Gazette Template — Complete Guide

Gazette turns your invitation into the day's newspaper — the wedding-newspaper trend, from the front page to the back page. A blackletter masthead, your names as the banner headline, the lead photo printed through a halftone screen, the story of the two of you in the society pages, gifts as classified ads and the RSVP as a coupon your guests "clip and return". Witty on the surface, typographically serious underneath.

This guide covers how Gazette looks, the options unique to it, how to apply it to your event, and how it lays out each section of your invitation.

Gazette 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 Gazette different

Standard templates change colours and fonts over the same shared layout. Gazette replaces the layout itself: its own front page, its own back page and a newspaper treatment for every section.

Signature design elements

• A blackletter masthead — your paper's name ("The Wedding Gazette" by default, or "The Beaumont Times", or anything you like) set in a blackletter nameplate, always kept on one line, with a small boxed "ear" on each side.
• A proper dateline — between thick-and-thin rules: the volume and issue number, the day of the event, the place and the price ("Price: your presence").
• A front page — an "Extra! Extra!" kicker, your event name as a huge condensed headline, an italic deck line, and a When / Where / Reply by band so the essentials are impossible to miss.
• Halftone photos — every photo is printed through a newspaper dot screen in your ink colour. Hover over a photo on a computer and it develops into full colour.
• Page numbers — every section is a page of the paper with its own running head ("Society pages … P. 4"). The front page's Inside this issue box lists them all with their page numbers, in the order they appear.
• Newspaper typography — justified, hyphenated text in narrow ruled columns, a drop cap on the lead story, dotted leaders in the listings, reverse-out headers and a one-colour press: one paper, one ink.

When to choose Gazette

Gazette suits hosts who want their invitation to make guests smile before they have even scrolled:

• Weddings with a sense of humour — the wedding-newspaper look, with none of the printing
• Big weekend weddings — a long programme, hotels, transport and FAQs read naturally as a newspaper
• Vow renewals and anniversaries — "Local couple still in love, sources confirm"
• Engagement parties — breaking news, delivered in style

If you want something quieter and more romantic, try Vesper. For a modern typographic poster, try Folio. For letterpress formality, try Atelier.

Applying Gazette 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 Gazette
3. Optional: press Try it on to see Gazette with your own invitation details in the live preview — nothing is saved until you press Use this design
4. Or click the Gazette card to apply it straight away
5. Open Gazette options to adjust the template-specific settings described below. Changes save automatically

Gazette 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 Gazette options are kept in case you switch back.

Gazette options

Gazette has nine options of its own. They take the place of the standard colour and font controls, which Gazette doesn't use.

1. Paper

The paper stock the edition is printed on.

• Newsprint grey (default) — the warm grey of a daily paper
• Cream — a warmer, softer stock
• Salmon (financial pink) — the pink of the financial papers
• White — crisp and bright

2. Ink

The single printing colour used for every word, rule, panel and halftone dot.

• Black (default)
• Navy
• Sepia — a dark brown, lovely with the cream stock

Every ink reads clearly on every paper.

3. Newspaper name

The blackletter nameplate across the top of the front page — for example "The Beaumont Times" or "The Amelia & Sebastián Chronicle". Long names shrink to fit on one line. Leave it blank for the default ("The Wedding Gazette").

4. Issue label

The volume and issue number at the start of the dateline, also printed under the barcode on the back page. Leave it blank for the default ("Vol. I · No. 1"). Try "Vol. IX · No. 20" for a ninth anniversary on the 20th.

5. Front-page deck

The italic line under the big headline — your invitation in one sentence, for example "Together with their families, the couple request the pleasure of your company". Leave it blank for the default.

6. Halftone photos

On by default: every photo — the lead photo, the photo essay, the society pages — is printed through a halftone dot screen in your ink colour. Turn it off to show photos in full colour.

7. Text columns (desktop)

How many columns the lead story, the society pages, the classifieds and the photo essay are set in on wide screens: Three columns (default) or Two columns. Phones always read one column. A short message stays in a single column however many you pick — three columns of two lines each would read as a mistake, not a newspaper.

8. Inside this issue

On by default: the front-page box that lists every section with its page number. Turn it off for a simpler front page.

9. Back-page sign-off

The large headline on the back page that closes the invitation. Leave it blank for the default ("That's all the news. See you there."). Try "Stop the presses. See you in June."

Every other piece of text Gazette prints — the ears, the kicker, the photo caption, the weather forecast, the desk names ("Society pages", "Classifieds"), the fine print in the countdown advertisement, "Clip & return", the colophon — can 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

Front page

The front page replaces the standard header:

• Masthead — the two ears ("Late edition — All the news fit to celebrate" and "Souvenir issue — One day only. No reprints.") around the blackletter nameplate
• Dateline — issue label, the weekday and date of your event, the place and the price
• Headline — an "Extra! Extra!" kicker, then your event name in huge condensed capitals, then the deck line (option 5)
• When / Where / Reply by — the weekday, date and time (when the time is shown on the cover), your location, and your RSVP deadline when you have set one
• Lead photo — your cover photo with a caption. Without a cover photo, the reply box and the weather share the row instead
• Reply box — "Reply requested", your deadline and a Clip the reply coupon button that jumps to the RSVP page (with its page number)
• Weather — a small forecast box ("Warm, with a 100% chance of happy tears…")
• Inside this issue — every section with its page number (option 8)

The time follows the Show time setting of your invitation's cover.

Message — the lead story

Your invitation message is set as the lead story: a headline, a byline and the text justified in newspaper columns with a drop cap. When the message is the first section it continues the front page; anywhere else it is a page of its own.

Countdown — an advertisement

A bold, double-ruled display advertisement: your countdown title as the ad's headline, the days, hours, minutes and (optionally) seconds as big condensed figures in ruled cells, a starburst and some fine print. When the countdown ends, your completion message is shown instead.

Gallery (Carousel) — the photo essay

Your photos on a ruled grid, each with a numbered caption and a credit line. A short last row widens to close the page instead of leaving a hole.

Story — the society pages

Every milestone is a short article in newspaper columns: a dateline, a small headline, the photo with a caption, and the text. Every milestone is laid out the same way. Your story subtitle is printed as the standfirst under the page headline.

Location — where it's happening

The map framed like a news photograph with a caption, beside a short report: the address as a headline, your directions and a Directions button. When the location has no map, the frame carries a locator mark instead of an empty box.

Itinerary — the order of the day

TV-listings style: each day under a dark date bar (days sit side by side on wide screens, like channels), each entry as "time ······ event" with a dotted leader, and the place and note underneath.

Gifts — the classifieds

Your gifts message as the standfirst, then each kind of gift — registries, monetary gifts, charities, wishlist — as a classified category under a dark header bar, and each gift as a small ad with its name in bold capitals and a Visit, Copy or Reserve button. Payment details sit in a ruled box that wraps cleanly, even for long wallet addresses. Group headers only appear when you offer more than one kind of gift.

Event Details — notices

• Dress code as the Fashion desk column: the code as a big italic headline, your description, suggested and avoided colour swatches, and notes
• FAQs as an advice column, "Ask the couple" — each question in bold after "Q.", each answer in italic after "A."
• Where to stay and Getting there as boxed travel notices, one box each, with promo codes and a Book or Details button

Save the Date (Calendar) — mark your calendar

An advertisement with a tear-off calendar leaf showing your weekday, date, month and year, and three rubber-stamp buttons: Google Calendar, Apple Calendar (downloads the calendar file) and Outlook.

RSVP — the reply coupon

A clip-out coupon with a dashed cut line all the way round and a pair of scissors that runs along the top edge when it scrolls into view. "Clip & return" heads the coupon, your deadline sits under it, and the reply form is set as fill-in-the-blank lines with square tick boxes and a solid send button. On a save-the-date, the coupon shows the save-the-date note instead of the form.

Back page

Your sign-off (option 9) as the final headline, then a colophon: the paper's name, the event, date and place, "Printed with love by Fotify Press", the circulation, a Back to the front page button and a barcode with your issue label.

Sections without a bespoke layout

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

• Photo upload, QR code, Table assignment, Playlist and custom sections get the same heavy running head with the page number and the paper's name, sit directly on the paper, use Gazette's serif headlines and square ink buttons, and are listed in Inside this issue
• Sub-events and Special treatments appear only once a guest has accepted, so they are marked as a Special supplement instead of taking a page number

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I use Gazette for something other than a wedding? A: Yes. Rename the paper ("The Studio Nine Times"), rewrite the ears, the deck and the desk names in the live preview, and it works for anniversaries, engagement parties and milestone birthdays too.

Q: Why did my page numbers change? A: Page numbers always follow the order sections appear on the page. Hiding a section, reordering sections, or a section with no content (for example gifts switched on with no gifts yet) renumbers the rest, so there are never gaps. The front page is always P. 1.

Q: My photos look black and white. Can I show them in colour? A: Yes — turn off Halftone photos. With it on, guests on a computer can still hover over any photo to see it in full colour.

Q: My paper's name is long. Will it fit? A: Yes. The nameplate shrinks to stay on one line; very long names wrap onto two lines instead of running off the page.

Q: Does Gazette work in right-to-left languages? A: Yes. In Hebrew and Arabic the layout mirrors: the running heads, the drop cap, the dotted leaders and the scissors all follow the reading direction.

Q: Can I use custom RSVP fields with Gazette? A: Yes. Custom fields (dropdowns, dates, checkboxes, file uploads and so on) pick up the coupon's fill-in-the-blank styling 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: Folio for a Swiss typographic poster, Linen for quiet editorial photography, Atelier for letterpress formality, 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.