DIY wedding invite tips

wed2010  Hi, I have just finished making my own invites ,im not usually the creative type, but they looked fantastic and i am really pleased with them The best place i found to buy all the bits was on Ebay. Good luck, hope your as pleased with yours

kayren555  thanks xx

starrieeyed  Well I am the crafty type and I love making my own greetings cards (& wedding stationery) for my friends so my top tips for you would be:
- simplicity is often the best .. better to put something simple and do it well than get over complicated (esp.when making loads of cards!)
- basic things like cutting the card will make a massive difference if done badly it'll look really amateurish. If you're planning on buying big sheets and cutting them down then use a guillotine (find someone who works somewhere like a school where they still use them!!) otherwise, buy pre-cut card.
- I know it sounds stupid but use a good quality adhesive or even better double-sided sticky tape (sounds like Blue Peter!!!) to adhere things on .. if some embellishment is hanging off or even worse fallen off in the post, it'll put all your hardwork to waste!
Finally, there's loads of good websites where I'm sure you'll see a good idea or inspiration ... if I can help some more, let me know!! Happy Crafting xxx

kayren555  thank you starrieeyed xx

alisonf  Good advice Starrieeyed! Also, if you take a look at @hugsnkisses1499 photoblog, you'll see her handmade cards which are quite a simple design but really striking and she's continued the same theme for other things - I love her table planner idea ... just let your imagination go wild! Enjoy!

Alison F (Final Stitch's Administrator)

xx

alisonf  While I was out shopping yesterday, I nipped into the shop 'The Works' as I love their books and have great things for kids too. I saw they had LOADS of craft bits and pieces at really good prices, really worthwhile if you're thinking of making your own stationery!
x

hugsnkisses1499  Hello, thankyou for mentioning my invites. my tips for you are what ever you do, DON NOT use acrylic glue it will ruin them (it has a habit of bobbling the paper or card). instead use an adhesive like unibond. But dont use super glue as it stains and bleeds. I bought all my supplies from an amazing website: http://www.imaginedoingityourself.com/index.asp there are some lovely jewels which look fantastic with ribbon. Alot of my friends didnt believe i made my invites and alot said they looked profession. good luck with your stationary. x

kayren555  thank you very much for all your tips x

boycee  Moving all the making own invites ideas here into one place
essex_bride Right girls I have decided that I now want to make our wedding day and evening reception invitations but I'm really not too sure where to start, where to go to get hold of what I need ie Pocket Folds and inserts etc. I know that many of you have made your invites so I'm wondering if you could suggest to me where the best places are to get these bits from? x x x
24. Nov 2010 at 20:28

glass_doll9 I found out today that Marks and Spencer have free software on their website for personalising their wedding invites, but it prints out onto a standard A5 piece of paper and if you turn them around you can get 2 on a piece. Good if you want to print your own inserts for inside the invites.
http://www.marksandspencer.com/Cards-Stationery/b/54115031?ie=UTF8&pf_rd_r=0P...
Just click on the link on the bottom left and it'll download.
24. Nov 2010 at 20:52

shobo123 i bought all my card, ribbon and a special shiny paper for the inserts off ebay, they were so cheap and my mums making them, they look amazing much better than most of the ones you can buy. i done the inserts myself on the computer and just printed them out on a shiny paper it looks so effective. xxx
24. Nov 2010 at 21:03

innessarah05 hey love i got all my stuff from madaboutcards.co.uk its a craft website, so the more you buy the cheaper it is, and it also gives you project ideas which is where i pinced a few of my ideas from too!! you can also get all your glue and everythin on ther too!! xxxx
24. Nov 2010 at 21:09
annie_t i got all these saved into my fav's when i was looking at templates etc
may come in use somewhere

the-craft-cabin.co.uk/diy-wedding-crafts-c-313.html

weddingcrafter.co.uk/free-templates

syntego.co.uk/FreeTemplates.aspx

pureinvitation.co.uk/diy-templates
go to a craft shop or even EBAY !! to buy your bits you want to add to invites - ribbon can be brought from a sewing shop x
24. Nov 2010 at 21:52

littlemissshowoff I bought my card from The Works and everything else from Ebay. Hobbycraft have loads of stuff but they can be quite expensive. They are good for getting ideas though.
24. Nov 2010 at 21:53

lisaj I got mine from pureinvitation.co.uk
I cheated a bit, used their design tool and then just had to put the bits together
24. Nov 2010 at 22:21

ourbigday @glass_doll9 Thanks for the tip! Printing the insides of my card is one of the next things on my wedding 'to do' list!
24. Nov 2010 at 23:29

mrsking2b @essex_bride
Hey hun
My pocketfold invites were from pocketfoldinvites.co.uk and then I got the inserts from visatpriont - designed the layout and everything on there excatly how I wanted it!
The ribbons I used were from Hobbycraft and the butterflies, diamantes, and pearl hearts were from eBay xx
25. Nov 2010 at 12:27

essex_bride @mrsking2b Hey, Thank you hun, Thank you for that link it is just what I am after and even better they do the inserts and envelopes too.Im leaving the h2b to deal with the printing side, he is the tech geek lol although may take a looksy at vista print.
Also a big Thank You to everyone else who posted their suggestions, have managed to find some other bits that I need for other things like decorating gift bags and table place cards etc from your suggestions xxxxx
25. Nov 2010 at 14:17

mrsking2b You're welcome @essex_bride - H2B has just ordered the envelopes from pocketfolds now so we can start posting them out ASAP
I love visatprint, its fab!! Think I'm singlehandedly keeping them in business at the mo lol Just ordered a few more bits today, as I've designed stickers for my hen weekend bags xx
25. Nov 2010 at 18:17

mrsking2b @essex_bride . P.S. on Vistaprint, they do all the printing so its not techy at all hun xx
25. Nov 2010 at 18:18

essex_bride @mrsking2b Sounds good to me, Ill go check it out xx
26. Nov 2010 at 00:16

cazzibear Hobbycraft and Ebay when i get round to it.

Im actually learning Calligraphy with proper ink and nibs to write them. hopefully will be good enough in time!!
26. Nov 2010 at 08:19

littlemissshowoff @cazzibear - a word of warning if you're using calligraphy. A friend of mine wrote all the guests names in calligraphy and she said it took her forever. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time. xx

boycee  sam2710 Hello ladies!
I have a real urge to make a lot of my wedding stuff myself (cake, invitations, favours etc) as I feel it will be more personal and I will feel a good sense of achievement after putting all the work in I am focussing on invitations at the moment. In your experience, is it just as good to order some or make? Does anybody have any good websites for browsing through ready made invitations/invitation kits? I am not super creative so although I have found a good place to get the supplies from I have no idea what to do with them! Any good idea or inspiration websites would be much appreciated too!
Thanks!
Sam x
9. Jan at 19:49

aisling @sam2710 Hello, congratulations on your engagement and welcome to the website
I've never made any cards before and I'm having a go at making our invitations for the same sort of reason you are. I got my paper and card from this woman, met her at a bridal fair
thecraftyboutique.co.uk/
Like most people on here I have found eBay and HobbyCraft invaluable for just about anything.
Have a look at Confetti.co.uk too, they have lots of invites, ideas and if you go into their stationary section their Print Centre has lots of layouts and things which you can print or adjust.
Above all, have fun and good luck!!
9. Jan at 20:09

mrshp2b it depends on what u want really, i go some really nice engagement party invites off ebay and she did a wedding range too. i got 50 for £12.99 all i had to fo was write who the invite was too
9. Jan at 20:14

shackladyl that is a good price I ordered some engagement party invites from vistaprint but it was £30 for 60. What was the woman on ebay called... does she have a website?x
9. Jan at 20:24

lisaj pureinvitation.co.uk

They have a really nice invite designer you can play around with and a huge variety of bits and pieces
9. Jan at 20:43

mrshp2b Occasions by Rebecca
She is on ebay i just seached engagement invetations.
There not overly fussy just two champagne flutes to the left with two heart gems i a coulour u wish Then u let her know what details u would like. The card was nice she used to print them on to.
9. Jan at 20:46

ruthee We are making our own and are enlisting the help of relatives who are more creative than us, plan is to have a nice day of it with tea and cakes to keep us going :- ) Do you have any friends or relatives who could help? x
9. Jan at 21:13

mrshp2b that's a good idea get the girls round to help and a few nice treats along the way.
9. Jan at 21:21

sam2710 Ooooo yes I think the girls would be well up for that!! Thank you guys - brilliant as ever. I will now disappear into a black hole of invitationess and emerge with some photos for you to look at!!
Sam
xxx
9. Jan at 21:41

essex_bride I will be making our invites, I did originaly buy some super cute Handmade Me to You ones from Clintons but over the time the thought of having to handwrite all of the details in 100 plus invites really put me off so I have opted to go the simple pocket fold route with different inserts that I will print myself, My Mum and Maid of Honour are going to help me one evening along with a bottle of wine and we will put them all together and then finish them off by tying an organza ribbon around them and tying a bow xx.
9. Jan at 22:06

mrshstobe we're making our own invites too!! i've inlisted my little bro (whos also the best man) and his mate whos a fabulous sketcher to draw us some fabby invites! i'd saw similar ones but in a stationary shop but they where coming in at over 3 quid each!!!! plus this way they will be completly personall to us!! then with the help of my mum we'll put them all together ourselves, adds a little something special to the whole day i think xx Good luck xx
9. Jan at 23:27

littlemissshowoff I'm making our invitations and I found hobbycraft was a great place to get ideas, although I wouldn't buy anything from there. Ebay was invaluable for getting everything I wanted at a sensible price.
10. Jan at 09:34

mrsegan2b I wanted to do everything myself too but when it came to the invitations, I found some really elegant ones that I loved and didn't see the point in making them myself as the woman who made them did a glorious job that I couldn't top! Have a look at my preparation albums and if you like the style I'll give you more details - she does loads of others as well and mainly sells on eBay for good prices.
I'm making my own favour boxes (pictures on my photoblog) and these are taking me forever! I've only made 10 as they take around 15 minutes per box.
I love cake decorating but really couldn't think how I'd fit it in! So instead I've ordered a cake topper, and M&S are making my cake! Much easier and less of the stress! I still have to make the swag for my top table which is stressing me out as well!
Good luck, I think it's lovely that you want to do it all yourself but it can be quite hard going x
10. Jan at 12:33

ambivolence I've been playing around with these free templates i found online, i am using them for my save the dates, but they do have ones for invitations, table numbers, candy table signs etc.
weddingchicks.com/freebies/custom-goodies/
10. Jan at 13:28

mrsking2b @sam2710 Hi Lovely
I made my own invitations. Like you, I'm not the most creative person in the world but wanted a personal touch on my invites.
I had the inserts printed at vistaprint.co.uk and they were really reasonable and a great service.
The pocketfolds I found at pocketfoldinvites.co.uk and again they were quite reasonable.
A lot of the embellishments and stuff I got on eBay and you get some great stuff in HobbyCraft too.
Have a look at my blog and if you wanna know where I got anything else, just give me a shout hun xx
Good luck! I had so much fun making mine.
10. Jan at 14:08

missl I'm making my own invitations too- I've already made half of them. I just went to my local craft shop, bought some ready folded cards, with matching envelopes- and also some florists mini wire roses and ribbons etc. I would have thought that most craft shop staff would be more than willing to advise- and it's certainly much cheaper and more personal It cost me about £20 for about 30-35 invites (excluding the inlay, which I have yet to design!!). Maybe just buy a few things and experiment with simple designs?
( @sam1270 - I also want to make everything... Having a look at cakes and toppers next!)
10. Jan at 15:36

pepzi25nic @mrsking2b Can you just buy the inserts on vistaprint. As i have decided to make my own invites to but have ordered everything off Ebay except the inserts as i want to get them done properly? x
10. Jan at 22:11

mrsking2b @pepzi25nic - I designed my own inserts on vista and just had them printed. I made pocketfold invites and stuck the inserts in. Have a look at my blog hun x
11. Jan at 09:46

mrsctobe No you're not. I was going to make mine, but we found a supplier who cold do just the same as me but worked out cheaper as they were able to get bulk discounts on supplies and then charged very little for labour on top. I say if you are able to make them, go for it. I just thought that I would get them made as the cost worked out cheaper. There are loads of good ideas on here and also trawl through ebay, they often show good designs. You could also pick up a card making magazine to get some tips?? Good luck! xx
11. Jan at 10:49

shobo123 im making my own invites only cost me about £15 to do 50 and i love them, done my own inserts and bought card and ribbon off ebay. im finishing them off 2nite so will post pics on here 2moro. xx
11. Jan at 16:29

shoequeen1981 @sam2710 You can google search images and choose what you have in mind and there are templates your can purchase, also ebay has some fab ideas too. Most craft shops will have special bits you can buy, to be honest once you start you won't be able to stop, My mother in law to be makes cards, Invites order of service, and I just borrow ha bits of her where and when needed. Also another tip go to any fairs near you the normally advertise in local papers. Good luck x
11. Jan at 16:45

shobo123 just put pics of my invites on here have a look see what you think, they were so easy and cheap to do, would def recommend doing your own xx
11. Jan at 16:56

clairemugford i am doing my own invitations too
once i have got them finished i will post some pics on here
its nice being able to put your own touch on your invitations, more personal xx
it has been hard work doing our own invitations but it had been nice along the way xx
11. Jan at 20:18

minx1684 My sister in law has made mine and for £150 I got

*30 day invites
*30 evening invites
*50 order of services
*Table plan
*Post box for reception venue
*50 name cards

They are amazing too!xx

11. Jan at 22:56

boycee  missengaged HI ladies, looking to make my own invites. Can anyone recommend any stationary companies to look at please?x
2. Feb at 17:38

meeeshel @missengaged hobbycraft is good for ideas, but i tend to find it cheaper to buy from ebay. Although there's an offer at the moment that you get £5 off if you sign up to their newsletter!
this site is great for ideas on doing it yourself:

www.weddingcrafter.co.uk/
and welcome to FS! xx
2. Feb at 18:16

lisaj ahhhh spelt wrong.Its pureinvitation.co.uk
2. Feb at 18:27

essex_bride Im making Pocket Fold Invitations with with different inserts inside and I bought my pocketfolds and the inserts and envelopes from pocketfoldinvites.co.uk. They are really helpful and friendly, have lots of colours to match in with your colour scheme and at a really reasonable price x
2. Feb at 19:58

missengaged Ah brilliant....had a look at all 3 sites , all of which are very helpful.
@meeeshel have to agree with you there. My sis-in-law said Hobbycraft are cheap but I had already come across a few sites that charge a lot less than there.
Thankyou.x
2. Feb at 20:25

boycee  Some more hand made invite tips: shell2011 To keep my budget down im thinking of doing my own invites......but i have no idea where 2 start. The ones I like r the ones with pockets so you can fit in info cards etc, does anyone have any tips? or know of cheap places to get them done 4 u.....? how much r u all spending on your invites...?
8. Mar at 16:28

loz2879 Hi you can buy ivory or white pocket fold invites from the works and any stationary store for about £8 for 20 then you can decorate with ribbon and print off own inserts on computer. or just but plain card and try making them yourself? My auntie is makinga ll my invites and order of services etc! its much cheaper to diy invites have cost me £25 for the lot!! good luck! x
8. Mar at 17:57

jen150912 @shell2011 I'm having the pocketfolds too - not ordered them yet, but getting them from Inviting Wedding Invitations on eBay for 90p each - she'll sell them completely blank or printed for you, but to keep costs down, like I am! I'm printing them myself. @wilsonsoon2bcollins used her too x
8. Mar at 18:13

shell2011 thanx @loz2879 think i may try just 1 first and see how i get on.x

thanx @jen150912 thats a lot cheaper than i found so far i will check it out.x
8. Mar at 18:52

missengaged I'm making my own invites too but not pocket folds like the other girls....just a postcard style one...in my blog!! Am just copying them from a design I loved which would have cost me £310 just for the invitations!!! I am doing my S.T.D, RSVP, O.O.S, seating plan and table names/number for approx £40 which is a HUGE saving, I think it's much nicer (if you have the time) to do them yourself!! My sis in law made hers herself and order them from pocketfoldinvites.co.uk and I think they were around 88p....from memory!! Goodluck!!x
8. Mar at 19:21

wilsonsoon2bcollins Check my photos hun @shell2011. See how i made mine. I loved doing themself! x
8. Mar at 19:27
shell2011 There fab @wilsonsoon2bcollins did you print them them yourself? I think thats the bit im most worried about.......x
8. Mar at 19:37

shell2011 thanks @missengaged and well done 4 making your own...x
8. Mar at 19:41

wilsonsoon2bcollins @shell2011 thank you! Yeah, always check when buying certain card that your printer is compatable.
Our is a canon. The buyer will send you the template too. Practice run with paper cut outs, i did as did
@jen150912 . And their very cheap for what you get. Invite, invite envelope, rsvp card, rsvp envelope and insert. Good eh! x
9. Mar at 08:47

essex_bride I made pocketfold invitations for our wedding, Ive included a couple of pictures below. I found the website pocketfoldinvites.co.uk absolutely fantastic. The pocketfolds and inserts are available in so many colours and they are reasonably priced, Pocket folds work out at 89p each then the inserts from 19p each. I had the invitation mat itself then a menu insert, Information Insert, RSVP and one menu option return card per guest who were included on the invitation. They cost me approx £1.85 per invitation to make but that was far better than any of the quotes I was given, they were working out at upwards of £4.50 per invitation, ridiculous price. I think in total they cost me £140 to make 76 invitations.

The company also upon request will provide you with the templates you need to print the inserts yourself at home which can make it a lot easier although we did have one problem that neither of our two printers liked the card that it was printing on, it was too thick so take this into consideration if you are printing your own. They do provide a printing service, we were quoted £50 for all the inserts we needed done which was approx 400 inserts lol but they ended up not charging us in the end which was a bonus. xx
9. Mar at 09:38

mrsegan2b Have a look on my photoblog - I have the wallet envelopes which is sounds like you're after.
I got mine made by a lady on eBay - 35 for £50, however if you like the style you can order a sample (£1.79) and use that as your starting point to make your own, taking it apart etc.
Let me know if you need anything else, like the lady's eBay details x
9. Mar at 12:22

shell2011 thanks @wilsonsoon2bcollins and @essex_bride my sample arrived today so I will delve deep and try 2 find my creative side...x
thnks @mrsegan2b, if i cud have the sellers name that would b great....just incase my test run goes horribly wrong...x
10. Mar at 14:57

mrsegan2b @shell2011 I can't search on my phone properly but from memory its chic1009 x
10. Mar at 20:13

donna2012 @essex_bride love your invites.. thats exactly what im looking for but in my colour!! thanks for the idea and the website xxx
10. Mar at 21:09

essex_bride @donna2012 They are a fab company and really really helpful x
10. Mar at 21:10

donna2012 @essex_bride Im on there now.. so do you need a background card, and then a large, medium and small insert? im confused haha.. i dont think i would be able to print them :( can you order a sample? x
10. Mar at 21:22

essex_bride @donna2012 I didn't use background card myself, I didn't see the point but its good if you want a border around the invitation part itself. If you take a look at my Invitations I used the 5 x 5 sized pocket folds then for the invitation information card itself I used the 120mm x 120mm Invitation Mat and stuck it down, for the Menu I used the 120mm x 120mm large insert, for the Information card I used the 120mm x 105mm Medium insert, and for the RSVP and Menu Option Return cards I used the 120mm x 105mm small inserts.

Concerning printing, if you do not feel confident doing it yourself they do provide a printing service, we ordered all off the card to find out that neither of our printers would accept the card, it was to thick or too small. Also it would have taken FOREVER to print all of the inserts so in the end we used their printing service. I created all the templates for the invitations to correct size in Microsoft Office and then emailed it across to them and then they printed them for me, cost us approx £50 to have them print the card for us but it still made the invitations cheaper.

I know you can order a colour swatch pack which has samples of all of the colours that they do, its £7.95 and then they will refund the £7.95 if you place an order with them xx
10. Mar at 22:28

boycee  kelz15912 also asked for some help with recommendations/tips for hand made invites:
Hi Girls i need a little help!
Want to make my own invitations and have o idea whre to start looking.
xxxx
7. Apr at 07:40

sammykins See my photo. I did cheque book. let me know if you need any help. I did mine myself from scratch x
7. Apr at 07:52
sammykins @kelz15912
7. Apr at 07:52

kelz15912 @sammykins they are gorgeous hun, yes please if you could help that would be great. xxxx
7. Apr at 08:05
annie_t @kelz15912

pureinvitation.co.uk/diy-templates

weddingcrafter.co.uk/free-templates

syntego.co.uk/FreeTemplates.aspx
7. Apr at 13:10

aisling I'm doing them as well, done a trial one so far and like it. Great for putting lots of details in. I'll put up some photos of my trial one.
7. Apr at 21:36

kelz15912 @aisling thanks hun xx
8. Apr at 08:44

baldwin2bconnolly @kelz15912 the two cheque book invites in my photos are ones i have made, once you get everything set they are quite easy to do x x
8. Apr at 10:45

boycee  becky1305 Hi Guys
I am in need of some help. I have handmade my invitations but now im struggling big time! I got so much on with work and massive home improvements i haven't got the time to type up inserts properly and print off etc. Does anyone know a site that i can get these from.?????
7. Apr at 09:30

katiedarlin could you find a local printers and see what they can do?
7. Apr at 09:32
sheadpalmer vistaprint did mine, they do a range of sizes and designs, so maybe something could match? good prices too! xx
7. Apr at 09:49

essex_bride I bought and used the printing service of www.pocketfoldinvites.co.uk.
They offer different size inserts in lots of different colours and are pretty reasonable price wise xx
7. Apr at 10:18
annie_t @becky1305
pureinvitation.co.uk/diy-templates

weddingcrafter.co.uk/free-templates

syntego.co.uk/FreeTemplates.aspx
7. Apr at 13:10

meeeshel  @becky1305 Vistaprint are really cheap if you can match one of their invite sizes to your designed outers? there's a couple of other sites out there that do a similar thing as well and are very reasonably priced. If you need some help with the design I designed my invites and on the back of that did my brothers invites, which everyone has loved so i might be able to help you out by designing an insert you can get printed on vistaprint? depending on what kind of thing you want obviously.

good luck!

xx

boycee  http://www.finalstitch.co.uk/forum/thread/making-own-invites/ also useful for tips

sophie2bgillies  Can anyone suggest how to close our wedding invites? We are having pocketfolds but can't think of a good way to seal them without making them look a mess :S xx

jen150912  @sophie2bgillies You can get wee velcro circles in different sizes, just stick 'em where you need them! http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=velcro%20circle%20adhesive&gs_sm=sc&gs...

We're having pocketfolds, but they don't have the extra short flap, so they don't need anything to hold them closed xx

sophie2bgillies  Ah good thinking shall look into this! xx
@jen150912

antsotherhalf  One tip if u r thinking of making your own invites, consider the cost of posting them if u r using embellishments! We tied our invites with beautiful ribbon in a big bow, they looked fab. But when we came to post them they were too thick for an ordinary stamp so cost us twice what we budgeted for! Luckily we could hand deliver most of them instead!!

mrssteel2b  @kayren555 Im not crafty at all, and I made all our invites. I raided ebay and the range for everything i needed, and your best bet is keep it simple!!! Good luck xx

becky260512  I have made my own (its has ended up at a round 100 invites!!!) it was ok a bit of a labour of love i used poundland double sided sticky tape and it made them really neat.