Whether you're looking to save money on your wedding invitations or simply love the idea of a DIY project, you may have already considered DIY wedding stationery ideas for your big day. Well to help you decide, we've rounded up our top tips for DIY Wedding Stationery Advice. While it may seem easy to design and print your own wedding stationery at home, it can get pretty tricky if you don't have the right know-how or items to make the save-the-dates, wedding invites or wedding menus of your dreams. Find all our top tips below.
Things to consider before you commit to wedding DIY...
- It takes time. Even If you are a whizz at Photoshop or you are a craft pro, once the designing is done, it takes time to complete the stationery items. Give yourself double the amount of time you think you need because not only printing, but putting together the final products takes longer than most people think. For example ceremony booklets need to be collated in the right order, folded and stapled together. Multiply that by 100 and you will defo need to block off a few evenings or weekends!
- Colours don't always turn out true to what's on the screen, as every monitor and printer is colour calibrated differently. The paper type you use may also affect colour. If your home printer can print photos, then chances are very good it will be great for printing your invitations.
- Pick a style and commit to it. If you are designing a full suite including menus, etc. it is easier to stick to the same colours, graphic or designs rather than trying to come up with new designs for them all. Also, more designs and colour means more ink usage i.e. if you have a full coloured background you'll use a lot of ink, which can really affect the cost of your invitations.
- When you have an accurate mock-up of your invitation design and suite (this should also include all of the embellishments you plan on using, if any), take it to the post office and have it weighed to find out what your postage will cost.
- Decide on a budget: if you are DIYing your wedding stationery to cut on costs make sure to add up what you will need to ensure they don't work out more expensive than buying from a stationer. Ask yourself questions such as what size do you want your invitations to be? Are you adding any embellishments to each invitation? What kind of paper/card stock would you like to print on? Is your printer ink inexpensive? Do you have all the tools you may need already?
- Don't have the skills to come up with an original design? Don't worry there are plenty of websites offering DIY printable stationery suites meaning you pay for the design but can print at home yourself cutting out on some printing and shipping costs.
- Daunted by the idea of taking on so many DIY stationery items but still want to add your crafty touch? Maybe just do something simple like escort cards, table numbers or a table plan.
Decided on wedding DIY invites? Here are a list of things you may need to help you get started:
- Computer with an Adobe design suite such as Photoshop, Indesign or Illustrator to help you create the initial design
- Good quality printer with lots of good quality ink (if printing your own)
- Long arm stapler (a must for stapling ceremony booklets)
- Blade
- Scissors
- Cutting mat
- Ruler
- Stationery guillotine
- Adhesives (if adding embellishments)
- Rubber stamps and ink pad (great for doing return addresses or personalizing your invites)
Looking for good quality card or envelopes in the perfect shade of blush?
- Paper Assist Perfect for picking up any paper items you might need such as card, different weights of paper, envelopes and more.
- Art and Hobby Shop The Art and Hobby Shop have a small but well curated range of paper, cards and envelopes for making you own stationery as well as lots of fun little stationery additions such as washi tape, ribbon, rubber stamps, bakers twine plus lots more.
- Vibes and Scribes From paper products to glue and adhesives to wedding stationery embellishments, Vibes and Scribes have a fantastic selection of goodies to help you create your own wedding stationery.
Looking for printing companies to print your designs?
There are lots of great printers in Ireland that can take the hassle out of home printing and often for pretty competitive prices. Many of these companies will take your own designs to print, collate and cut to size. If you are going this route, be sure to have them do a test print first to make sure you are happy with the colour and quality.
For those wanting to take on the project for making their own wedding stationery items, there will be headaches but enjoy the process. Grab your other half, bridesmaids or a trusty crafty pal and make it fun wedding project. And finally, ALWAYS do a spell check and ALWAYS do a test print before you try printing all 250 invitations!
Images via Wedding Paper Divas on Style Me Pretty | Vicki Grafton Photography via Style Me Pretty | Blaine Siesser Photography via Style Me Pretty | SplashOfSilver | The Knot
