It can be difficult to narrow down red wedding invitation, and especially red wedding cake, styles. There are just so many different styles, shades,folds, embellishments, fonts, paper for invitations. Then, for the cakes, there are hundreds of different flavors, frosting and sizes. It's a bit overwhelming, especially with all of the terminology.

Choosing the best color combinations is really important in order to present the right vibe. Certain colors have different meanings, give a different feel or present a certain idea. Even if you're having a red wedding theme, you'll want to have certain themes or color schemes in mind. And specific color schemes can relay, subconsciously, a theme. Knowing which colors work with which themes may help making the decisions for the paper styles or the frosting styles. Some colors, when mixed with red, can look modern, others look contemporary, rustic or vintage. Certain styles can be formal or casual, depending on the pairing of colors, the wording used or the design embellishments on the cake.

When picking out formal or elegant styles of invitations, there are a number of ways to go. Clean, simple designs with delicate, single and contrasting colors, are the way to go when crafting or choosing formal invitations, cakes and decorations.

Modern wedding invitation colors use red, black, gray and white in stark contrast with sleek lines. They have little to now embellishments or, if they have them, they're a more modern style. Chinese writing is often a great modern style to use with black and red invitations. Patterns can often be used in a modern invitation, and I've seen some lovely variations of plaid using blacks and reds. The great thing about modern invitations is they don't have to adhere to strict etiquette, but for formal weddings they have to come close. They can be fun and different. What sets them apart is their streamlined looks and sometimes they're architecturally based in design.

Modern wedding cakes are generally square and usually have a shiny fondant frosting. The styles vary from wedding to wedding, but to be modern chic, a slicker look should be incorporated. While it's not unheard of to use black on wedding cakes, in fact it can look really amazing, it may not look appetizing. If done wrong, it can be disastrous. Be sure to check the cake designer's portfolio for their work with blacks and remember that just because it's a beautiful cake, doesn't mean people will find it good enough to eat! Stick with tiered cakes in square and rectangles with strong and bold lines of frosting.

Contemporary red wedding invitations are usually bright and bold colors. Cerise with fuchsia, or purple, are good examples. Don't be afraid of using bold colors, it may seem a little too wild, however, it really looks fabulous. Some other colors that can be used for contemporary styles are teal and cobalt. Using contemporary styles of invitation design, is only a matter of the folds, adding pockets or changing the coloring of the letters. A simple teal ribbon on a red invitation can be really beautiful.

Contemporary cakes probably won't look great with teal and red frosting, but check with the cake decorators. A good decorator has different styles and designs from practice, actual weddings and other occasions, in their portfolio. If the specific design you would like is not there, ask to see a detailed sketch so you can get a good idea of what the cake will look like. It's really important, when looking for a contemporary cake, that the cake looks appetizing. It can be an issue when cakes get into colors that foods don't generally come in.

Vintage red wedding invitations can have so many variables that they're actually a lot of fun to design. Embellishments can be buttons, lace, ribbon and other antique styles. Gold is a really great color to use, as is silver. Off whites and dark reds as well as pinks, are really amazing colors. Other great colors to use with the darker reds are pastel yellow, tans and brown.

The lovely part about vintage red wedding cakes is that the reds can be mixed with cream colored frosting, and my favorite kind of frosting; butter cream. Little florets and candy hearts can be terrific. Use romantic flowers like rosettes and laced design on the cakes. I have yet to meet a wedding cake designer that cannot make a terrific design for vintage cakes. The great thing about vintage cakes is brown is perfect, meaning chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. Yummy!

Rustic means country and that means lovely pinks, pastels and creams. I generally save the best for last, and I suppose it's a matter of taste, but I love the idea of rustic weddings. Marriages in the country are really gorgeous. Using a lighter puce and white can look very rustic. This is another theme that latticework can look fantastic. Pastel blues mixed with reds and even whites and blues, for a patriotic theme, are awesome. Season 5 of Project Runway did an Olympic challenge and one designer did this plaid red white and blue outfit which I thought would be terrific mix and match of colors for a rustic, country wedding. That's probably just personal opinion speaking again, but am I the only one? =)

Plain white cakes with little red rosettes are what's in order for red wedding themes with a rustic feel. I always loved the idea of using real flowers on cakes and I think wildflowers are going to be a really great addition to your rustic red cake.

The only difference between casual and formal invitations is casual gives you a lot of leeway in the design and etiquette, unlike formal invitations. Formal invitations should be worded and put together a certain way. You can find out more about those online at various websites. Just remember that your invitations can use red, and all of its compliments, whether they're formal or casual.