How to Make Your Own Wedding Invitations

It’s common knowledge that weddings are freakin’ expensive. Make a deal with a Columbian drug lord expensive. Kidnap a prized pet poodle expensive. Sell a kidney expensive (someone else’s kidney preferably). However, there is no need to turn to a life of crime just to fund the coffers of the Wedding Industrial Complex. Seriously, the bridal industry is terrifying. Why even deal with ’em? After all, it’s your wedding right? So, why not do it on your own terms, and do it yourself?

For example, my friends Laura and Josh '“ who are not only darling but also sly – convinced a handful of folks to create their wedding invitations by feeding us tea and cookies. Laura ordered most of her supplies via eBay, which was apparently very cost-effective, and set us up in an assembly line that would have made Henry Ford proud. You can see the list of supplies, where she got them and examples of invitations below '“

The Assembly Line

Supplies:

Purple Card Stock (Paper Source)

Printed Invitations (eBay)

Ribbon (Paper Source)

Stamps – in this case one tree, one dauchsand, one crow, and one custom-made return address stamp (2 via eBay, 2 from a store in Seattle)

RSVP envelopes '“ business card sized (eBay)

Black Envelopes (custom ordered from eBay)

RSVP Cards (custom ordered Vistaprint)

Hole punch (Paper Source)

Stamp pads – one black and one silver (eBay)

Pattern scissors

This was not a bow that I tied.

Envelopes and the purple card stock before the invitations were attached.

While one person stamped the silver crow and silver return address on the black outer envelopes, another stamped the silver trees on the purple card stock. Two volunteers grabbed those wicked slicing paper cutters that I’m scared of and began cutting out the invitations.

Ah! Scary paper cutter thing!

The groom himself was stamping the black return address and black dauchsand onto the RSVP envelopes while the bride cut the edges of the actual invitations using patterned-edged scissors. While the stamps dried, we punched holes in the top of the invitations and the purple card stock then strung them together using ribbon (this was actually the most difficult part. All the bows I tied looked drunk). When the RSVP envelopes were dry, we put the RSVP cards inside then slipped the RSVP packets and the invitations into the outer black envelopes. It took us about ninety minutes to finish all 100 invitations; it cost them less than $1 per invitation. Was every stamp perfect, every crease alligned, every fold and snip perfect? Nope. But it has just as much heart and personality as she and her betrothed do which makes it better than perfect.

Less than $1 per invite. No joke.

The most vital aspects of this project were: the bargain-hunting Laura did and the bribing of volunteers. So, make sure to price out a few places, and don’t be afraid to bargain (or barter if that’s an option), bake some brownies to lure your victims into helping and make “the best day of your life” the actual best day of your life.