From the outer envelopes to the pocketfold to the invitation and inserts, our DIY invitations were truly a labor of love.  They were all made with my (and the dude’s) very own hands. Best part? Less than $1.00 for each invitation!

The outer envelope:

The inspiration for our address labels came while browsing the Paper Source, but we made it ours by changing the colors to red, gold, and pink and watermarking it with the Chinese character for “Love.”   Each address label was individually hand cut by yours truly.  Additionally, the back of all 130 envelopes were hand-stamped and embossed with the Chinese wedding character “Double Happiness.”

Our inner pocketfold envelope:

The pocketfold was designed to fit on 8.5 x 11 cardstock, which the Dude and I hand cut with an Xacto knife.  I created the design in black and white and Tuberose Dude worked his magic on the computer to create the final image.  I personally think he did wonderfully!  But of course, I’m biased.  The cherry blossom image was printed on metallic white gold cardstock and the invitation text was printed on vellum, which further softened the look.  The final touch: some pink bling!

My favorite insert-our RSVP:

I actually made two different RSVPs.  One read “We have reserved 1 seat in your honor” and the other is as shown. See that red cherry blossom?  I originally wanted to use an invisible black light pen to write our guests’ assigned number, just in case we receive a card sans ID.  Unfortunately, it was difficult to find locally, so I decided to write the number in small print and cover it.  Even if the flower falls off in route to us, I’d be the only one to notice the unsightly number.  Clever, no?

The other inserts contained information on our reception, along with a map that Tuberose Dude created and our wedding website, beautifully designed with the help of WeddingWire.   So far, our guests have been raving about the site to our parents!

Last but not least, I just LOVE the tropical fruit postcard stamps available now.  Perfect for  my Hawaii wedding.

Throughout the invitation, I made sure to include our theme: “Live Love Laugh.”  I’m loving it, and why shouldn’t I? The invitations came out even better than what I first envisioned in my head!  Oh, and did I mention I made the same invites, but all in Vietnamese?!  Yup, I’m crazy, but it was totally worth it.