By Clara Haslauer / Editor: Alex Mireles
Everyone wants their custom-made invitations, that really reflect not only you and your partner, but the style and theme the two of you plan for the wedding and future life together. According to the Bridal Association of America in 2017 the average spending for invitations was at $659. if you are not willing to spend a couple of hundred $$ for pieces of paper, DIY is probably the best option.
Be warned: it is neither easy nor fast!
Three most important questions before you start:
- Which elements do you really want on there?
- What will be the color scheme? Will it be the same as the wedding’s?
- How big/ small do you want the invitations to be?
Now that you know what you want, you have options over options over options. We looked at some online tools that are easy to navigate to design beautiful invites.
For this step you will have to resolve a budget. This will be based on the number of guests, whether the wedding is in near future or months away as well as how much effort and time you are willing to spend on it and of course the type of invitation you previously chose.
- Canva $
lets you personalize every single detail of the invitation - from typography to images, colors and shapes. They even offer free templates to give you inspiration!
Drawback: It won’t be amazingly rich material, as you either have to print it at home (cheapest & easiest option) or in a print shop (depending on what type of paper they have, your choice will be limited).
- Minted Weddings $$
This website is practically a platform of independent designers, creating invitations for you. As they are specialized in wedding invitations, you can choose from 5 different paper types - which will give the invitation a more luxurious look. Typically the invitation design is available in up to 8 different colors and they offer complimentary RSVP/ direction/ reception and thank you cards and free samples of everything! In regards to pricing, the cards start at around $3.85 each, the more you order the cheaper the per piece price gets!
Drawback: The site will give you templates, from which you can customize a lot, but not every detail.
- Wedding Paper Divas $$$
Depending on the model/ design/ texture you chose, the cards start at $4.99 each. They also offer invitation magnets, post cards or coasters, which could add a fun touch to your invitations! It is also possible to upload pictures to the invites to make it more personal. It also is the platform with the most templates to choose from, including watercolor, sparkle, vintage, rustic, nature, lace or chalkboard.
Drawback: If you completely fall in love with a design, but it happens to be a material that is harder to customize the online platform will charge up to $100 for personalized foils (aka your names). Additionally, WPD charge $30 for US shipping and $45 for international orders. So the order could get up to $400. Except the text, no customization is available.
