DIY Wedding Invitations

(click image to enlarge)

If you're the type of bride who can't imagine sharing the same design with a thousand other brides, but you can't squeeze letterpress into your budget for your custom invitations, I say DIY! Do-It-Yourself project have pros and cons and I've listed a few here.

Pros:

• It costs a fraction of the price if you know what you're doing
• They can be completely unique and amazing
• Having a handmade element makes a wedding so personal
  

Cons:

• They can cost 3x as much if you have no idea what you're doing
• If you spend every free minute working on them, you'll come to hate them
• You'll need the right tools for the job

There are a myriad of ways to make your own stationery (and incorporate the same ideas into your favors). Two of my favorite ways that are also foolproof are to stamp your invitations or using DIY kits. Stamping can be great- you can use beautifully designed wedding stamps or even have one created based off your own original artwork. I also know many brides who have asked a calligrapher to create the wedding invitation text and with their permission have turned the art into stamps. The result is stunning and personal.

Really take some time to be creative when doing DIY invites, don't be afraid to experiment. Once you have your design, time yourself creating one and then multiply it for your stationery count to make sure you can really do it. Remember that even cutting 200 pieces of paper to size can take up to six hours! But grab a bunch of friends over, rent a few good movies and it can be done!

DIY kits can be great and they're guaranteed to keep costs, time and frustration down. Smitten has print-at-home invitation kits that are reviewed by a typographer to make sure your invitations will look amazing. Then you can take the art and use a home printer or a gocco machine to print. When printing from home remember to use an inkjet printer (I have a Canon iP4500). Be sure to find a high-quality paper as it will bring your stationery from homemade to luxurious.

You can also incorporate some handmade elements with finished products for a cohesive, beautiful wedding stationery suite. And you'll have the freedom to add small details that really make your stationery amazing, like a paper wrap with a ribbon and charm. The fine touches will help make your DIY stationery completely custom and charming.