Wedding Invitations

Wedding invitations can be a big decision, even though you might think something so small would probably be fairly insignificant, your wedding invitation sets the tone for your whole wedding. If your guests receive a hand written supermarket piece of paper they are probably expecting a very casual affair, where as if they receive a immaculately designed and professionally printed invitation set complete with info sheet and stamped RSVP cards then they would surely see that you’ve gone to a lot of expense therefore your wedding is expected to be a more up market affair.

Just because you choose to have DIY wedding invitations doesn’t mean they have to look second rate. There are literally thousands of couples who have made their own wedding invites that look professionally made, so don’t despair if you haven’t got the budget to pay for custom designed invites!

Here is a great example of a couple who hand made their invitations, yet they still looked professionally made!

If you’re wondering how to make that fabulous pocket fold to store your invitation bits and pieces have a look below for some detailed DIY instructions.

Pocketfold invitations are very popular at the moment, but purchasing them in any great number can get very costly. Making them yourself is a great alternative if you have a strict budget and plenty of time up your sleaves before it’s time to send out the invites. This pocket-fold is constructed from a single sheet of 30cm x 30cm scrapbook card and cost me less than 40¢ to make. You’ll need to visit your local wedding supplies shop, or stationery outlet to get the supplies you need. It definitely makes a difference using good quality card or paper and accessories. The best way to make your DIY wedding invitations look good is to use the best wedding stationery that you can afford.

1. Start with your sheet of 30cm x 30cm card or paper and use a paper cutter to cut it down to 17.5cm x30cm. Keep the remaining piece for making the pocket.
2. Using a Scor-Pal, or a scoring blade and a straight edge, score the paper at 6cm and19cm.
3. Fold along the score lines and use a bone folder to create a crisp crease. Voila! You have the outer folder!
4. To make the pocket, take the remaining 12.5cm x30cm piece of card stock and cut a 9cmx19cm rectangle.
5. Score the rectangle at 1cm on both 9cm sides, and at one of the 19cm sides.
6. To get a nice, clean fold without overlapping, you have to miter the corner. To do this, take your scissors and cut the two bottom corners (where the score lines intersect) at an angle.
7. Fold in the three sides. The edges of your mitered corners should meet, but not overlap.
8. Apply double-sided tape to the 1cm sides.
9. Adhere the pocket to the inside of the folder.
10. Decorate the pocketfold with a strip of paper to create a bellyband to hold it all closed.

And there you have it! One pocketfold ready to house your wedding invitation and accompanying inserts.

Photo Wedding Invitations

What better way to personalize your invitations than by making photo wedding invitations? A picture of you and your other half would be a nice change for your guests to receive, rather than a ‘stock standard’ printed invitation.

If you are having engagement photos taken professionally you won’t even have to go to the expense of another professional photo shoot, as the engagement pictures are perfect for your invitations.

If you can get the photos in digital format then it makes it easy to send to your invitation designer to integrate into the whole invitation theme. If you only have a hard copy, don’t worry as designers can still work with this by scanning it into a digital format.

If you’re on a budget (as most brides are) then you might like to make your photo invitations yourself. Ask a friend or family member with a good quality digital (SLR is best) camera to take some photos for you. If you’ve already got a picture of the two of you that you love, then great! You’re one step ahead.

Once you have your photo in digital format on your computer, simply insert it into whatever software you’re using and continue with the design just like you would any other wedding invitation.

If you’ve decided to make your own wedding invites you might be stuck on deciding the perfect wording for wedding invitations. There are many good websites on the internet that are full of love poems, traditional wedding etiquette invitation wording and tons of funky ideas to make your invites special and unique.