Simcha Template — Complete Guide

Simcha is a celebratory, dignified invitation for a bar or bat mitzvah, b'nai mitzvah and other Jewish celebrations. The page is a deep blue with gold by default: your cover photo stands in an arch of dressed Jerusalem stone with a keystone and two steps, a Star of David, a pomegranate or an olive branch sits in a ring above it, and the name is set large in inscriptional capitals. Under the name you can add the Hebrew name and the Torah portion, exactly as you write them.

Simcha also shows off Fotify's Hebrew support: on a Hebrew page the whole layout mirrors to read right to left, and every title switches to a Hebrew serif.

Simcha is one of Fotify's simpler designs: its look comes from one colour you choose — any colour at all — and a choice of motif.

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

Simcha 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 Simcha different

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

Signature design elements

• One colour, and a metal to go with it — the colour you pick is the colour of the page. A deep colour (the default deep blue, royal blue, teal, plum) gives a deep page with gold; a light one, like Jerusalem stone, a pale stone page with a deeper gold; a grey one turns the gold to silver
• An arch of Jerusalem stone — your cover photo in a round arch of dressed stones with a keystone, stone jambs and two steps, inspired by a Torah ark and the stone gateways of Jerusalem
• A motif — a Star of David, a pomegranate or an olive branch, drawn as a fine line in the metal above the arch, over every section title and at the end of the page
• Your Hebrew name and Torah portion — two optional lines on the cover, shown only when you fill them in
• Type for two scripts — Marcellus, letters like inscriptions cut in stone, for the name and the titles; Crimson Pro for reading; and Frank Ruhl Libre for Hebrew, so a Hebrew name or a whole Hebrew page reads in a real Hebrew serif
• Always readable — whatever colour you pick, even a bright red or a pale yellow, the text, the metal and the buttons are adjusted until they read clearly on the page

When to choose Simcha

• Bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs — the service and the party on one page, with the Hebrew name and the portion on the cover when you want them
• B'nai mitzvah — siblings or twins celebrating together: put both names in your event name, and write the line under the name to fit ("become B'nai Mitzvah")
• Other Jewish celebrations — change the cover line and the line under the name to suit the occasion
• Families who read Hebrew — guests who open the invitation in Hebrew see the page right to left, in a Hebrew serif

Guests can share their photos from the service and the party through the photo upload section, which Simcha lays out as a wall of arched prints. See how Fotify works for parties and birthdays.

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

Simcha 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 Simcha options are kept in case you switch back.

Simcha options

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

1. Colour

The colour of the page. Pick it two ways:

• A suggested swatch — Deep blue (default), Royal blue, Jerusalem stone, Teal, Plum or Silver grey
• Pick any color — the last chip opens your device's colour picker, so you can match a tallit, the flowers or the party's colours exactly. The colour's code is shown beside the chips

A deep colour gives a deep page with gold and light text; a light colour gives a pale page with dark text; a grey one pairs with silver instead of gold. Simcha never paints your pick as it is where it would hurt legibility: it shades the page, the metal and the buttons just enough for every line to read clearly.

2. Motif

The line drawing above the arch, over every section title and at the end of the page: Star of David (default), Pomegranates or Olive branch.

3. Hebrew name

Up to 60 characters, shown under the name on the cover exactly as you type it — in Hebrew letters or in English. Leave it blank and nothing is shown: Simcha never works out a Hebrew name for you.

4. Torah portion

Up to 60 characters, a small line on the cover exactly as you type it — for example "Parashat Lech Lecha". Leave it blank and nothing is shown. Simcha doesn't look up the portion or the Hebrew date.

5. Line under the name

Up to 80 characters. Leave it blank to use the default ("is called to the Torah"), or write your own — for example "becomes a Bat Mitzvah" or "celebrates becoming a Bar Mitzvah".

6. Cover line

The small line above the name (up to 80 characters). Leave it blank to use the default ("Please join us as"). Try "Together with our family, please join us as".

7. Closing title

The big line at the end of the page (up to 80 characters). Leave it blank to use the default ("We can't wait to celebrate with you"). Try "Mazel tov! See you there".

Every piece of text Simcha prints on the invitation — the cover line, the line under the name, the Kindly reply buttons, the section labels and titles, 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 (countdown, story, gifts, where to stay, getting there, FAQs) are edited in place the same way.

How each section is treated

Cover

A centred cover replaces the standard header:

• Your cover photo in the stone arch, keeping the horizontal crop you set. Without a cover photo the arch's window holds the motif on a deep glow of your colour, so the cover never looks empty
• The motif in a ring above the keystone
• Cover line (option 6) in small, spaced capitals in the metal
• Your event name, large. Long names step down a size so they never break mid-word
• Hebrew name (option 3), when you wrote one, in the Hebrew serif
• Line under the name (option 5)
• Torah portion (option 4), when you wrote one
• The date, the time and the place under a fine rule — the time follows the Show time setting of your invitation's cover, and every guest sees the date you picked, whatever their time zone
• Kindly 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

Each section opens centred: the motif between two fine double rules of the metal, the section's label in the metal, then its title and, for the story and gifts, your subtitle or gift message.

Message

Your message as a scroll: a sheet of parchment between two metal rollers with rounded ends, with a fine rule inside the sheet. A long text steps down a size and aligns to the start of the line, which is easier to read over many lines.

Countdown

One gold (or silver) medallion per unit — a ring of beads around a double rule, the number on a plain face and the unit's name beneath. Before the page has loaded the numbers show zeros, then count down to the start of your event at the venue's time. When the day arrives, your completion message (if you wrote one) replaces the medallions.

Gallery (Carousel)

A mosaic of arched frames: every photo is a round-topped print in a fine metal frame. On wider screens the prints stand three to a row like a triple gateway, the middle arch of each row a little taller; on a phone they stand two to a row. A last row of one or two prints is centred, two or four photos are set two by two, and a single photo stands alone in the middle.

Story — milestones

A timeline: one metal line runs down the page and every milestone hangs off it at a small arch, with its date in the metal, its title, its text and its photo in an arched frame — beside the text on wider screens, under it on a phone. Every milestone is laid out the same way.

Itinerary — the programme

The service and the celebration set like a printed programme: one card per day with the date between two metal rules, and each entry a row with its time in the metal, a small diamond, then the moment, the place and any note. The service and the party are your own entries, in the order you set. Entry icons are not shown.

Location, Gifts, Event Details, Save the Date and RSVP

These five sections share their structure with Fotify's other picker-coloured designs (such as Meridian, Thread, Prism and Duotone), dressed in Simcha's colour and metal: cards with a fine metal edge, rounded buttons, and the display face for 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 — labelled "Gifts & mitzvah project" by default, with room for gift lists, monetary gifts and the charities or causes you support. Every registry, payment option, charity and wishlist item is its own card, grouped under small labels when you offer more than one kind. Payment details sit in an inset box with a Copy button. Pay links, scan-to-pay QR codes and wishlist reservations appear as buttons on each card
• Event Details — a card per topic: what to wear with your suggested and avoided colours as swatches, where to stay with each hotel as a mini-card, getting there with an icon for each kind of transport, and an FAQ card where each question opens on tap
• Save the Date (Calendar) — one card with Google, Apple (downloads the calendar file) and Outlook buttons, framed by a fine metal outline
• RSVP — "Will you join us?" with your RSVP deadline under it, and the reply form on a card framed by a fine metal outline. On a save-the-date page, the card holds the save-the-date note instead of the form

Closing

The motif in a metal ring, your closing title (option 7), the date and place, and the same Kindly reply button as on the cover.

Sections that use the shared layout

These sections keep Fotify's shared layout and are dressed in Simcha'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 card, with titles in the display face and rounded buttons. The photo upload section becomes a photo wall: the camera in a metal ring, a bigger title, and the photos guests have shared as arched prints, gently tilted one way and the other like a ring of dancers. Photos in custom sections are capped in height so a tall portrait never takes over the page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I use Simcha for a bat mitzvah, or for twins? A: Yes. The default line under the name is "is called to the Torah"; change it with the Line under the name option (for example "becomes a Bat Mitzvah" or "become B'nai Mitzvah"), and put both names in your event name for twins or siblings.

Q: Where do the Hebrew name and the Torah portion come from? A: Only from the Hebrew name and Torah portion options, exactly as you type them. Leave them blank and they aren't shown. Simcha never works out a Hebrew name, a portion or a Hebrew date for you.

Q: Does Simcha work in Hebrew? A: Yes. When the invitation is shown in Hebrew, the whole layout mirrors to read right to left — the story line runs down the right side and the programme's times sit on the right — and the titles and text switch to the Hebrew serif Frank Ruhl Libre. The arch, the cover and the closing stay centred, and the cover photo's crop stays as you set it.

Q: Can I write my event name or my message in Hebrew on an English page? A: Yes. Hebrew words on an English page use the same Hebrew serif, and the Hebrew name reads right to left on its own line.

Q: I picked a light colour. Why is the page pale and the gold deeper? A: The colour you pick is the colour of the page. On a light page, Simcha deepens the gold and darkens the text so everything stays readable; on a deep page, the gold stays bright and the text is light.

Q: Why did my grey colour turn the gold to silver? A: A grey has almost no hue to pair with gold, so Simcha uses silver beside it. Pick a colour with a little more hue to get the gold back.

Q: I don't have a cover photo. Will the cover look empty? A: No. Without a photo, the arch's window holds your motif on a deep glow of your colour.

Q: Does the page move? A: Only a gentle rise as the cover appears, and the guests' tilted photos in the photo upload section straighten when you point at them. 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
• Let guests share their photos from the service and the party with a QR code: read about Fotify for parties and digital invitations with RSVP

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