We love talking about places where you can add your own personal touch (and often save money in your budget!) when throwing parties or planning a wedding and have written a post talking about when you should, but also definitely shouldn’t DIY, things. Wedding invitations are one of those places where the cost can really add up, but there is also a huge price range with tons of options and making your own is totally do-able.
We’re using the term DIY a little loosely here because on one of the spectrum we’re including the option of ordering simple postcards, similar to something you make make for a save-the-date.
It feels like we need to start this with the disclaimer that we didn’t start totally from scratch - Amanda uses Illustrator regularly, has a Silhouette machine plus a variety of other crafting tools and genuinely enjoys these kinds of projects. So we’re writing this to our fellow crafty people who would have fun doing DIY wedding projects. If these things stress you out, here is a link to a cocktail post we did for you to read instead :)
Oh! One thing you should buy regardless is a personalized return address stamp, it’s nice to have and looks pretty.
We’re using the term DIY a little loosely here because on one of the spectrum we consider it a great option to order simple postcards, similar to something you make make for a save-the-date. You can use engagement photos or get more creative with personalized art.
At the other end of the spectrum you can create something that looks like a traditional invitation, but source all the supplies (and labor!) yourself. There are a ton of ways you can do this and we’ll try to cover some of that here.
Side note: Adobe Illustrator is great and you can now purchase just one month for $32 - if you can plan ahead a bit you could do all your paper designs at the same time. It’s pretty user friendly and makes a lot of the process easier (especially if you need to send your designs to get printed).
This is probably the biggest motivator for people and with good reason - we made Isabelle’s wedding invitations for at least half of the cost it would have been to buy something similar.
Also remember that most wedding invites will cost more to mail because of the weight (and sometimes the thickness). Standard envelopes right now cost $0.55 and typically it will be $0.70 (standard dimensions under 2oz). Larger, heavy invites can cost up to $1.20 each.
*Saving and doing something inexpensively are not the same thing! Making your own invitations can be a way to save money, but it can still be expensive depending on what you want. Make a budget and stick to it!
It can be time-consuming, but so worth it to make sure to do your homework and compare prices.
- Know when to outsource: it ended up being about the same price and saved a TON of time to buy the invite paper already cut (we did spend a little more to have the deckle edge, but it really made them feel custom).
- We had to do a lot online (ugh, COVID), but certainly recommend checking out craft stores, especially places like Seattle ReCreative where you might really score a deal on supplies!
- We printed everything ourselves, but this is one of the parts you could decide to outsource, especially if you want something fancy (embossing, swoon).
A few key details and tricks can really make the invitations stand out and feel high quality.
- Easy ways to customize: stamps (you can even design your own), ribbons, and wax seals are cost and time efficient, but have a big impact.
- Envelope liners are not necessary, but do add a little something special and this place lets your do custom ones at a great price (we also ordered envelopes from here).
- Postage hack: we loved the look of all the cool vintage stamps on invites, but that cost really adds up (it can be $5+/invite!). Instead we bought regular stamps from the post office that we liked in various denominations to get the same effect.
We hope this was helpful and are happy to answer questions if making your own wedding invitations is something you’d like to do. Happy crafting!
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