire wedding concept drew inspiration from Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry Night” painting. They incorporated the famous work of art into the inner surface of their envelopes, and they complemented the piece with star-dotted vellum. The duo even displayed the masterpiece on their escort card wall and infused the dark hues and intriguing textures from the painting into their tablescapes and cake design. 

Feature Foliage

Flowers are an integral part of any wedding. But, if you’re getting married in the spring or summer, or if you’re envisioning an enchanting garden vow exchange, they’re the focal point. Give a nod to nature by transforming your envelopes with a floral lining. For a sense of cohesion, use the same buds as those in your bouquet and centerpieces. You can also dress up your wax seal and invitations with a hint of foliage.

Include Citrus

Citrus-inspired décor is taking over the wedding world by storm. For those who are getting married in Italy or Greece, make an ode to your location by lining your envelopes with a lemon motif. A citrus-infused lining is also an apt choice if you’re incorporating limes or oranges into your table runners or if you want something fresh to bring your tropical wedding to life. Pepper your RSVP cards and itinerary with the fruity accent for a finishing touch.

Make It Modern

Modern weddings are known for their stark designs, clean lines, and neutral hues. To accomplish this look and set the expectation for your upcoming event, cover the inside of your invitation packaging with geometric shapes in black and white. For contrast, juxtapose white invitations with black envelopes.

Incorporate Tropical Touches

Whether you’re reciting vows on a Hawaiian island or a Florida beach, a tropical lining is a likely choice that will get guests excited about the destination. Coordinate with the natural habitat by recreating your ceremony site on the interior of your envelopes. Consider emblems, such as palm trees, seashells, sailboats, monstera leaves, or waves, for your envelope design or for additional paper elements, such as the postage stamps. 

Play With Monochromatic Hues

While a technicolor lining definitely evokes a playful vibe, using a single shade will draw all attention to your design. When Kendra Ellis and Diallobe Johnson got married in the desert of California, they leaned into the rust hues of their setting and sketched the surrounding foliage. To bring an element of continuity to your stationery suite, choose a font in the same shade.

Keep It Simple

Maybe you want your invitations to be the star of the show, while your envelope liner plays the supporting character. If that’s the case, consider simple stripes in subdued hues. A subtle pattern will add more pizazz than a blank envelope, but it won’t distract your guests from the primary element. With a simple lining, you’ll have more freedom to explore fun invitation designs, such as this nature-inspired one.