Tips for Creating Your Own Wedding Invitations

Weddings are undoubtedly expensive and, let’s face it, we all want to save as much as possible. Invitations are one of those wedding essentials that seems small at first but racks up quickly when we start crunching the numbers. Fortunately, with the right tips and tricks, creating your own wedding invitations can be easy and fun.

Know Your Budget

Keep in mind that even though you’re creating and printing your own invitations, you still need to calculate the cost beforehand. Take into account the type of paper you’ll use, the embellishments, ink, postage, and envelopes. If you don’t have your own printer, you can send the files to a printing shop, but that still costs money. Once you have a general idea of the total price, you can start getting creative.

Find Your Own Style

The next step in creating your own wedding invitations is finding a style or aesthetic that suits your wedding. If you’re having trouble coming up with your own template or need some styling ideas, plenty of online services offer design templates for affordable prices. Download your template and customize it to your heart’s content. Also, don’t be afraid to use the power of Pinterest! You can easily create idea boards that will give you a better sense of the fonts, styles, and layouts that you like.

Plan for the Worst

Printing our own invitations can save us money, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll save us time. Give yourself extra time to assemble and send your invitations just in case something goes awry. In general, you should mail your invitations about two months ahead of the wedding date, so give yourself plenty of extra time beforehand to draft ideas and assemble your invitations. It’s also a good idea to have more supplies than you actually need, just in case you make a mistake.

Set Up Your Assembly Line

While you may want to create the most lavish wedding invitations with layers, ribbons, and wax seals, don’t forget that you’re the one who has to assemble your cards! You might be able to wrangle in a few bridesmaids to help you, but the simpler your card is, the fewer steps you’ll have in your assembly line. If you can delegate one step to one person in the assembly line, you reduce the risk of errors and put your cards together much faster.

Printing Tips and Tricks

Whether you decide to print at home or outsource your printing, there are a few tips and tricks that will help you print beautiful cards the first time around. One of the most common and easily avoidable printing mistakes is forgetting to check the borders. A seamless design that reaches the edge of the paper makes your invitations appear more professional.

You should also consider using thicker paper, such as card stock, vellum, or wood-grain paper. Last, and arguably most important, test prints are your best friend. Home printers tend to print a little darker than the image you see on your computer screen, and test prints will help you ensure your wedding invitations come out just right.