Regatta Template — Complete Guide

Regatta is a crisp, nautical invitation. The page is sailcloth white with stripes in the colour you choose, a string of real maritime signal flags across the top, your cover photo framed in a polished brass porthole, and a length of rope tied in a reef knot between the sections.

Regatta is one of Fotify's simpler designs: its look comes from one hull colour you choose — any colour at all — a stripe pattern and, if you like, your initials in signal flags.

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

Regatta 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 Regatta different

Standard templates change colours and fonts over the same shared layout. Regatta replaces the layout itself: its own cover and closing, its own section heads, and its own treatment of the message, countdown, gallery, story, programme and reply card.

Signature design elements

• One hull colour — pick it from the suggested colours or from the colour picker. Regatta uses it for the stripes, the event name, the titles, the club burgee, the rope and the buttons
• Signal flags — a dressing line of flags strung across the cover and again at the close. Type up to three initials and they are spelled in the International Code of Signals, each letter in its own official flag and colours; leave them out and the line is a plain string of club burgees
• Stripes — narrow Breton stripes, wide deck-chair canvas stripes, or plain sailcloth with a fine waterline
• A brass porthole — your cover photo behind a polished brass ring with eight bolts and a sheen on the glass
• A compass rose — inside the porthole when there's no photo, on the voyage chart and at the close
• Rope and a reef knot — a twisted rope tied in a reef knot opens every section
• Yacht-club type — Bodoni Moda, a high-contrast classic serif, for the name and the titles, with Jost, a clean geometric sans, for the labels and the reading text
• Always readable — whatever colour you pick, even a pale yellow or a near-black, the text and the buttons are deepened until they read clearly on the white page

When to choose Regatta

Regatta suits occasions on or near the water:

• Yacht and waterfront weddings — a marina, a lakeside or a harbour, your initials in signal flags
• Sailing-club dinners and regattas — in the club's own colour
• Summer parties — a garden or a beach house with Breton stripes
• Retirements and farewells — a send-off with a voyage chart of the career so far
• Company boat outings — a team day on the water in your brand colour, with the programme as a ship's log

Whatever the occasion, the photos your guests take matter as much as the invitation. Guests can scan the event QR code and add their photos to the shared gallery. See how Fotify works for weddings and corporate events.

For a luau at sunset, try Tiki. For a quiet page of washi paper, try Wabi.

Applying Regatta 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 Regatta under Designs (it is listed under the Wedding filter, and under Party and Corporate too)
3. Optional: press Try it on to see Regatta with your own invitation details in the live preview — nothing is saved until you press Use this design
4. Or click the Regatta card to apply it straight away
5. Open Regatta options below the gallery to pick your hull colour and the other options described below. Changes save automatically

Regatta 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 Regatta options are kept in case you switch back.

Regatta options

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

1. Hull colour

The main colour of the page. Pick it two ways:

• A suggested swatch — Navy (default), Racing red, Sea green, Harbour blue or Black
• Pick any color — the last chip opens your device's colour picker, so you can match a club colour, a brand colour or the wedding palette exactly. The colour's code is shown beside the chips

Any colour works. Regatta never paints your pick as it is where it would hurt legibility: the event name, the titles and the buttons use the shade of your colour that reads clearly on the white page, and the stripes the shade that stands out from the white stripes. The signal flags always keep their own official colours, whatever you pick.

2. Stripes

• Breton stripes (default) — narrow stripes in your colour on white, like a sailor's jersey
• Deck-chair canvas — wide, even vertical stripes
• Plain sailcloth — no stripes, just a fine double waterline behind the porthole

The stripes run behind the porthole on the cover, along the top of the message card and as a hem at the end of the page.

3. Initials in signal flags

Up to 3 letters, spelled in the International Code of Signals on the string of flags across the cover and at the close — for example "AB" for Anna & Ben, or a club's initials. Each letter flies its own flag in its official colours and pattern, with the letter printed small underneath, and club burgees fill the rest of the line.

Only the letters A to Z have signal flags, so anything else you type (a space, "&", a number, an accented letter) is skipped. Leave it blank for a plain string of club burgees. Regatta never makes initials from your event name.

4. Cover line

The line above the event name on the cover (up to 60 characters). Leave it blank to use the default ("Join us on the water"). Try "Together with their families", "The summer regatta" or "All aboard".

5. Closing line

The line at the end of the page, under the compass rose (up to 80 characters). Leave it blank to use the default ("Fair winds — see you on the water").

Every piece of text Regatta prints on the invitation — the cover line, the Reply buttons, the section labels and titles, the countdown units, the log's column headings, the crew card's name, the closing line — 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

A nautical cover replaces the standard header:

• The flag line (option 3) strung across the top, swaying gently
• Your cover photo in the brass porthole, set on the band of stripes (option 2) and keeping the horizontal crop you set. Without a photo, the porthole shows the compass rose on a white dial
• The cover line (option 4) in Bodoni italic
• Your event name in Bodoni Moda, in your hull colour. Long names step down a size so they never break mid-word
• The date, the time and the place in small spaced capitals — the time follows the Show time setting of your invitation's cover, the date and the place follow Show date and Show location, and every guest sees the date you picked, whatever their time zone
• Reply — a button that scrolls to the RSVP form. It only appears when your RSVP section is visible, and never on a save-the-date page

Section heads

Every section opens on a length of rope tied in a reef knot, then — centred, like a yacht-club notice — the section's label in spaced capitals behind a small club burgee, its title in Bodoni and, for the story and gifts, your subtitle or gift message.

Message

Your message as a letter on club stationery: a white card edged with your stripes along the top, the club burgee under the edge like a letterhead, and your words set with generous line spacing. A long message steps down to a reading size.

Countdown — the ship's clocks

Each unit — days, hours, minutes and seconds (as you choose in the countdown settings) — is its own ship's clock: a brass bezel, a white dial ruled with minute ticks, the number in Bodoni at its centre and the unit underneath. It counts down to your event's date and time in the venue's time zone, and shows your completed message once the moment arrives.

Gallery (Carousel)

Every photo the same square print on a white mount with a fine line in your colour, two to a row on a phone and three on wider screens (two for two photos, and a single print for one).

Story — the voyage chart

Your milestones on a sheet of chart paper ruled with faint grid lines, with a compass rose in its corner. A dotted route runs down the side, and every milestone is a port of call on it, marked with an anchor: its date, its title, its text and, when it has one, its photo as a small round print. Every milestone is set the same way.

Itinerary — the ship's log

Your programme as a page of a ship's log: a header row in your colour naming its two columns (Time and Entry), a red double margin rule between them, and one ruled line per entry — the time on the left, then the moment in Bodoni with its place and any note beneath. On a right-to-left page the columns swap sides. A day heading appears only when the day has a date or a label. Entry icons are not shown.

RSVP — the crew card

"Will you join the crew?" with your RSVP deadline under it, and the reply form on a card framed in twisted rope, with a reef knot tied over its top edge and a header strip in your colour carrying the club burgee and the card's name ("Crew card"). On a save-the-date page the card holds the save-the-date note instead of the form.

Location, Gifts, Event Details and Save the Date

These four sections share their structure with Fotify's other picker-coloured designs (Meridian, Thread, Prism and Duotone), dressed in Regatta's colour and type: white cards with nearly square corners, buttons in your hull colour, and Bodoni titles.

• Location — a map card beside an address card with your address, your directions and an Open in Maps button. When a map can't be shown, the map card draws a pin with the venue's coordinates; without coordinates the address card spans the row
• Gifts — every registry, payment option, charity and wishlist item is its own card in a grid, grouped under small labels (with a count) when you offer more than one kind. Payment details sit in an inset box with a Copy button, and long account numbers wrap inside the card. Pay links, scan-to-pay QR codes and wishlist reservations appear as buttons on each card
• Event Details — a card per topic: dress code with your suggested and avoided colours as swatches, where to stay with each hotel as a mini-card (distance, price range, promo code, notes and a Book button), getting there with an icon for each kind of transport, and a full-width FAQ card where each question opens on tap
• Save the Date (Calendar) — one card with the title and the event date on one side, and Google, Apple (downloads the calendar file) and Outlook buttons on the other

Closing

The compass rose, your closing line (option 5) in Bodoni, the date and place, a Reply button, the flag line once more and a hem of your stripes.

Sections that use the shared layout

These sections keep Fotify's shared layout and are dressed in Regatta's style:

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

Each sits in the same column as the rest of the page on a white card with a stripe of your colour along its top, with titles in Bodoni and buttons in your hull colour. Photos in custom sections are capped in height so a tall portrait never takes over the page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Where do the letters on the signal flags come from? A: Only from the Initials in signal flags option, exactly the letters you type (up to 3). Leave it blank and the line shows club burgees only; Regatta never makes initials from your event name.

Q: Are the signal flags real? A: Yes. Each letter uses the flag of the International Code of Signals — its official pattern and colours (red, blue, yellow, black and white) — so a sailor can read your initials. That's why the flags don't change with your hull colour.

Q: I typed "A & B" but only two flags appear. A: The code has flags for the letters A to Z only, so the "&" and the spaces are skipped. Accented letters, numbers and letters from other alphabets are skipped too.

Q: Can I use Regatta for a company boat outing? A: Yes. Set the hull colour to your brand colour with Pick any color, choose Plain sailcloth for a quieter page if you like, and put the company's initials in the flags or leave them blank for burgees only.

Q: I picked a pale colour. Why are the name and buttons darker than my colour? A: Regatta keeps every label readable: the name, the titles and the buttons use a deeper shade of the same hue so they read clearly on the white page.

Q: I don't have a cover photo. Will the cover look empty? A: No. Without a photo the porthole shows a compass rose on a white dial.

Q: Does Regatta work in right-to-left languages? A: Yes. In Hebrew and Arabic the layout mirrors: the voyage route and the log's time column move to the right side and the burgees fly the other way. The signal flags stay as they are, since they spell Latin letters, and the cover photo's crop stays as you set it.

Q: Does the page move? A: Only the flags, which sway gently on their line. Guests whose device asks for reduced motion see a still page.

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 summer designs: Tiki, a luau at sunset, or Lineup, a summer festival poster
• Let guests share their photos with a QR code: read about Fotify for weddings and digital invitations with RSVP

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