About the Author: Alyssa is the founder and stationery designer of Alyssa Napier Design, a template studio that empowers brides-to-be to create beautiful invitations and signage at an affordable price point.
What began as a hobby for Alyssa to keep busy and creative in 2020 quickly turned into a business to help brides on a budget. Having planned her own wedding, she resonated with the many pain points brides-to-be planning their own weddings were experiencing, specifically finding the “right” invitations.
Now, Alyssa Napier Design has branched out into more life milestones, with a specific focus on weddings, because we just love love. We continue to strive to stand out as the warm, inviting, and soulful studio that really cares about helping our customers.
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Hey DIY bride! We know you’re probably feeling a little overwhelmed with all things wedding planning, but we’re here to help take a little off your shoulders. Do you want to make your own wedding invitations, but have no idea where to start? Keep reading to learn everything you need to know!
Before we get into the how, let’s chat about why we think making your own wedding invitations is the way to go.
Affordable
It’s no surprise that many brides DIY their invites, and one of the biggest reasons why is cost. Generally, couples should set aside four to six percent of their overall budget for wedding invitations. How would you like to spend less than that? When you make your own invitations, you forgo the cost of hiring a custom stationery designer, which can end up costing you about £10-£30 per wedding invitation!
Control
When you make your own invitations, you have complete control of the design! You choose the exact fonts that you love, can add your own photos, and can even decide what paper to print them on. It’s up to you how extravagant you want to make them.
Now, let’s get into the how. Our best recommendation for making DIY invitations as easy as possible? Start with a template!
Step One - Choose a Template
A template is a product in which you can choose a design and customize with your own information. Templates will save you time and money! Rather than totally trying to DIY (buying your own fonts and graphics, designing the invitation from scratch, etc.), a template allows you to choose a style you like and simply plug in your own info. That’s it! If a template sounds right for you, check out our Etsy shop for designs you’ll love.
Step Two - Customize
Our favorite online editor is Canva, a graphic design tool that allows you to fully customize your invitations without having to download any software or need high-level design skills. If you’ve never used Canva before, check out this tutorial with step-by-step instructions on how to personalize your invitations!
Step Two - Download & Print
When you’re happy with your invitations, it’s time to download them. We recommend selecting the “PDF-PRINT” option if you decide to use Canva, because this will be the highest quality file for printing at 300 DPI (which is what most online printers require).
Want to print at home? This blog features step-by-step instructions (as well as other professional printing recommendations).
Step Three - Embellish
The great thing about DIYing your wedding invitations is that you can really make them your own. Here are some great ways to add a personal touch:
Seal your envelopes with wax seals
Pick colored envelopes
Add your wedding logo to your envelopes with a custom embosser seal stamp
Add belly bands with your names or initials around your invitation suites
Tie your invitation suites with ribbon or twine and add some dried florals
We think making your own wedding invitations is a great opportunity to create beautiful, personalised invitations without the long waiting period or high cost of a custom stationery designer. If you’re ready to check “wedding invitations” off your wedding to-do list, visit our shop to find the right template for you.