Wedding Invitations

You’ve gotten engaged – congratulations! Now it’s time to start planning your wedding. Before you do anything else, you’ll have to pick a date and get your wedding save-the-date and wedding invitations in the mail. Don’t fret; this doesn’t have to be a daunting process. These days you have many choices in wedding invitations. The most personal and often least expensive way to go can be do-it-yourself wedding invitations.

More and more brides and grooms are choosing to create their own wedding invitations instead of spending a fortune to have them created by a professional printer, but before you the decision take that big important step you should ask yourself an honest questions to yourself; Do I have time to make my own invitations?, Do I have the basic necessary skills and knowledge to do it all my myself?

Are DIY Invitations right for me?

Your options are limitless. No matter what your theme, color or style you can find what you like and make it your own. Some printers may only have a few styles to choose from. Why settle for something that you’re not crazy about? Pick the wedding invitation you love and personalize it to suit your taste.

Another key advantage of DIY wedding invitations is cost. Once you pick the invitation that you really enjoy, the printing charges can more than double the total bill. If you’ve got lots of guests on your list, this can add up pretty quickly. If you’re on a budget, don’t sacrifice style just have invitations that you love. Find the right wedding invitation and ditch the printing charge and do it yourself.

Once you’ve picked the perfect invitation you can personalize your wedding invitations which you would not be able to do with a commercial printer. Think of each invitation as a work of art specially made for each of your guests. A personal touch makes your guests feel special.

Putting your invitations together can be a special project for you and your fiancé. What a great way to start your wedding planning – by creating, crafting and mailing your personalized save-the-date cards and wedding invitations. But just remember that it will take some time. Don’t over commit yourself and make this a chore when it should be a fun project.

Making your wedding invitations

A reliable printer and ink is a must to start with. A laser print is the best choice. You’ll also want to make sure you know how to format the printed page to accommodate your wedding invitation size. Do your homework and you’ll eliminate some of your waste with misprints. You’ve got to print the invitation as well as the reply card, so make sure your printer can handle it. Also, make sure the wedding invitation you’ve chosen will survive a trip through your printer. Some more delicate pages might need special attention.

Don’t forget the envelopes. You’ll have to print the one addressed to your guest as well as the once addressed back to you for the reply card. If you don’t know calligraphy (and who does) consider looking for a fancy yet readable font that can be printed onto the envelopes, too. You may want to see our selections of wedding stationery.

Once you’ve got the actual invitation printed, you’ll want to pick some pretty embellishments. Most wedding invitations come with a piece of tissue paper tucked inside. That is a possibility, but you might also want to pick some thing that compliments your wedding invitation. Check out your local fabric store for some ideas. A colored mesh fabric goes will with some contemporary wedding invitations. What about a small piece of damask to match your classic wedding invitation.

If you are a very creative individual, you may want to create your own wedding invitations. You can always do this on spare time with your computer using wedding invitation templates that are available in the internet, or create on your own. Others hand paint the wedding invitations with wedding flowers to give it extra wedding charm. You can save money by creating and budgeting your wedding invitations yourself by choosing special paper crafts and have creative instincts.

Once you have received the wedding invitations for your wedding, whether you have created your wedding invitation yourself or had them created at a local printer shop, you should send them out six weeks prior to the date of your wedding.

If your wedding invitation is a single page you might want to consider a ribbon in an accent color. Using a hole punch, you can put two holes in the top of the wedding invitation and feed the ribbon through that for an elegant touch and a splash of color. You can also use this process to hold two invitation pages together. Since you’re making your own, try this not just on the top, but perhaps down the side?

Getting your wedding invitations in the mail.

Don’t forget – no matter how creative you get, you still have to get it in the mail. You might want to make one wedding invitation and take it to the post office and make sure it’s going to arrive in good shape. If your inserts are odd shaped or bulky, you might have some trouble when mixed with regular mail. When in doubt – ask. You might also want to pick out some appropriate stamps. Your post office or check out usps.com to see what they have to offer. And don’t forget the stamp for the reply card.

DIY wedding invitations can be easy and fun, but just remember that it will take some time. It’s your big day; DIY wedding invitations can be a fun way to show your personality and theme to your guests. Have fun with it! Visit our store for a wide variety of of preprinted wedding invitations, bridal shower invitations, and don't forget to read our wedding invitation resources.