How to Make Your Own Wedding Invitations Online for Free

Make your own wedding invitations for free.

According the Knot, the average wedding costs approximately $27,800. Couples can save money by designing and printing their own invitations online for free. Although there are a variety of different wedding invitation websites that allow couples to design a high quality invitation online, many charge a sizable fee. With a little bit of research, creativity and ingenuity couples can find and use invitation sites that charge no fee. These sites give newlyweds-to-be the opportunity to select a theme, color scheme and letter font that matches the overall mood of the wedding.

Things You'll Need

• Card stock paper

Instructions

Finding Free Wedding Invitations Online

1. Visit an invitation website. Invitationland.com, Hooverwebdesign.com and Americangreetings.com all offer free printable invitations.

2. Click on a variety of samples to view. Look for invitations with a theme or color scheme that matches your wedding. For example, a beach background corresponds to an island destination wedding. If you have already chosen specific colors, you may want to consider a lightly detailed pattern or simple border that matches the selected shades and hues.

3. Select your top three to five favorite online invitations. Verify with the website that these are indeed free to customize and print.

4. Print one copy of each invitation on your computer printer. Compare the printed invitations to make a decision on one.

Design the Wedding Invitation Online

1. Select a letter style, color and font if the website allows it. Some printable invitations may have pre-set lettering that will not allow you to alter or customize the appearance.

2. Type in the wedding information. This may be poetically worded or a standard information page including the bride and groom's names, date and time, location, and RSVP date/phone number. If a family member, such as the bride's parents, are responsible for paying for the wedding, add in phrasing such as, "The parents of Anne Smith" or, "Mr. and Mrs. John Smith cordially invite you to the wedding of their daughter Anne May to John Jay."

3. Add a decorative border or pattern, if needed, based on the wedding's color scheme. Some invitations may feature pictures or graphics that do not necessitate a border.

Print the Invitation

1. Use a sturdy stock plain white or cream for highly decorative invitation graphics or a subtle (light) shade for less ornate invitations. A matte surface will help avoid any ink smudging. If you prefer a shiny or glossy finish, try a practice run with one invitation to check for ink smearing.

2. Click on the settings tab of your printer program. Select card stock or a similar thickness of paper. Choose the correct sheen such as matte or glossy finish.

3. Click on the free printable website invitation that you have chosen and print.

4. Crop the invitations by cutting with scissors or (if available) an office style paper cutter if needed for envelope size and appearance.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are looking to save even more money, try a paperless invitation website such as evite.

• Replace any older ink cartridges in the printer with new ones prior to printing the invitations.

• Avoid thin paper such as copier, multi-purpose, or regular computer papers. The ink may seep through the invitation to the other side.

• Do not use a website that is not trustworthy. Think twice if the site asks for personal information such as a bank account number, credit card number or home address.

• Do not leave the printer unattended while printing. Periodically check to make sure that the color and quality are consistent.

References

• The Knot: Wedding Money: What Does the Average Wedding Cost?

Resources

• American Greetings
• Invitationland
• Hooverdesign