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Designed your own DIY wedding invitations and just looking for somewhere to make them a printed reality? You are in the right place! We can print your digital files on your chosen card type, and we have lots of beautiful accessories to make them even more special. Whether you are looking for DIY Pocketfolds to compliment your own printed invites or quality wedding envelopes that do your invites justice, we have a great variety of products right here on our website. We have gone above and beyond to find only the best suppliers so that you don’t need to settle for anything less than perfect! If you want the impression of homemade wedding invitations but still want the outcome to look professional, then having your own designs and adding your own accessories can be a great way to achieve this.
If you’re planning a wedding, you are no doubt realising that costs are a key factor, and the thought of making some of the wedding invitations yourself has probably crossed your mind. DIY is increasingly popular these days and can save money. But there’s a lot to consider and they’re not for everyone. The biggest factor to consider is time and whether your precious time is worth it. If you’re one of those people that loves playing around on Photoshop and Illustrator and making your own cards, it could be a really satisfying process. You’ll need to be realistic about your resources from the start as everyone has varying levels of creative ability, budget, and time. What you imagine and what you produce may be very different. The ‘champagne taste on a beer budget’ rarely works. If however you do have the budget, time, and resources to create what you want, go for it! DIY wedding invitations can save you money and be a lot of fun to make.
Potentially, yes… but not always. Saving money is the most common reason for couples to choose this route. But if your decision is based solely on savings, it’s important to consider what’s involved and recognise that it doesn’t always save you money. If you have the time and skills to design, print, and assemble invitations on your own, you are already saving because you’re not paying a profession to do these things for you. If however, you find you don’t have any way of printing and will need to outsource that part, then you’re already well on the way to not actually saving much as the printing and cardstock are a large part of the cost.
Pro: Saving money is the most common one. If there are things you can do yourself, you will be able to save money. Professionally printed stationery can get expensive, and it may not be what you and your partner wish to spend money on in which case it might be the right choice for you. You will need to consider the type of cardstock used, the style of the invitation, the printing method(s) used and also the quantity you’ll need. All will have a bearing on the cost. If you only need a small number of invites, it may be better for you to make them yourself.
Con: The fact remains that you will still have costs associated with DIY wedding invitations. You’ll need to purchase everything required yourself. Printer ink is notoriously expensive, and something often overlooked. You’ll also need to spend money on samples, card, paper, envelopes, design software, accessories and tools. Most things are cheaper in bulk so you may find you’re paying over the odds for what you need. Even the small things like glue and scissors aren’t always already on hand. If you need a large quantity of cards, you may find it simply isn’t cost effective or practical to print them all yourself.
Pro: You may have very set ideas of how the finished product should look. Maybe you haven’t been wowed by anything you’ve viewed online. If you have the ideas, software, and skills to create your own, this can be a huge contributing factor to making your own wedding invitations. You may consider it a major advantage to have complete creative control over the final product. Taking the DIY route limits you only to your imagination, budget, and creative ability.
Con: It’s not as easy as some might imagine making a vision in your head become reality. You may find you simply don’t have the skills to work design software and need someone with years of experience to do this for you. This doesn’t mean you have to give up your ideas. Any good designer can work with you to ensure you’re happy with the resulting product. At Vintage Prints, we not only customise every invitation on our website, but we’ve even created listings that are blank and ready for your design such as this one here: https://www.vintageprints.co.uk/Invitations/invitations-All-day-Invites/pocketfold-wedding-invites/Any-Design-Pocketfold-Wedding-Invitation You’ll need to have the basic tools including a computer, printer, and scissors or other cutting equipment. Not to mention the cardstock, accessories, and envelopes. The basics won’t translate into anything particularly special though so consider carefully what’s required before embarking on this journey. You’ll also need someone to actually design and create the ready-to-print file using software.
Pro: It can be a lot of fun to get creative and design your own invitations. Whether it’s with your spouse, a family member or a close friend, there’s no doubt it can be most enjoy able. Spending quality time together and contributing to something that is special to you can make cherished memories. If you and your partner both feel this way, it could be a great project to complete together.
Con: It could also be a chore for your partner and cause frustration and anxiety. The last thing you want is to get into squabbles over it. It’s very time consuming and this may not be something you can both afford. You may enjoy the process, but your partner may find it tedious. It’s worth considering what’s more important, time or money?
Pro: Printing at home means it’s instant and you have complete control over it. Great for small quantities, not quite so good if you need a larger number of invites and any associated cards. Ink is also very expensive so do take this into consideration.
Con: You’ll have to consider all the technical aspects yourself such as resolution and dimensions, bleed allowance, RGB or CMYK colours, contrast, etc. You find your design looks stretched or faded after printing and be disappointed with the result. A professional printer will handle this all for you so that you know the result will be right.
Pro: You may love working with ribbon, lace, beads, wax, and other accessories. It’s a time to get creative and add a personal touch to your invitations.
Con: You may have loved the idea of creating wax seals and envelope liners but find the reality of creating them isn’t quite as easy or cheap as you imagined.
Pro: Wedding invitations can become quite complex, the more information you have to pass on to your guests. You may need additional cards and inserts, including RSVP cards. Perhaps you need guests to select menu options. The more information there is, the higher the chance of making a mistake. You may feel more confident having complete control over all of this rather than giving the job to a professional.
Con: Any printing errors are entirely down to you. Printer errors, problems with card, and other errors are just par for the course in any printing endeavour. So, expect to come across obstacles along the way. You’ll need to buy more materials than you need to ensure you have enough when things go wrong. You’ll need to take your time and print in batches to avoid printer jams and ensure you printer can cope with the quantities being printed.
Tip: No matter what, don’t let it stress you out. Remind yourself that you entered into this with fun and creativity in mind so don’t let these hiccups get you down. Keep it in perspective.
You’ve made up your mind and going to make your own wedding invitations. First you need to consider if you have all the tools for the job: - Access to a computer to design the invitations - Card & Paper - Envelopes - Printer that can print a good enough quality and on your chosen cardstock. Remember that printers do not print all the way to the edge of card! Consider the cost of ink/toner. - Additional Tools: Cutter/guillotine for trimming cards, particularly if you want edge to edge printing; Embossers, Stamps, Scoring Tools, Foiler etc. - Time! Lots of it! If it’s not something you do often, don’t underestimate how long it takes to figure out each step of the process from sizing and preparing files to print, to fixing print issues etc. Time is also money so consider if it’s worth your time. - Stress! If any of the above is going to cause stress, consider handing it over to a professional to handle. At Vintage Prints we take the stress out of it all. You provide your ideas, and we turn them into the finished product. - Cost: The budget available is usually the reason many choose to take the DIY route in the first place. It can be budget friendly but it’s worth considering all the above before making a final decision as you may find you haven’t saved nearly as much as you thought.
- Most people have done the fun part before they either choose to create their own or approach a professional to create their invitations… gathering ideas! It’s great fun and incredibly time consuming to browse the internet from Pinterest, blogs, and forums through social media to websites found on Google or other search engines. - Testing stage: you’ll probably want to order samples and try out various types of card, envelopes, and other additions until you find what you’re happy with. This takes more time. You’ll also need to ensure your printer can handle whatever card or paper you wish to use. Not all printers are equal, and results can be disappointing and extremely costly as ink doesn’t come cheap. - Order Supplies: Once you’ve tested and found the card/paper/envelopes you wish to use, you’ll need to order in enough for the invitations you have planned. Don’t forget to keep enough for reprints and also allow room for error. You’ll also need any additional items such as glue, ribbon, twine, wax etc. - Printing: You’ve finally got that stage where you’re happy it’s all correct and you can start to actually print. If you’re lucky it will go smoothly, and you’ll be happy with the results. But do allow yourself extra time and materials should things not go as well as hoped. Misfeeds, smudged or faded ink can mean reprinting some items again. - Assembling: Yay, you’ve got them all printed and are ready to start putting them all together. You may have decided to opt for Pocketfolds or perhaps you wish to tie them with ribbon or glue embellishments on. Whatever it is, you’ll need to allow yourself plenty of time. This is where other members of the bridal party can lend a hand. Turn it into a fun session. - Post Office Recce: You’ve got all your envelopes labelled and sealed so now you’ll need to take the time to go to the post office and get stamps. It’s always a good idea to take a sample wedding invitation suite to the post office to weigh it before applying postage to the envelope. It’s very easy to find what you thought was a letter has become a large letter because of a bump in the envelope. You wouldn’t want them to get lost or returned. - Return Trip to Post Office: Now you can actually post everything. You may be able to just drop them into a post box at this stage. Make sure you at least have a list of everything you send so that you don’t doubt yourself later.
You can consider digital wedding invitations. They may be better for your budget and are of course a quick way to get them to your guests. However, not all guests may be good with computers/mobiles so they might not be suitable for everyone. If your event is a very short notice, it might be the only way to get all the relevant information out to your guests. Given all the postal strikes we’ve experienced in the not-so-distant past, you might feel more comfortable emailing them. They may be great for more casual affairs. But if the tradition and formality are more important to you, not to mention the printed memento, it may be better to go down a printed route.
You can still reduce the cost when having invitations professionally printed. It’s not uncommon to have additional inserts and cards with information on the itinerary, directions to the venue, accommodation details, menu, and much more. Consider setting up a wedding website for all the details. You can have a beautiful professional invitation printed with a link or QR code to the website address, removing the need for additional cards. This may not be suitable for anyone averse to digital media but is certainly an option to consider. The advantage is that the website is a convenient way to notify guests with up-to-date information at any time without having to reprint any cards.
Let’s consider exactly why you are looking at DIY Wedding invitations: If it’s budget alone, it might not be the right choice. There are ways of keeping costs down that don’t involve you trying to purchase all the resources yourself. Time is something that pushes costs up so if the invitations you want involve gluing/tying/assembling, consider doing those things yourself. Having them printed professionally will ensure you still get the quality result.
If time is of the essence, don’t go there! It can be incredibly time consuming to create wedding invitations. Unless you’re simply printing off a single card with text, you might find there’s an awful lot more involved than you thought.
If it’s the though of stress dealing with a professional stationer, remember that this should never be the case. Are you able to get in contact with a real person and express your concerns? Does the website have lots of information both on the product pages and in an FAQ section? You should be able to find answers to all your questions up front and know that the process will be stress free.
If it’s having creative control that is worrying you, remember that at Vintage Prints we allow you have to full creative control! If you have a friend that has created your dream design, it’s no problem for us to translate that into a wedding invitation. Not only do we have lots of designs already available on our website, but we can tweak them, move things around, change colours, create a different style of invite in a chosen design, or use elements of your own to create a new design. Just email us with your ideas and we’ll be happy to advise you.
If it’s the challenge of communicating your ideas to a designer, get in touch with us at Vintage Prints and we’ll be happy to help.
We hope that all of the above has given you an insight into DIY wedding invitations and indeed all wedding stationery. Hopefully you’ll be able to create a perfect balance between achieving your dream end result and a professional quality. Browse our products and the information on each of their information tabs and check out our extensive FAQ which is always being updated to reflect questions we are asked. We are always available to assist so don’t hesitate to contact us if you can’t find the information you are looking for. You can email us at contact@vintageprints.co.uk or get in touch by phone on 07950 00 00 60. We’re happy to meet you in person in our shop in Blackminster or set up a Zoom call to discuss your requirements. If you’d like to pop by in person, call or email us first to ensure we’ll be open as we don’t have regular opening times.
