DIY Wedding Invitations
The date is set and you are ready to let your world of family and friends know about the upcoming, by way of wedding invitations. Being the creative and cost-effective person you are, you are considering (Do It Yourself) DIY wedding invitations.
If you have shopped around for wedding invitations, you probably found “discount” pricing of $100 for 100 invitations. Add the two first-class stamps needed for most wedding invitations and you will chuck out almost $200 per every 100 invitations. To make it unique and impressive, I suggest that you opt for DIY wedding invitations, which are becoming a popular practice because of the practicality of this method. This creativity will surely impress your guests.
DIY wedding invitations are an excellent way to make memorable and personal wedding invitations, and you can save you a lot of money in the process.
Here are directions for DIY wedding invitations that should cost you about 25 cents each to make. Another benefit is that these invitations will fit into a regular envelope so you only need one stamp instead of two.
For every 100 invitations, you will need 25 pieces of 12×12 inch card stock and 12×12 inch vellum, along with about 20 yards of 1/2″ satin ribbon in a color that matches your wedding theme.
Using the paper cutter, cut the card stock and vellum into 4×8 inch rectangles. You will get four rectangles out of each 12×12 inch piece of paper.
Cut the ribbon into 7-inch long pieces, the ends cut at an angle.
In Microsoft Word set page to 0″ borders and 4″ by 8″ dimensions. Don’t worry about pop up warnings about border size.
Choose a design or image for the wedding invitation background. Gold wedding rings, doves or hearts work well. A Google search for “wedding clip art” should produce more than enough ideas.
Insert your selected design into the file. Position and resize if needed. This is your background file for the wedding invitation. Save the file.
Next create a second Word file using the same dimensions as the first file. Again, don’t worry about pop up warnings about border size.
This file will contain the wording that you will use for the invitation. Select a font and font size, along with the wording layout. Experiment until you are happy with the way everything looks. Save this file.
First open the invitation background file and print this onto the 4×8 inch card stock rectangles. Make sure you change the paper size to 4×8 in the print function.
Next open the invitation wording file and print onto the 4×8 inch vellum rectangles. Again, make sure you change the paper size to 4×8 in the print function.
Let the vellum and card stock dry for at least 15 minutes.
To construct the invitations, lay the vellum printed paper on top of a card stock. Line them up and punch two holes on the top part of the invitation. These holes should be about one-half inch from the top and about one-quarter inch apart.
Thread the ends of one piece of ribbon from the front to back. Cross the ribbon and then thread from the back to the front through the opposite hole. Pull the ends and cut off any excess ribbon. Also trim the card stock and vellum so that everything lines up.
Print the information in the RSVP card and ensure that it fits your envelope.
If you are a visual person, go to YouTube.com and do a search for “make wedding invitations” for videos you can watch.
A few final notes:
The bride-to-be and groom-to-be can look online through a plethora of resources where they can get ideas for their own wedding invitation. There are a number of websites that sell accessories and the paper they will need for the DIY invitations. In fact, some even offer invitation kits to guide the buyer on the proper way of folding the paper and in assembling the invitations by including specific instructions. Some sources also provide customized or pre-made designs and large sheets of paper. Some of these sites are redbumblebee.com, amazon.com, papersource.com and formal invitations.com.
The reason why I’m urging the couple to order the needed materials from a manufacturer of affordable wedding invitations is because they will have a list of items to be included in the invitation envelope. Also, keep in mind that when you decide to make your own invitation, you need to include all important documents and information, such as the RSVP or response card, information about the hotel and reception and directions to the location of the wedding. If you’re inviting out-of-town visitors, then you can suggest local tourist attractions in your area, which they can visit.
The wording of the DIY wedding invitation itself should also be assessed by proofreading the copy repeatedly before reproducing the actual invitations to make sure that you have not committed any spelling or grammatical errors and to double check if the information printed is accurate. If making unique invitations, such as beach wedding invitations, gather a few opinions to make sure the invitation is on target.