Choosing a wedding invitation can be both a delightful and a difficult task. Whether you’re hosting a casual backyard wedding, a sophisticated black tie affair, or something in between, your wedding invitations set the tone for your big day.

While traditional options are still popular, stationery trends often echo the haute couture fashion of the world’s leading designers and you’ll find your stationer stocks colors and designs fresh from the catwalks. So, what are the latest wedding stationery trends?

* Be bold. While invitations are still available in traditional colors – white, ivory and ecru – many brides are opting for bright and bold colors instead. Think tropical pinks and citrus yellows, alongside deep blood reds and sophisticated black and white motifs.

* Think theme. Invitations that match the color scheme of the wedding are extremely popular. Other themes include the wedding’s location or the season of the year.

* Black and white is back. Black and white is the ultimate wedding theme trend right now, with the juxtaposition of light and dark, old world charm and contemporary chic offering endless sophisticated styles. Black and white can be used in so many different ways – formal white with just a splash of black satin, black flocking, jaunty pin stripes, pretty polka dots or old-style Hollywood glamor.

* Personalize it! High quality photographs and personalized designs are increasingly popular.

* Be inventive. Card-style invitations, tri-folds and specialized presentations (rather than single panel invitations) are increasingly popular. Many include photographs, embellishments like ribbons and bows, scroll invitations and all-in-one pocket-fold cards.

* Stand out from the crowd! Consider non-traditional fonts that make an invitation stand out. Brides are opting for printed calligraphy, artistic fonts and even custom fonts.

* Go eco-chic. Many couples are choosing unique, natural and recycled paper stocks to create a special texture and feel, while preserving the environment at the same time.