When you decide to get married and hold a wedding party, there’s one thing that you cannot go without: your guests. And protocol dictates you need to invite your guests officially using wedding invitations. Whether you use a professionally-made or DIY wedding invitation, it will remind them to “save the date” while offering them a memento for your special day.
There are plenty of places where you can get ready-made generic invitations. That being said, DIY wedding invitations are a better choice for those who want something more personal. If you don’t want to continuously search for design agencies or planners, here are some DIY wedding invitation design tips that you can do yourself.
1. Start With a Theme or Style for a DIY Wedding Invitation
Before you start putting together anything, you need to think of a theme for your wedding. This will make it easier for you to choose a style. Do you want a Viking-themed wedding? Or perhaps you’re looking forward to inviting your friends to a fairyland festivity, or Goth party.
Regardless, you need to think about color combos, patterns, or elements that you use in your wedding. After all, your wedding invitation should give your guests a peek at the event itself. It’s a good idea to use the colors of the wedding venue.
2. Make Good Use of Fonts
When you design a wedding invitation, you must ensure you use the right fonts for the task. You may have the best pictures or patterns in there, but if the fonts are boring, then the appeal of the invitation will be lost. Make sure that the font is readable while serving its purpose and looking fancy.
It’s advisable to use two types of fonts throughout your DIY wedding invitation. For the names of the bride and groom, you can use some type of standout font, such as a script or vintage font. For the other details such as location, find a font in the same style, but that’s easier to read. This way, you can prevent any misunderstandings when you invite people.
3. Plan How to Customize Your DIY Wedding Invitation
When you are putting together a DIY wedding invitation, you need to start with the customization plan. You generally have three options for this: you make it yourself from scratch, you hire a designer, or you download a template for the framework. Even if you choose the DIY route, considering the perspective of a professional print designer can provide valuable insights and refinement to your design.
The least expensive and time-consuming option is downloading a template. With a template, you can change the patterns, wording, or other details until the invitation looks exactly like you want it to. After that, you can have it printed and delivered, saving you a lot of time in the process.
4. Incorporate Your Love Story
If you want a personalized wedding, you should take it from the very beginning – i.e., your DIY wedding invitations. Consider ways to find a way to incorporate your story into your wedding. You don’t have to write full stories on the invitation; just a couple of elements that would suggest to the guests: this is us.
If the two of you have a passion for hiking, a good personal element could be the picture of a looming mountain. If you met at a concert or festival, you might add the song lyrics of a song you both connected to. It can be a small thing, but what matters is that it should give them a sneak peek of your relationship.
5. Plan Ahead
Printing out your own wedding invitations can save a lot of money in the long run, but mishaps can happen to anyone. This is why you should always plan and make sure that you have everything you may need. Your invitations should go to your guests about eight weeks before the wedding, so you need to make sure you have all your supplies.
A good tip is to have 10% more supplies than you think you need. This includes ribbons, envelopes, ink, or paper. You’ll be thankful for these extras in case something goes wrong, and you need to re-print or redo a batch of your DIY wedding invitations.
6. Pick Out a Good Paper for Your DIY Wedding Invitation
You may not think much about this, but the wedding invitation paper you use may decide how your guests feel about the wedding. For example, if the paper is cheap, then the guests may not feel very excited when they get the invitation. Also, the wrong kind of paper may not work very well with your printer.
As a rule of thumb, the thicker the paper, the more luxurious the invitation will feel. You can go for a type of paper that has felt texture, as it will take everything to the next level. Go to a stationery store or a print shop and look for the types of papers that seem to be right for your purpose.
The Bottom Line
The wedding invitation is the first connection that your guests have to your wedding. This is why you need to ensure the invitation is a visual representation of your love. Plus, by creating your own DIY wedding invitation, you will have a nice reminder of something you did for yourself on your special day.