With or without invitation kits, there are many ways to create gorgeous and unique invitations that will even save you money! No, you’re not crazy to want create do it yourself wedding invitations or use and invitation kit. Pre-made invitations are way too expensive and finding ones you like can be a near impossible task. Remember, it is just paper, after all! Do it yourself wedding invitations are actually very doable, and it doesn’t matter if you are inviting 50 people or 500 people, you can do it! Check out the Paper Punch Do It Yourself Wedding Invitations project for a very simple and elegant way to create your own invitations using a decorative paper punch.
If you have a printer (or know someone that does and will let you use it) you are already 1/2 way there to doing it the cheapest and easiest way. Invitation and wedding program paper comes in many colors, styles, sizes, textures and patterns. My own blank invitation paper and envelopes were purchased from Dick Blick Art Materialsonline. You can even print on many types of vellum! I experimented with vellum printing (on my inkjet printer) for my own invites and found that if you let the page dry overnight it won’t smudge or smear. If you like, you can choose a blank invitation kit that come pre-coordinated with invites, envelopes and rsvp cards.
DIY Wedding Invitations
Wedding invitation kit
If you have nice handwriting, do it yourself wedding invitations can also be handwritten which can give a casual, fun, quirky, friendly feel to them. I don’t recommend handwriting unless your guest list is well under 50 though! Remember, one mistake and you have to start over. Kinkos and other discount print shops are your friends. They have large selections of cardstock options and they can print quality invitations at a fraction of the cost of the invitation companies. Taking your design to a kinkos is a no stress way to get invitations done if your guest list is very large.
Stamps are a great way to decorate and create do it yourself wedding invitations. By simply printing your text on plain white cardstock, or a plain invitation kit, in black ink and then adding a colorful stamp to the invite and envelope, you can create a nice look with your invites & rsvp cards. There are thousands (millions?) of stamps to choose from, and you can even get a 9”x7” rectangles worth of your own stamps custom made with text or images to use on your do it yourself wedding invitations. This means you could have a stamp made of your names, date and symbols that go with your wedding theme. Then you can buy colored stamp ink and go crazy decorating the wedding program paper, invites, envelopes, rsvp cards—and not to mention favor boxes, napkins and more!
Stickers, or envelope seals are another great decorative (and functional) element that can be added to do it yourself wedding invitations or an invitation kit. Closing the outer envelope with a colorful sticker (although when used on an envelope they are called “seals”) it an excellent way to coordinate the whole package. It is not necessary to stick to “envelope seals” that are made for this purpose, there are many beautiful stickers of flowers, suns, moons, plants, sunsets, etc that will fit the bill. Pressed flower stickers are also gorgeous, but keep in mind that any stickers that are too thick (think puffy stickers) are more likely to get stuck or even pulled off in the mail sorting machines.
Ribbons can be used on invitations as decoration or to attach layers of paper. Ribbons are the easiest way to bind together the wedding program paper, too. A simple circle hole punch is the only tool you need to assemble vellum over your card stock, add layers of paper or bind your wedding programs into a booklet. The color of ribbon you choose can coordinate with the other elements of your invites and your wedding colors. I also learned (thanks to my mother-in-law) that the type of ribbon can give clues as to the formality of the wedding. A raffia ribbon suggests more casual, while satin is more formal. I don’t know if guests will actually know this, but hey, something to think about!
Here is an invitation created using a copy of a champagne label. The vellum was printed at home & attached with ribbon to the card stock:
Handmade Wedding Invitations
Whatever you decide to do for your do it yourself wedding invitations or if you go the wedding invitation kit route, have fun! Your invites are the first way that many people hear about your upcoming wedding celebration; so let them represent you as a couple. If you plan on doing a lot of things yourself, what better way to start than by doing your own invites?
PS: Don’t forget to put a stamp on the rsvp card’s envelope for your guests to mail them back! Also, write numbers on the backs of the rsvp cards and have a master list with the number & guest’s name it was sent to. This way, when you get rsvp cards back without a name written in (believe me, this happens) you’ll know who it is from.
It’s your wedding, do things the way you want!