Celestial Template — Complete Guide

Celestial is a night-sky wedding invitation template. Its cover is a star chart of the real sky over your venue at the moment of your ceremony: the stars that will be above you and your guests, printed in fine gold foil on deep navy paper, like an antique planisphere — with your initials drawn at the top of the sky as a new constellation. Around it, moon phases count down to the day, photos sit in astrolabe rings and your story follows an orbit. It is elegant and precise, and every name, date, place and the reply form stay clear and easy to read.

This guide covers how Celestial looks, how the star chart is made, the options unique to Celestial, how to apply it to your event, and how it lays out each section of your invitation.

Celestial is available on every plan, Free included.

For an overview of the template gallery and the picker, see How to Customize Your RSVP Invitation.

What makes Celestial different

Standard templates change colours and fonts over the same shared layout. Celestial replaces the layout itself: its own cover, its own closing, and a hand-made treatment for each section.

Signature design elements

• Your sky, for real — the cover chart shows the stars above your venue at your ceremony's date and time: the constellations, the brightest stars, north at the top and east on the left, exactly as a star chart is drawn when you hold it over your head. When the invitation opens, the chart turns gently into place as the stars come out
• Your initials as a new constellation — your initials are drawn near the top of the sky as dotted foil lines between star points
• A caption that says which sky it is — under the chart: "The sky over" your venue, the date and the time, with your venue's time zone
• Night-sky paper and foil — deep navy, near-black or indigo paper (or a pale dawn blue with navy ink), with every line, title and button in gold, silver or rose-gold foil
• Astronomy everywhere, tastefully — a moon-phase countdown, photos in round portholes framed by astrolabe rings, your story along an orbit, the map inside an astrolabe with your venue's coordinates, and a save-the-date under an observatory dome
• Three typefaces, three jobs — the engraved Roman capitals of Cinzel for names and titles, the refined serif Cormorant Garamond for everything guests read, and small tracked Jost capitals for labels and buttons

How your star chart is made

Celestial computes the chart from three things you already enter for your event:

1. Your event date and start time (the time of the ceremony)
2. Your venue's time zone — set in your event settings, next to the date
3. Your venue on the map — search for your venue in the invitation's Location settings, so it has a place on the map

With all three, the chart is the real sky over your venue at that moment, and the caption reads, for example, "The sky over Villa Cimbrone, Ravello · 12 June 2027 · 21:30 GMT+2". Every guest sees the same sky, wherever they open the invitation from.

When something is missing, Celestial never pretends:

• No start time — the chart shows the sky at 9 pm at your venue that evening, and the caption leaves the time out
• No map location, no time zone or no date — the chart shows a beautiful sky that is the same for every event (with Orion, Taurus and Gemini overhead), and the caption says "Written in the stars" instead of naming a place or a time

The chart shows the stars and constellations only — not the Moon or the planets — and it shows them even if your ceremony is in daylight, the way a star chart does.

The star positions and brightnesses come from XHIP, an extended compilation of the Hipparcos star catalogue, and the constellation figures are based on the International Astronomical Union's constellation charts, both by way of Olaf Frohn's open-source d3-celestial project.

When to choose Celestial

Celestial suits celebrations that look up:

• Evening and night weddings — outdoor receptions, rooftop dinners, dancing under the stars
• Destination and countryside weddings — anywhere far from city lights
• Couples who met under the stars, share a favourite constellation, or simply love the night sky
• Winter and New Year's weddings, vow renewals and anniversaries — navy and silver is lovely for a winter evening
• Engagement parties with a celestial or "written in the stars" theme

If you want soft, romantic florals, try Vesper. For foil-stamped letterpress formality, try Atelier. For a dark, glowing party look with drifting light, try Aurora.

Applying Celestial to your event

1. Open your event, click Invitation in the sidebar, then the Invitation tab
2. In Design Template, click Change template if the gallery is collapsed, and find Celestial (it is in the Wedding category)
3. Optional: press Try it on to see Celestial with your own invitation details in the live preview — nothing is saved until you press Use this design
4. Or click the Celestial card to apply it straight away
5. Open Celestial options to adjust the template-specific settings described below. Changes save automatically

Celestial works on every plan. On free events a small "Made with Fotify" badge appears in the bottom corner of the invitation; any paid plan or an active subscription removes it.

Switching to another template later is non-destructive: your event content stays exactly as you entered it, and your Celestial options are kept in case you switch back.

Celestial options

Celestial has eight options of its own. They take the place of the standard colour and font controls, which Celestial doesn't use. The star chart itself is not an option: it always comes from your event's date, time, time zone and venue (see above).

1. Sky

The paper the invitation is printed on. Every combination of sky and foil is tuned so text stays easy to read.

• Navy (default) — deep night-blue paper
• Midnight — almost black
• Indigo — a violet night
• Dawn — pale blue paper with navy ink, the light option

2. Foil

The foil of every line, title and button.

• Gold (default)
• Silver
• Rose gold

3. Constellation names

On by default: the names of the best-known constellations above the horizon (Orion, Cygnus, Ursa Major, Scorpius…) are printed on the chart in their traditional Latin names. Turn it off for stars and figures only.

4. Your initials as a constellation

On by default: your initials are drawn near the top of the sky as a new constellation. Turn it off for the sky alone.

5. Initials

The initials drawn in the sky — up to three characters, for example "A&S". The "&" (or "+") becomes a small star between the letters. Leave it blank to use the initials of a couple's name written like "Amelia & Sebastián"; any other event name shows no initials unless you type them here. The constellation is drawn with Latin letters (accents are dropped); if your initials use another alphabet, no constellation is drawn.

6. Stars come out

On by default: when the invitation opens, the chart turns a few degrees into place while the stars fade in, brightest first. Turn it off and the chart is simply there. Guests who have reduced motion turned on on their device always see the finished chart.

7. Cover line

The small line above your names on the cover — for example "Together with their families". Leave it blank to use the default ("The stars have aligned").

8. Closing title

The line beside the moon at the end of the invitation. Leave it blank to use the default ("See you under the stars"). Try "Until the stars come out", "Forever and always" or "See you in June".

Every piece of text Celestial prints on the invitation — section titles, the chart's caption and its N / E / S / W, the button labels and the closing title — can also be rewritten directly on the page: switch the live preview into edit mode and double-click the text. Section titles you have already set in their own settings (story, countdown, gifts, where to stay, getting there, FAQs) are edited in place the same way.

How each section is treated

Cover

The cover replaces the standard header:

• Cover line (option 7) in small foil capitals, then your names in large engraved foil capitals
• The star chart — the sky over your venue (see How your star chart is made) inside an astrolabe ring with degree marks and the cardinal points, your initials at the top of the sky (options 4 and 5), and your cover photo as a round "moon" rising over the ring's corner (a crescent moon when there is no cover photo)
• The caption under the chart: "The sky over" your venue, the date, and the time with your venue's time zone
• Date — the weekday, the date and the time, separated by small stars. The time follows the Show time setting of your invitation's cover, and so does the time in the caption
• Place — your event location in italics
• Kindly reply — a foil button that jumps to the RSVP section, with "Reply by" and your RSVP deadline under it

Message

Your invitation message on a card in a double foil frame, crowned with an eight-point star, with small stars in its corners. A long enough first paragraph opens with a foil initial.

Countdown

A deeper band with a row of moons waxing towards the full moon, one per unit — days, hours, minutes and (optionally) seconds — each over its number in engraved capitals, strung on a dotted orbit. When the countdown ends, your completion message is shown under a full moon instead.

Gallery (Carousel)

Your photos in round portholes, each framed by an astrolabe ring with degree marks, rising and falling gently along the row. Swipe or scroll sideways; on wider screens, round arrow buttons appear when there are more photos than fit.

Story

Your milestones along an orbit: a dotted foil path curves down the page, and each milestone is a ringed planet on it — the date in small capitals, the title, the description and, when there is one, the photo in a porthole. Every milestone is laid out the same way. Your story subtitle appears under the section title.

Location

The map inside an astrolabe: a ring of degree marks with north at the top around a compass rose, with the map set in the middle as a square plate whose corners touch the ring. Beside it, your venue's coordinates printed like an astrolabe bearing (for example 40°39′ N ✦ 14°37′ E), your address, your directions and an Open the map button. If the location has no map, the compass rose fills the ring on its own.

Itinerary

The day as an orbit: each day opens with its date beside a small star, and each entry is a small planet on a fine foil line — the time in foil, the event, the place and any note.

Gifts

Wish upon a star: every registry, monetary option, charity and wishlist item is a card crowned with an eight-point star, with the title, the details and foil buttons for the actions. Payment details sit in a chip that wraps cleanly, even for long wallet addresses, with a Copy button beside them. Group labels only appear when you offer more than one kind of gift.

Event Details

Printed like the index cards of a star catalogue, on faint graticule paper:

• Dress code: your dress code title, your description, suggested and avoided colours as small planets in a foil rim, and notes
• Where to stay: one card per hotel with a crescent moon — name, address, distance from the venue, price range, promo code, notes, a Book button and a tap-to-call phone number
• Getting there: a foil medallion for each kind of transport, the details, the fare and a Details button
• FAQs: questions marked with a small star, in two columns on wider screens

Save the Date (Calendar)

An ephemeris card under an observatory dome: a full moon, the weekday, the date and the time, your event title, place and calendar note, with Google, Apple (downloads the calendar file) and Outlook foil buttons.

RSVP

"Will you be under the stars with us?" — a card in a double foil frame crowned with a star, your RSVP deadline under the title, and the reply form: fields underlined in foil, the attend / decline choices as two cards with a star tick, and a foil send button. On a save-the-date, the card holds the save-the-date note instead of the form.

Closing

A small crescent moon, your closing title (option 8), the event name, date and place, a Back to the stars button, and the curve of the horizon to finish.

Sections without a bespoke layout

These sections use Fotify's standard layout, restyled to match Celestial:

• Photo upload, QR code, Table assignment, Playlist, Sub-events, Special treatments and custom sections

They get the same star divider above them, engraved foil titles, raised cards in a fine foil line and foil buttons. Custom HTML sections are shown on a light card in a foil frame, photos in custom sections get a foil frame, and seat badges in table assignment are small foil plaques.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is the star chart really the sky over our venue? A: Yes, when your event has a date, a time zone and a venue on the map. Celestial works out which stars are above your venue at the date and time of your ceremony, with the constellations where they will actually be. It is accurate to well under a degree — far finer than you can see on a phone screen.

Q: Why does my chart say "Written in the stars" instead of our venue? A: That caption means Celestial is showing its general sky, because your event is missing a venue on the map, a time zone or a date. Search for your venue in the invitation's Location settings, check the time zone next to your event date, and the chart becomes the real sky over your venue.

Q: Our ceremony is in the afternoon. Does the chart still work? A: Yes. The chart shows the stars that are above your venue at that moment, as a star chart does, even though daylight hides them. It always follows your event's start time.

Q: Where do the initials in the sky come from? A: From the Initials option. If you leave it blank, Celestial uses the initials of a couple's name written like "Amelia & Sebastián". Any other event name shows no initials, and you can turn the constellation off with the Your initials as a constellation option.

Q: Will the animation bother guests who are sensitive to motion? A: No. The chart only turns and the stars only fade in for guests whose device allows animations; with reduced motion turned on, the finished chart is shown straight away. You can also turn it off for everyone with the Stars come out option.

Q: Does Celestial work in right-to-left languages? A: Yes. In Hebrew and Arabic the layout mirrors: the timelines, the drop cap and the buttons move to the other side. The star chart itself does not mirror, because it is a map of the sky: east is on the left for everyone.

Q: Can I use custom RSVP fields with Celestial? A: Yes. Custom fields (dropdowns, dates, checkboxes, file uploads and so on) pick up Celestial's foil-underlined fields and small capital labels automatically.

Next steps

• See How to Customize Your RSVP Invitation for the template gallery and how to try a design on before applying it
• Compare the other designs: Vesper for soft romance, Atelier for letterpress formality, Amalfi for a sun-drenched Mediterranean wedding, Linen for quiet editorial photography, or Studio to compose your own design with the AI Design Studio
• Planning a wedding? Read about Fotify's digital invitations with RSVP and the wedding photo sharing app

Need help? Get in touch through the in-dashboard help widget.