making your own invitations

[periwinkle]

is anyone else out there thinking about making your own invitations? i am thinking about it, and i figured that it would cost me about $.50-$.75 each, depending on whether or not i want to use the vellum. i would love to hear from anyone out there who is considering making your own invitations.

[Dawn28]

Hi- I was thinking about it-however, I have yet to tell my mother and I'm afraid as to what she will say- that its 'not professional' or appropriate or something; but I've done some art in the past and want to be creative and cut costs, so why not? My fiance can do computer work, I can be creative...email me with your ideas if you'd like- and good luck!

[periwinkle]

well, this is what i think - a wedding shouldn't be professional, it should be personal. if you could make one that looks nice, i'm sure she would warm up to the idea. when i first started thinking about how i could cut costs, i thought about making my own invitations. then i set out trying to figure out a pattern. when i had one ready, i made a few. and guess what. they looked really nice. my suggestion to you is try a few different things. that way you can pick out what you like about each one, and then combine what you like into one invitation that you will really like.
i will be here to help you, any time you need it. just drop me a line. i'm here.
g

[mblood]

We are also considering homemade. With any graphics program and a good printer, you can do just about anything that the stores can (except embossing). My thought is...how many people actually keep the invitation past the date? money in the trash!!! You may want to consider postcard replies, too. Save money on return postage.
good luck--mandy

[periwinkle]

hey did you know that you can emboss your own invitations? and you don't need to use that goofy powder... i am embossing mine. i have an embossing folder from sizzix. all you do is put the paper into the folder, put it under the press, and push the handle down and you have a bow, or flowers, or bells... it's really beautiful. check out www.sizzix.com and look for the simple impressions embossing folders. i love sizzix for all of my scrapbooking and cardmaking needs. i also like some of 'making memories' products.
i hope this helps anyone out there
g

[staceyj]

we are planning to make our own invitations too. I agree, it should be about creativity and should be personal. Everyone coming to your wedding knows you and knows what you like and they will be able to see it in the invitations. If they can see it that means they really know you and understand the creativity.

[NovemberBride2000]

have you guys checked out any of the papers they sell online to print your own invitations at home? You can get the same "professional" look as the customized ones you order from a retailer or store, but they are MUCH cheaper. and there are templates online to make them fit perfectly onto the papers, even if odd shaped. check out: www.printathomeinvitations.com

[DBRIDEDAS]

I'm Considering Doing Our Invitations Too. My Only Thing Is I'd Like To Add Our Engagement Photo With The Invitation. I've Been Looking In The Invitation Books And It Looks Easy But I'm Not Sure, But That's My Idea

[pitcrewchic]

i considered making my own invitations and response cards. we are having 350+ guests, so it is looking pretty expensive to get invitations and rsvp cards. i got a catalog that i found cheap invitations in. i am picking item #ATA0449-952 on www.AnnsWedding.com it is a three sided invitation, looks very professional and very reasonalby priced. you can get 100 for 31.75 and additional sets of 25 are 6.75! i haven't been able to find make at home invites for cheaper than that for 350+ people.

[nle5]

My fiance and I are planning on making our invitations to the wedding. We will need to make about 150 and so it will be cheaper on us in the long run. We can pick up the cards at OfficeMax, Staples, Michaels crafts, etc for a decent price. We both have really good printers and can run them off. I noticed that the invitation kits have websites to some different designers and can get a good idea for wording and such. The kits also have several test copies that you can use to make sure that the invitation is exactly what you want. Not only do the kits come with the invitations and envelopes but some also come with the RSVP cards. I picked up some blank business cards that we are going to create the Save the date cards. We will then include the save the date cards in with our Christmas cards for this year. Since our wedding isn't until March 2006 we both thought that it would be a nice idea. Alot of the things for the wedding are going to be handmade so that it will be cheaper. I am also starting to pick up things on sale for decorations, favors, invitations, etc. If it's on sale and in the colors of our wedding I am picking it up. Good luck ladies.

[happybride1]

I am making my own invitations! I was looking through tons of books that had everything but what i wanted. I am really into precious moments and i did find a company that made them but for a really big expense. I wanted to CRY! I am on a big budget. So me and my future mother-in- law were shopping in a craft store called MICHAELS. We found in their bridal section, a bunch of blank invitations. and guess what i found?! I found the same invitations i was going to order from the company right there on the SHELF. THey actually had blank precious moments invitations. I bought 2 boxes of 50 that had the invitations, envelopes, response cards and envelopes for them as well. I paid $56 for 100 invitations i can print myself for really cheap rather than spend $300 on ones i couldn't really fit into my budget! Don't worry about what your mother thinks or anyone else for that matter! this is your big day.

[www.asyouwishwed.com]

With paper arts like scrapbooking so popular there are so many options that if you are even a little crafty you can do soemthing amazing, personal, and profesional looking.

For my wedding we did a music CD with all our favorit love songs. It was cheep to make but expensive to send.

[TriniBda]

I am making my own invitations. This will make it more personal and you can add whatever you want to it, including a photo of you and your fiance. This is also more cost effective and a way of expressig yourself. I'm using The PrintShop Deluxe software.

[alamar1]

is anyone else out there thinking about making your own invitations? i am thinking about it, and i figured that it would cost me about $.50-$.75 each, depending on whether or not i want to use the vellum. i would love to hear from anyone out there who is considering making your own invitations.
I am making my own inviations with vellum and a natural paper with floral inclusions. I will print the invitation on the vellum sheets and then layer it over the floral paper. The two sheets will be tied together with a bow. I am then using response cards and envelopes that are available at office max. It will cost about $1 or less per invitation. Go to invitesite.com for some great ideas for DIY invitations. Luckily, I have a professional paper cutting board available since my mother is an artist, so I am able to cut large sheets bought in bulk. For those that aren't this lucky there are many invitation kits at office max that can be spiced up by adding bows or vellum overlays(available at Micheals). If you want to save money on your wedding, you should definitely read Bridal Bargains by Denise and Alan Fields. The book was $14, and I have definitely saved hundreds of dollars with the advice of this book. Good luck ladies!

[nyecaddbe]

I Made My Own The Theme Is Butterflies I Got Everything At Ac Moore (craft Store) They Were With Rub On Stikers They ***e Out Beautiful I Used My Computer And Used The Nice Type Lettering With The Color Of The Wedding Im Doing Everything My Self And Its Much Better In Pricing The Favor,the Center Pcs Everything ....... Good Luck

[deeringkbcdc]

We are going to print our own invitations, we were going to make them until we went to Xpedex and found some for $15 that they had discontinued, but they were exactly what I wanted. We got 200 invites plus 200 thank you notes, it was an awesome deal!! It is really easy to make your own invites though, I had a friend who made all the invites for her bridal shower and it is a cost effective way to make them! Good luck!

[SweetieT]

I am planning on making my invitations. Michael's has a kit which includes 50 invitations, 50 envelopes, 50 response cards & 50 response envelopes along with a test card and sample card. I plan on making my invitations this weekend.

[Tattooed_galcdbe]

We are doing the country western theme. We made our own invitations to meet that theme. We had so much fun making the invite. We made a hard copy when went down to a copy store and had them duplcated our invite. Everyone loved them. We even had people asked us to make their theme invites. If we can do it, anyone can do it. So go for it and, have fun with it. Your guest will love the personal touch.

[freckleface]

Hi, I just finished making my own save the dates and invitations and it was ALOT cheaper!!! Less than $100 each and I had alot of enclosures and used sparkly "Stardream" paper (I also bought an embosser for the return address on the envelopes and it looks great (my FH and I live to gether now so it was easy for us to do that)

The best stationary prices I found were on

envelopemall.com, they do charge you if you want samples but shipp fast and cheap!

I designed the invites with Microsoft publisher and had them printed up at a local print shop

Good Luck!

[alicelovesjimmy2007]

We were planning on making our own invitations, but after pricing everything we would need (paper, velum, ribbon, ect.) it ***e to around $.75/invite. Then we were in Wal-Mart one day and found these really nice invitations that you just print on yourself. We got 80 for $30. There's no way we could have made them that cheaply. And the ones we bought look very nice; I actually saw some exactly like them in a magazine I got in the mail.

[bellavista]

Very cool.Thanks!So does anyone know a good website that offers help w/this?Or maybe theres a way around ordering the invitation on line but down loading it insted.

[wardfamaz]

Hello ladies. Just to let you know, I did my own invitations. I bought the kit at walmart. It ***e with 40 invitations w/ envelopes, also with the reply cards and envelopes. I also got the coordinating thank you cards. For all of that, it was a little less than $20.00 before tax. I've gotten so many comments about how beautiful they look. It was super easy too. Good luck.

[MattnAng07]

We are making our own invitations. Our guest list is over 200. I bought postcards at Sams Club. There are 300 postcards in it, obviously way more than I need, but it only cost $20.00. We are using these as reply cards. I bought an invitation kit (only stock and envelopes) at Michaels. I used one of their weekly coupons and got 100 for $7.80. Ink could have been an expense, but we are a college town and went to the surplus store. My FH got ink cartridges for $5.00 each.

So, all in all we will be spending about $90.00 (with about $60 of that being postage).

[Xipha]

I am making my own invitations for a guest list of 100. We got paper form a printing press nearby, they sell the ends of the paper that thery don't use for really cheap and it is beautiful thick paper in every imaginable color. Plus I got all paper I needed plus extra for $2. I also have quite a bit of experience doing graphic art on the computer so I can make up a design with a cool font. Then I am going to print the design on cream colored paper and put a blue paper behind that (these are my wedding colors). Also I am just going to ask people to e-mail or phone their response to save on postage. So really the only expense will be the ink.

[justmeg]

I am making mine as we speak - I bought a kit from Hobby Lobby with 100 invites for $10 and purchased paper from paper-source.com to make a wrap that seals with our initials. So far so good - time consuming though but very inexpensive!