DIY Wedding Invitations

Just like our DIY save the dates, I knew I wanted to tackle a DIY Wedding Invitation project.

Since I know my way around basic designs, and I’m a big fan of customization without the crazy cost attached, I knew our best option was for me to design and print the invitation components and for us to put them all together.

The Concept

So, when you plan to design your own invitations, where do you begin? The best first place is to create a budget. Printing can be costly, but there are definitely ways to cut down the costs.

The next place is to figure out the overall look you want to achieve with the invitation.

I saw this fold-open envelope during one of my Pinterest-browsing sessions, and knew this was the direction I wanted to go.

We’d settled on dark blue and orange as our colors, which happened by accident. I found these awesome blue shoes for the wedding, and thought hey, I like blue, and that settled the first color!

Since we are getting married on Halloween, I thought orange would be a fitting second color, since we plan on using pumpkins for decoration. Also, blue and orange are complementary colors, so they pair nicely.

Once I found the envelopes (from Cards & Pockets), I started searching for the other components. I knew I wanted a general invitation, a response card and response/return envelope, and an outer envelope to store it all.

After some google research, I learned it was also a good idea to include an information card with the address, times, and registry information.

Designing the Contents

Knowing the dimension of the envelope, I started designing pieces that would fit into it.

I started with the main invitation. The envelope allows for a portrait orientation, so I designed something to fit that. I knew I wanted to keep it simple and classy, using our blue and orange colors.

The hardest part was coming up with the beginning phrase/line! Thank you, google. We’re ‘hosting’ the wedding ourselves, so we chose not to include “the parents of” in the opening phrase, but I found that is a common way to begin the invitation language.

We went through a few ideas, but eventually settled on “Join us to celebrate the marriage of…” It worked great for us!

I chose Snell Roundhand for the font – simple but script-y (but readable). I used the same monogram we used for the Save the Dates as the background image. I designed all the pieces using Photoshop (don’t tell on me to designers).

The information card and main invite were printed via Vistaprint on recycled matte paper (I didn’t want glossy for the main invite).

The RSVP card proved a bit trickier, since it had to be a custom size to fit into the RSVP envelope. I designed these and ordered them from Uprinting.

Since our wedding features a buffet brunch with lots of food choices, we didn’t need to ask food preference on the RSVP card, so I kept the card pretty small.

Here’s what it looks like all pieced together:

We included pre-stamped reply envelopes to make the RSVP process easier on our guests. I printed small white labels with our address to place on the envelopes, since they are a darker color.

I ordered additional items – invitation tissue (white) and a ‘belly band’ in orange to accent the invitation (also from Cards & Pockets).

We had fun creating a workshop space in the kitchen, assembling the whole package! Johnny was in charge of all the stamping. We used our custom Stampanda stamps on the outer envelopes, which were cream colored.

We had two custom stamps — one with our return address on it and one with our “A” Wedding monogram:

The monogram looked awesome on the front of the envelopes!

I hand-lettered all of the names and addresses on the outer envelopes, using a fine-tip black Sharpie marker.

I’m so pleased with how our invitations turned out, and loved having another wedding DIY project to work on with Johnny!

#happilyeveranderson2