How to Make Your Own Formal Wedding Invitations
The wedding invitations are a crucial part of your special day. These cards will detail everything your guests need to know to attend the event. As computers and graphic design programs become commonplace, more and more couples are designing their own invitations. Not only does this save on the cost of an expensive printer, making your own invitations gives you a unique chance to craft this special part of your wedding with your own tastes and talents in mind.
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Things You'll Need
- Stationary Envelopes List of invitees and addresses Word processing program Printer Stamps
Instructions
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Making Formal Wedding Invitations
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1
Select the supplies for your invitations. At a bare minimum, you will need to purchase some stationary. Most office supply and craft stores offer kits for just this purpose. These kits typically include large cards for the invitations, smaller response cards and envelopes for both. If you would like to include additional cards with the invitation, such as transportation or hotel information, you can also purchase additional small cards in a matching design. Buy all of your supplies at once. If you return later for an extra box of invitation cards, you may find your design out of stock.
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2
Decide on the wording for your wedding invitations. A traditional invitation for a formal wedding may begin with "Mr. and Mrs. John Smith request the honor of your presence at the marriage of their daughter, Jane Marie and Joe Michael Johnson." This should be followed by the date and time, with all words spelled out, e.g., "Friday, the sixth of June, two thousand eight, at six o'clock in the evening." Lastly, the full address of the location should be given. Numbers can be used for the numerical part of the address, but the street, city, and state should be spelled out completely with no abbreviations.
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3
Create a monogram or other design for your invitations. This can be as simple as a flower selected from the Clip Art in Word, or as complex as a unique design created with Photoshop. Consider a picture that complements the theme of your wedding, such as seashells or dolphins for a seaside wedding, or poinsettias for a winter event.
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4
Design the template for your invitations. This can be done fairly easily in Word. Some invitation kits will come with specific instructions or access to an online template. If this is not available, your first step is to measure the size of your invitation cards and enter this as the size of your paper in Word. Next, enter all the information and graphics you intend to use on your invitation.
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5
Print sample invitations. Cut several pieces of paper to the exact size of your invitations. Mark the location of any pre-printed borders or other designs. Print at least two perfect invitations before you begin using the cards. You may need to adjust the margin and text sizes several times before the invitations look just right.
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6
Decide on the wording for your response cards and other included cards. Your response cards must have a place for the invitee to enter his name as well as options to accept or decline the invitation. If you need for respondees to select a meal for the reception, this should be included on the card as well. Additional cards may include directions to the church, information on a block of rooms you have booked at a nearby hotel, or the address for your wedding Web site, where all of this information should be available.
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7
Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the response cards and other cards to be included with the invitation.
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8
Print or hand-write your address on the envelopes for response cards, and the invitee's address on the invitation envelopes. The street names and states should be spelled out completely on formal wedding invitations. Include a stamp on each envelope. Stuff the invitation envelope with the invitation, response card, response envelope, and any additional cards and mail.
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