DIY Wedding Invitations

August 17th, 2011

Marriage is the ultimate way to celebrate the love between two people and while this is a time of excitement, love, and new beginnings, it is also an occasion that usually comes with a high price tag. In addition to the flowers, gowns, tuxedos, candles, music, church, reception, invitations, and much more, the cost quickly skyrockets. As a means of saving money but without sacrificing on the perfect day, couples have discovered the art of do-it-yourself projects.

There are many aspects of a wedding that could be done by the bride, groom, bridal and groomsmen party, family, and friends but the one that seems to be first on the list is DIY wedding invitations. With a little time and creativity, hundreds of dollars can be saved just on this one item alone. Additionally, DIY wedding invitations provide a unique opportunity to create something different. By stepping outside the box, couples can put a personal touch on invitations, which of course, are the first things invitees see so making a lasting impression is important for everyone.

Finding Inspiration

One of the first steps for DIY wedding invitations is to be inspired. This could be done by thumbing through bridal or wedding magazines, searching the internet, or even visiting a number of stationary stores that sell high-end wedding invitations. The goal would be to zero in on invitations that coordinate with the formality and theme of the wedding but also those that match personal preference. Getting ideas helps but to a certain point not to cause confusion with too many choices.

Some of the specific things that should be considered while looking at inspiration for DIY wedding invitations such as the following:

  • Type, weight, and color of paper
  • Style, size, and color of lettering
  • Design such as standalone invitation or special insert
  • Embellishments and/or adornments
  • Wording, which would be unique to the type of wedding such as older bride and groom without living parents, younger couple whose parents are giving the bride away, couple with one or more divorced parents, etc.)

Unlimited Design Options

The great thing about DIY wedding invitations is no limitation to the level of creativity. When purchasing professionally designed invitation, certain styles fall in specific categories but when making invitations, creating something that incorporates different elements from several categories is perfectly fine. Of course, every detail added to the design of DIY wedding invitations should still keep to the level of formality, as well as style or theme of the actual event.

While there are literally hundreds of possibilities, we wanted to provide some options that might be considered when making DIY wedding invitations.

  • Formal – For a formal wedding, white or off-white paper with a navy blue scripted font would be gorgeous. To add a touch of personality, invitations could be mailed to guests inside white envelopes that have navy blue lining and perhaps a navy blue stamp with a romantic saying on the back flap.
  • Contemporary – For couples that want a modern wedding, there are no holds barred when it comes to DIY wedding invitations. For instance, the couple could purchase white paper enhanced with hot orange and pink ribbon. For this, two thin strips of orange ribbon and one strip of hot pink ribbon would be hot blued down the left-hand side of the invitation on the inside. To finish the look, a modern orange font would be amazing.
  • Outdoor Wedding – Having a wedding outside has become extremely popular especially in certain parts of the country. Keeping with the fresh setting, DIY wedding invitations might consist of a grass green paper with a white piece of paper about one-inch smaller being adhered. Then, an informal black font could be used along with green and blue ribbon or lace tied in the upper corner.

Miscellaneous Idea

Other possibilities for DIY wedding invitations are listed below but we cannot stress enough the incredible opportunities. With the right materials, inspiration, and creativity, the sky is the limit.

  • Fabric accents can transform any invitation
  • Letter pressed invitations are gorgeous and work well for any style of wedding
  • Toile invitations are classy and sophisticated
  • Dried flowers, faux crystals, and other embellishments add personality and character
  • Calligraphy is always beautiful on invitations so if a couple knew someone with this skill it would be a great way to make perfect invites for family and friends
  • Chinese symbols of love, hope, happiness, and prosperity would be amazing on tea dyed or light tan paper

Fun Facts About Funny Wedding Invitations

August 17th, 2011

Funny wedding invitations are popular as they can set a funny tone for the lighthearted wedding. Skip those solemnities and just call the guests to enjoy a great time at your wedding. Start off with a wedding invitation which gets them to laugh. People usually get some idea of what your wedding will feature as soon as they open the invitation. That’s the reason you should be witty.

Some wedding planners suggest that caricatures make invitations funny, especially when the caricatures are of the bride and groom. They say that the couple should get it done in a personalized way by getting someone expert to draw these funny caricatures / cartoons. You’ll have a picture drawn and you will get it scanned onto a PC. Then you need to carefully choose the words of the invitations surrounding the caricature. The picture can be a total cartoon scene featuring talking bubbles with whatever you wish to say.

Funny picture wedding invitations are an excellent option. When you wish to get something funny, you could find millions of ways to do it. There are all sorts of options out there at the Read the rest of this entry »

Estimating the Cost of Wedding Invitations

August 17th, 2011

Is there such thing as affordable wedding invitations? The lowest price is $1.50 per card and the highest is $9 or over per card. In between the extremes, the average cost of wedding invitations is between $3 and $4 per card.

Wedding invitation expenditure could be around $1.50 per card, if you are using DIY kits that are found in craft stores. You will have to pay $3 or $4 for each of the mid-range standard invitations on middle weight paper. If you want to use higher end printing technology and high quality paper, the cost will be $9+ for wedding invitations. The cost is determined by the use of engraving, letterpress or high quality handmade silk paper. The cost per wedding invitation keeps climbing with extra features. Just in case you did not know, the tri-fold cards can cost much more than their bi-fold counterparts. On average, couples end up spending $660 on invitations and reply-cards. This was found in a survey carried out by the BAA or Bridal Association of America. Read the rest of this entry »

Tipis on Easy Wedding invitation Creation

August 5th, 2011

Create wedding invitations with these easy DIY wedding invitation tips. Plan ahead. You need to set aside some weekends / evenings for working on the wedding invitations. If you want to create homemade invites planning is essential. Allow yourself lots of time. Make sure that you do not get rushed out. Do not forget the fact that besides designing, printing as well as embellishing the invites, you’ll also require some time for addressing and mailing them.

The sky is the limit if you want to decide on invitation sizes. But you do not get that kind of liberty when it comes to using envelopes. Websites like Knot.com or WeddingBee.com now recommend that you buy envelopes first. Utilize those for sizing the invitations. Remember that oversized or absurd sized envelopes might cost much more when you mail the invitations. Make sure that you are factoring everything into the wedding budget.

Personalities shine with smart cookie-cutter invitations. Try to find ways for expressing yourself. For Read the rest of this entry »

An Overview of The Most Common Types of Wedding Invitations

July 17th, 2011

Whether you decide to make your own wedding invitations, or buy purchase them from a company, there are different options when it comes to style. This article is set to give you a basic overview of these.

The first ones in the list are electronic invitations. These are totally free. They are highly economic to send as well. As you are designing and sending these invitations online, you’ll not worry at all about the cost of printing and postage associated with the traditional printed invitations. There are many websites like Evite and American Greetings that provide you with templates which you could easily customize with ideas of your own. There is yet another helpful thing here. You can readily find out the number of people who’re coming to your wedding. You can learn about their food preferences as well.

Homemade invitations are also among the different types of wedding invitations. There are numerous Read the rest of this entry »

Everything You Need to Know About Wedding Shower Invitations

June 17th, 2011

When it comes to crafting wedding shower invitations, it does maters what kind of bridal shower we are talking about. If you make them on your own, you are at your liberty to choose whatever color you want. You can find the right font online. You could even make the invitation in line with whatever theme you have picked. Perhaps you’ll want people to bring unique things for the household. You need to use the right etiquette.

Making bridal shower invitations is an easy task especially when compared to planning your wedding. The invitations can be much simpler than the invitations that you make for your actual wedding day (no peacock wedding invitations are necessary here!). Do not turn this simple task into a burden. Decide in what way you are willing to craft your invitation. There’re lots of creative things that you will be allowed to accomplish with your bridal shower invitations.

Makers are recommended to design those in similar colors to those that the bride has already has picked Read the rest of this entry »

Helpful Ideas for Creative Wedding Invitations

May 17th, 2011

Creative wedding invitations do count! That is why you could seriously try to make your own wedding invitations. Homemade invites are totally customizable. People who want to make their own invitations are at their liberty to design these invitations in any way they want.

Select some great colors for the invitations. They should go well with your wedding colors. There are different types of generic invites out there that show black font over white / natural paper. Make sure that your efforts are worthwhile. Homemade invitations could be created in any color and fonts you want. Embellishments like glitter or ribbon could also be utilized for making these invitations look creative and original.

To make great creative wedding invitations, you need to use some unique wording. Be original when you decide on the text of your wedding invitations. There are many key pieces of information here like date, time and location that have to be included. If you prefer, you’ll be able to add a special phrases and quotes for ensuring that these invitations are thoroughly reflecting the love between you and your fiancé. As you make the wedding invitations, don’t settle for any generic sayings that we see in those pre-made invites. Read the rest of this entry »