How to Make a Wedding Invitation in Canva: Steps, Sizes, RSVP

Canva is a good place to design a wedding invitation. The choices around the design are what trip people up: which size to start from, where a 40-name entourage goes, which file to send, and how guests reply. This guide covers the sizes, ten build steps, the entourage page, export formats, RSVP options, and when a hosted invitation page is the better fit. Canva facts were checked against Canva's own pages on 30 September 2026; plans and menus change, so confirm in your account.

Pick the page size first

Canva's wedding invitation size guide lists four inch sizes. Choose before you place any text: Canva's help lists Magic Resize under paid and institutional plans (Pro, Teams, Education and others), so a free account should not count on resizing later.

Size	Canva's note	Use it for
5 x 7 in	"This is the most common invitation size."	Default choice
5 ¼ x 5 ¼ in	"well-suited to more modern designs"	Square crop that reads well as a chat thumbnail
6 ½ x 8 ¾ in	"a slightly larger rectangle invitation"	Print, or a card with a lot of text
4 x 9 ¼ in	"can be oriented to print vertically or horizontally"	Slim card with few elements

Canva's design walkthrough describes 4.5 x 6.25 in as the traditional size instead, so treat these as starting points. For a card that will only be viewed on a phone, use a portrait shape so it fills the screen without pinch-zooming. To use a size that is not in the list, Canva's help says to click Custom size on the homepage banner and enter the width and height.

Build it in 10 steps

1. Set the size. Pick 5 x 7 in, or enter a custom size.
2. Search "wedding invitation" and choose a template with room for the text you actually have. A layout built for two short lines will not survive a long venue name.
3. Type the names and date first. Everything else is sized around them.
4. Add the ceremony and reception lines, each with a time, venue name and city. Fill-in block:

Saturday, [date]
Ceremony · [time] · [church name, city]
Reception · [time] · [venue name, city]
Dress code: [semi-formal · motif colors]
Please reply by [date] to [name] · [mobile number]

5. Add one photo, cropped to the template's frame instead of stretching the frame.
6. Put the entourage on its own page (next section).
7. Add the reply method: a phone number, a QR code, or both (see the RSVP section).
8. Check it at phone size. Zoom the editor out until the card is about the size of your phone screen and read the smallest line.
9. Download the right file for where it is going (export section).
10. Proofread with a second person, using our invitation proofreading checklist, then send a test to your own phone.

Fit a long entourage list

A Catholic entourage can run long once you count parents, sponsors, the wedding party and bearers. Two Filipino wedding invitation guides, one from a Philippines-based blog (The Budgetarian Bride) and one from a Canadian stationery shop, put it on its own card or page, and our entourage layout samples cite both and show seven layouts.

• Give it its own page. Canva designs can have several pages, so the main card's type does not have to shrink.
• Group by role. The order Imbitasyon Ko prints is parents, principal sponsors, best man and maid of honor, secondary sponsors, groomsmen and bridesmaids, bearers, flower girls. It is not the only order in use; pick one and keep it.
• Use two columns for a long wedding-party group so lines stay short.
• Our advice: set every size in the block one step smaller together, rather than shrinking only the names.

If you would rather not group names by hand, our entourage list tool arranges the roles for you. Paste the result into Canva.

Which file to download

Canva's file type guide describes each format. The right column is our advice.

Format	What Canva says	Use it for
JPG	"Provides a small file size, best for photographs."	Messenger, Viber, SMS on mobile data
PNG	"Supports transparency, best for graphics."	Graphics with a transparent background
PDF Standard	For illustrations and graphics at 96 dpi	Email, or sending as a file so text stays sharp
PDF Print	300 dpi "with bleed, crop marks, and color profile (RGB or CMYK) selection option"	A print shop

The same page says "CMYK color profile options, and transparent PNGs and SVGs are available to accounts with the Canva Pro, Canva for Teams, Canva Education, and Canva for Nonprofits plans." Canva's pricing page lists "Export designs as PDF, JPG, PNG" as included on Free and "Export print-ready designs / as CMYK" as Pro only. Open the Download menu in your own account before you plan a print run, and ask your printer what file and bleed they need.

For print, Canva's help on margins and bleed says bleed "ensures that there are no unwanted white borders when the design is trimmed after printing." Turn it on under File > Settings > Show print bleed; Canva applies 0.125 inches (3.175 mm) on all sides for products that trim. Keep names and dates inside the margins.

In Messenger, Meta says: "To send an HD photo, select an image from your chat composer, then turn the HD toggle on and tap Send" (Meta). If small text still blurs, send the PDF as a file; Meta's post says file sharing allows files "up to 100MB".

Collect replies from a Canva invitation

Canva has several pieces for collecting replies. Each has a gap.

Piece	What Canva says	Not described on Canva's page
QR code	Static codes have "a fixed link that can't be changed after creation"; dynamic codes let you "update the destination anytime"	Which guest scanned it
Canva Forms	"create digital RSVP forms to tally your guests with ease" with responses in a table	A personal link per guest
Wedding website	"manage RSVPs and guest lists", RSVP forms can "accept only one entry per user", which Canva frames as a plus-one control	A seat limit that differs by guest
Public view link	Share, then Public view link	Replies; it shows the design

Canva's digital invitation guide says guests "may have the option to RSVP for your wedding by scanning the QR code, or hitting the button to respond via email." Canva's pages do not describe a link that carries one guest's name, which is why you match replies by hand. For QR sizing and testing, Canva recommends codes no smaller than 2 x 2 cm and shorter links; our QR code guide has the rest.

Canva or a hosted invitation page?

Both are reasonable. They do different jobs.

You need	Canva design	Hosted page such as Imbitasyon Ko
Full control of layout, plus print files and matching stationery	Yes, this is Canva's strength	Fixed themes you customize
A card for a print shop	Yes	No
Replies tied to each guest	Forms or a website, matched by hand	Each guest gets a personal link that carries their name and an allowed headcount
Running total of replies	Forms show responses in a table	The Replies tab totals answers
Correcting a wrong time after sending	Image or PDF: re-export and resend. Public link or website: Canva's help does not say if edits show; check	Edit the page; the same link shows the new details
A map and calendar buttons	Add a link or an image yourself	A View Location button, plus Google and Apple or Outlook calendar buttons
Cost on the Free plan	Free account	Free: 20 guest links, 6 themes; Standard is ₱499 and Premium ₱999, one time

Plenty of couples use both: a Canva image for social media or print, and a page as the reply hub. Our step-by-step builder guide shows the hosted route, our RSVP guide covers reply wording, and digital vs printed invitations helps you decide who gets which.

Before you send

• Names, date and both venues match your other documents.
• The smallest line is readable on a phone.
• Times are written as 3:00 PM, with venue and city.
• The reply method is on the card: a phone number, a QR code, or a link.
• The QR code has been scanned from a phone that is not yours.
• The file you send is the one you tested.
• The entourage page uses one group order everywhere.
• A printed copy exists for anyone who will not open a link.

Design in Canva, decide how guests reply before you export, and test the file on the phone you did not design it on.