Thinking of printing your own wedding invitations?
Want the design and print the perfect wedding invitations, but don’t want to spend a fortune? DIY Wedding Invitations historically were considered the “cheaper” or less popular option. But not anymore!
With the plethora of design ideas, free templates, sites and forums to learn from, DIYing your invitations is a wonderful way to get unique wedding invites.
Should You DIY Wedding Invitations?
If you’re considering DIYing your wedding invitations, know that choosing the correct wedding invitations doesn’t have to be a complicated process!
However, it can be tricky if you’re looking for something unique and interesting without spending a fortune in order to achieve it. As any bride would know, wanting to stand out and make a good impression is important, and you want your invitations to match the wedding you’ve envisioned.
With over 30 years experience in the printing industry, we’ve seen our fair share of wedding invitations, and we love helping brides and grooms achieve the perfect invite for their special day.
There are few basic elements of a unique wedding invitation design to keep in mind if you’d like to take a different path and do something a little bit different than all the other brides.
There are several key factors you should think about throughout the process, each of which will have a big impact on the look of your cards. If you want to impress your guests with amazing DIY wedding invitations, here are our top DIY wedding design tips.
1. Choose a size & style
First and foremost, you need to choose the type of look you’re going for. Are you thinking you’d like a modern and contemporary wedding invite, or shabby chic?
Size is important as well in terms of ease of envelope selection and postage costs. C6 and DL are much cheaper to post and easy to get envelopes for whereas C5, 5” x 7”, 130 x 184mm and 140 – 150mm Square envelopes can be harder to source, harder to find and much more expensive to post
PRO TIP
When in doubt, always opt for a classic look and feel. It’s simple, yet elegant and will leave even the most confused bride satisfied. A6 & DL are great sizes to work from and most paper can be folded to fit the 2 sizes.
Remember, the best way to determine the size & style of wedding invitations is to keep your wedding theme & amount information in mind. Alternatively, always stay true to your wedding colours.
2. Do your design research and find inspiration
DIY wedding invitation ideas are easy to come by, especially if you look long and hard enough online.
Once you’ve settled on a theme, start browsing online! Unless you’re a graphic designer, it may feel a little overwhelming simply taking a pen and paper out to start sketching your design. Instead, look at various unique wedding invitations in order to figure out what works best for your personal style and theme.
While you’re looking at designs, record which ones you are immediately drawn to. Make note of what kind of designs or features they have in common to incorporate into your invites. https://www.instagram.com/p/BhF02kyH9ZP/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Pro Tip
Etsy and Online Design stores are amazing but they tend to sell only 1 size of the design. Be sure to ask or check that the seller can supply the size and format your are after.
3. Opt for quality printing.
Printing will be inevitable unless you plan on handwriting the necessary details on every single invitation.
Don’t skim on printing by trying to print at home! By choosing professionals who specialise in DIY wedding invitations in Melbourne, you’re able to rest assured that your affordable wedding invitations will look extremely expensive; without blowing your budget.
With over 30 years experience, we can help you get the perfect wedding invites. Conveniently based in Melbourne’s CBD, we print on site. We can work with you to get the best card or paper, inks and effect for your invitations.
Pro Tip
Talk to Classic Colour Copying before you buy or commit to your invite, even if it’s just an email and screen shot. We freely give advice, use the best machinery and work really hard to ensure your wedding invite is printed exactly the way you want it to.
Get in touch for a quote
Learn about the types of wedding printing we can offer.
4. Make sure you’re printing on high-quality paper
The material you print on is one of the most important decisions when designing your wedding invitations. If you decide to print on cheap, low-quality paper, this will show in the final results. Instead, opt for sturdy cardstock, either in a matte or glossy finish. You could also choose a more rustic, textured paper or even one with a metallic shine if you want something a bit more interesting! If you’re still unsure, consult with a professional printing company (like us!) to determine the best paper for your cards.
Pro Tip
Classic Colour Copying have a great selection of invite paper that suits a wide range of tastes. We buy in bulk, we have the right sizes and we optimise our machinery to print perfectly on the paper so you get the best paper at the best price and with no stuffing around or needless trips to paper stores, only to find it does not work.
5. Get Creative with special effect inks
When it comes to opting for a unique wedding invitation idea, why not use our special ink ranges to create something incredible. The digital metallic inks we run are:
- Gold Digital Metallic Ink
- Silver Digital Metallic Ink
- White Digital Metallic Ink
- Clear Digital Metallic varnish ink.
These inks look amazing on coloured paper, and have some spectacular qualities to them that really can drive a unique invite. They can be further layered together to nail that one of a kind look you are looking after. The best part is, at Classic Colour Copying we have priced these special inks affordably so you can enjoy them.
Pro Tip
The file setup for these inks are are bit tricky but Classic Colour Copying is more than happy to help you setup the file just give us a call and we can talk you through it.
6. Choose your own wording.
Depending on the style of your wedding, your wedding invitation wording needs to reflect it. However, that doesn’t mean that you have to write what you find online. Remember, this is your day to do with as you please. In which case, you can announce your wedding in any way you want with any style of wording. The sky’s the limit!
What is Standard Wedding Invitation Wording?
There are some standard wedding details that absolutely MUST be in your wedding invitation. What part of your wedding is the guest invited to, the location, and address of the venue. The date and time of your wedding and how and when to RSVP by.
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- What part of your wedding is the guest invited to? The ceremony, the reception, reception only or evening reception.
- The location, and address of the venue.
- The date and time of your wedding. If you’re on a strict time for your ceremony, make sure to add 4pm sharp to make it clear that guests need to be punctual.
- Who is getting married! Don’t forget to include your names on the invite.
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Easy Wedding RSVP information.
- Getting guests to RSVP is notoriously difficult, and you have enough on your plate without having to chase up replies!
- Make it easy for your invitees by including a clear email or phone number to RSVP to. Alternatively, there are a number of free RSVP wedding websites you can setup.
- RSVP deadline. Particularly for guests invited to your reception, you’ll need to include a hard date to RSVP by for catering.
We can help you print the perfect wedding signage for your big day.
7. Go for &, not ‘and’
The last thing you want is to add too many details on your DIY wedding invitation which may confuse guests and leave you wanting to become the next runaway bride. Thus, the more you’re able to say with the least amount of words, the better it’ll look for your design. Replace a sorry ‘and’ with an & wherever possible in order to create a simple, yet professional look and feel to your DIY wedding invitations.
8. Make it personal.
Most importantly, you can’t go wrong with something personal, whether that’s because the choice of material is significant, the wording or other feature of your DIY wedding invitation. Don’t be shy to go for it!
Any personal wedding invitation is normally kept well after the wedding and will result is less money wasted on something that most guests tend to chuck after the big day. Besides, it is your big day after all. Make your DIY wedding invitations special and unique to you as a couple.
When figuring out how to make homemade wedding invitations, the key is to figure out the type of look you’re going for and most importantly, to have fun.
Your wedding is the one day where it’s all about you. Choose a wedding invitation style that speaks to you. Remember, at the end of the day, you’re inviting the most important people to join an important day dedicated to your relationship and a future forward.
PRO TIP
Don’t get too stressed out about choosing the perfect wedding invitation style. Your guests will remember the day more than what the actual wedding invitation looked like.
9. What is a Standard Wedding Invitation Size?
An A6 card, 105 x 148mm in dimension is a common wedding invitation size in Australia. No matter the size you choose, make sure you invitations are compatible size for an envelope.
A small card is apt to get lost or misplaced by your guests, while a large card can be expensive to send and annoying to package. Typically, one-paged mid-sized cards are best, as they can easily be stuck on the fridge and fit in most envelopes.
However, if you want a custom-sized wedding invitation, the Classic Colour Copying team can help you out.
10. Create a unique card by customising its shape
Want to round your corners or add a scalloped edge to your card? This is a possibility when printing with Classic Colour Copying! We can even design invitations in specific shapes (such as a wedding cake or a dress) to really wow your guests and make your invitation stand out. If you don’t want to personalise all of your invitations but only a select few, we can do this too. Special invitations can be a nice surprise for your “VIP” invitees such as family members, groomsmen and bridesmaids. While they can sometimes be more difficult to send, they are ideal for any cards that you are planning to hand-deliver.
11. Find reliable wedding invitation printers & make it easy to read.
It’s absolutely crucial that you’re able to find reliable wedding invitation printers who know exactly what they’re doing. You need to ensure that the font is clear and easy to read, we suggest 11pt being a minimum font size for sans serif and serif font’s. Script & fancy fonts may need to be bigger. A test print at 100% scale is a great idea to ensure it’s legible.
As reliable wedding invitations and stationery suppliers in Melbourne, we’re more than equipped to ensure that your wedding invitations receive the care and attention they need.
12. Print more than you need.
You never know what can happen. Whether you accidentally spill something over one of your invitations or you forgot to add someone to the list, you can always do with a few extra wedding invitations, and this is usually a negligible cost at the time of bulk printing. Thus, purchase or print more than you need to cater for any unforeseen events. We suggest 10 to 20 % more than you have invited with a minimum of 5 extra.
13. Cheap does not mean bad wedding invitations
As perfect as you want your wedding invitations to look, the sad truth is, most guests will throw your invitation away after the wedding. Never blow your budget on wedding invitations. Rather spend it on décor or your honeymoon, perhaps even your wedding dress. Those things will be remembered long after you’ve said: “I do”. Thus, set a reasonable budget and cut costs in this section if you must.
Pro tip
Classic Colour Copying enjoy make really nice invites on a budget. We know all the tricks and have no “middle men” to help you get the best wedding invitation for your budget.
14. When to send wedding invitations out?
Send wedding invitations three months prior to the wedding to ensure that you have one more thing ticked off your list and enough time for guests to make adequate arrangements.
You need to give guests enough time to make preparations whether they need to make travel arrangements or organise accommodation, or even care for children who may not be allowed to attend the wedding.
Although it’s a stressful adventure, it’s a once in a lifetime event that should be enjoyed every second of it. At the end of the day, things will turn out the way they should, your hard work and stress will pay off, and you’ll end up having the time of your life on the one day where your only responsibility is to look beautiful.
15. Choose the right printing company to do the job
The final most important tip for designing great wedding invitations is picking the right printing company for the job!
You want to find a printer that balances cost, quality and speed of service. There are many companies out there who can create your invitations quickly and cheaply, but they will not look nice. Alternatively, some will design great looking cards, but they will take a long time or be too expensive. Luckily, Classic Colour Copying fits all three of these categories. We promise to give you the lowest prices possible for your wedding invitations, design them to your specific requirements, and ensure that they are of the utmost quality.
If you’re ready to start planning your wedding and need professional invitations guaranteed to impress, get in touch with Classic Colour Copying today!
We will privately consult with you and your partner to come up with an invitation design you both are sure to love.
