Wedding newspaper sizes at a glance
| Size | Page size | Where to print | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Letter | 8.5 × 11 in (216 × 279 mm) | Home printer | Small weddings, last-minute prints |
| A4 | 210 × 297 mm (8.3 × 11.7 in) | Home printer (UK, Australia, most countries) | The same, outside North America |
| Tabloid | 11 × 17 in (279 × 432 mm) | Copy shop | Big photos and big headlines on flat sheets |
| Folded booklet | 17 × 11 in sheets folded to 8.5 × 11 in | Copy shop | A paper that opens and reads in order |
| Newsprint tabloid | 289 × 380 mm (about 11.4 × 15 in) | Newspaper printer, such as Newspaper Club | The real newspaper look and feel |
VowPress makes a print file for each of these, so you can decide late and change your mind.
US Letter and A4: the home-printer sizes
Letter is the paper already in your printer if you live in the US or Canada. A4 is its counterpart almost everywhere else: about 6 mm narrower and 18 mm taller, which is why a Letter file never sits quite right on A4 paper and vice versa. Use the file that matches your paper.
A Letter or A4 page comfortably holds one story and a good-sized photo, or two short features side by side. Stapled in the corner, 4 to 8 pages reads more like a program than a broadsheet, which is not a bad thing. A design with ruled columns, such as The Wedding Times, keeps it feeling like a newspaper at this size.
Tabloid 11 × 17 in: the copy-shop newspaper
An 11 × 17 sheet is exactly two Letter pages side by side, so each page has twice the room. That space goes to a cover photo that fills the top half, a headline you can read from the back row, or a full love story without squeezing the type. Photo-led and headline-led designs, like Extra! Extra! or The Wedding Post, look their best here.
Most home printers can't take 11 × 17, so this is a copy-shop size. In the UK and Australia the nearest common sheet is A3 (297 × 420 mm): a little wider and a little shorter than 11 × 17, so the file needs scaling to about 97% to fit. The print guide covers what to ask for.
The folded booklet
A folded booklet is 17 × 11 in sheets, printed on both sides and folded in half to Letter size. Each sheet makes four pages, so a 4-page paper is one sheet and an 8-page paper is two sheets nested together, stapled in the fold if you like.
The pages are Letter-sized, so each one holds the same amount as a Letter page. What changes is the object: guests open it like a newspaper section, turn pages in order, and find the puzzles inside rather than stapled to the back. The VowPress Folded booklet file is already in booklet page order, which saves the fiddly part of working out which page goes where.
Newsprint tabloid: 289 × 380 mm, and broadsheets
For real newsprint, the size to know is Newspaper Club's tabloid: 289 × 380 mm, about 11.4 × 15 in, from 4 to 64 pages in multiples of 4. Newspaper Club describes digital tabloids as its most popular format for wedding newspapers, and its artwork guidelines ask for a 15 mm margin at the top, bottom and outside edge of each page. VowPress has a print file made for this size.
Newspaper Club also lists a mini (170 × 250 mm), a midi (220 × 310 mm) and two broadsheets: 350 × 500 mm for digital printing and 380 × 578 mm for traditional printing. A broadsheet is the big, fold-it-in-half-to-read size of a traditional daily. It's handsome, and a lot of paper to balance on a ceremony chair, which is why most wedding newspapers are tabloids. VowPress doesn't make broadsheet files.
Page counts: why multiples of 4 matter
Fold one sheet in half and you get four pages: front, two inside, back. That's why anything folded or stitched, from a copy-shop booklet to a newsprint tabloid, comes in 4, 8, 12 pages and so on. VowPress newspapers run up to 8 pages, so for folded or newsprint versions choose 4 or 8.
If your content lands on 6 pages, either trim to 4 or grow to 8 with something guests enjoy, such as Puzzles, Photo Moments, or a Wishes for the couple page with lined space for guests to write in.
- 4 pages: Front page, Our Story, The Big Day, Puzzles.
- 8 pages: Front page, Our Story, The Big Day, Fun & Facts, Guest Guide, Puzzles, Photo Moments, Back cover.
Flat sheets printed double-sided (Letter, A4 or 11 × 17 stacked and stapled) don't have this rule. Any even number works; an odd number just leaves the last back blank.
How size changes what fits
Think in page area. A4 is about 3% larger than Letter. The newsprint tabloid is about 1.8 times a Letter page before margins, and 11 × 17 is exactly twice. Body text shouldn't grow just because the page did, so the extra room goes to photos and headlines.
- Letter or A4: one main story or two short features per page, with one strong photo. A photo collage works best as its own page.
- Tabloid or newsprint tabloid: the same story with a much bigger photo, or a story and a sidebar such as the wedding party or the order of the day on one page.
If you have more to say than fits, add pages rather than shrinking type. Guests read these at the table, often in candlelight.
Photo pixel sizes for sharp prints
Printers usually aim for 300 pixels per inch for sharp photos. Newspaper Club recommends 150 to 300 dpi for newsprint, because the soft paper hides fine detail. Width is what matters most:
| Photo spot | Printed width | Pixels at 300 ppi | Pixels at 150 ppi |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small photo on a Letter page | 4 in | 1,200 px | 600 px |
| Full width on Letter or A4 | 7.5 in | 2,250 px | 1,125 px |
| Full width on 11 × 17 tabloid | 10 in | 3,000 px | 1,500 px |
| Full-page newsprint tabloid cover | 11.4 in (289 mm) | about 3,400 px | about 1,700 px |
The 150 ppi column is a floor for newsprint only; aim for the 300 column everywhere else. Original photos from a phone (3,000 to 4,000 px across) cover even a full tabloid cover. Screenshots and photos saved from messaging apps are usually too small, so ask friends to send the original file. The VowPress editor shows the pixel size each photo spot needs, so you'll know before you print.
Which size to choose
- Printing at home the week of the wedding: Letter or A4.
- A paper that feels like a newspaper, without ordering online: the folded booklet from a copy shop.
- Big photos and a shouting headline: 11 × 17 tabloid sheets.
- The real thing, with a week or more to spare: the 289 × 380 mm newsprint tabloid.
Many couples do two: a Letter or A4 proof at home to check every name, then the tabloid or newsprint version for guests.
Try your paper at every size
With VowPress you answer questions in a chat on the homepage (about ten minutes, rough notes are fine) and it writes and lays out your newspaper. Preview it free with a watermark, change any words by clicking them, and pay once to download the print files: US Letter, A4, Tabloid 11 × 17 in, Folded booklet and the Newspaper Club tabloid.
Start your newspaper, then read how to print a wedding newspaper for paper, copies and timing.
Questions couples ask
What size is a wedding newspaper?
Most are tabloid: 11 × 17 in from a copy shop or 289 × 380 mm on newsprint. Letter and A4 versions are common when printing at home.
How many pages should a wedding newspaper have?
Four or eight pages suits most weddings. Folded or stitched papers need a multiple of 4.
Is A3 the same as tabloid?
Close, but no. A3 is 297 × 420 mm and tabloid is 11 × 17 in (279 × 432 mm), so an 11 × 17 file prints on A3 at about 97%.
What resolution do photos need for a wedding newspaper?
Aim for about 300 pixels per inch at the printed size, so a full-width tabloid photo needs about 3,000 pixels across. Original phone photos are ideal.
Can I print a tabloid wedding newspaper at home?
Only if your printer takes 11 × 17 or A3 paper. Otherwise print the Letter or A4 version at home and take the tabloid file to a copy shop.
How to print a wedding newspaper
Wedding newspaper examples, page by page