Going DIY with our invites was the only option on the table. But, I have to admit, I didn’t really DIY. I had others DIY for me.

I decided that those print-your-own invite kits, just weren’t my thing. They were boring and generic. Not to mention that my printer has since crapped out on me. It couldn’t handle a simple document let alone 100 pieces of card stock.

I gave my graphically inclined maid of honor, who is also my sister, a task to design our invitations and RSVP cards. I gave her a monogram I got for free from the Wedding Chicks, the color scheme and the wording. The rest was up to her.

When she was done and I printed out the file, I was so thrilled with it, I cried.

I sent the file off to FedEx Kinkos for a test print. I wanted to check up on their workmanship before giving them my money. A few hours later, I got a call from Adam who informed me that the test print before the test print had come out very blurry. Turned out, the file was set to 72 dpi. Oh…you mean that’s not high enough? Neither my sister or I knew that {See the tips below for more info}. She redid the invite and it was resent to FedEx.

Despite FedEx being slightly more expensive than Staples, I decided to give them my business based solely on the customer service that I received. It would have been really easy for Adam to print me out a card, have me drive down to the store and then charge me  $1.25 for the blurry print. Instead he worked with me. And, when I finally did the test print, he didn’t charge me for it.

My only problem was when I was stuffing the envelopes, I found two completely blank pieces of cardstock, which I’m assuming got stuck in the printer somehow. Since I was smart enough to order more than I needed, this wasn’t an issue. And I’m not bitchy enough to complain about it.  Since I still have Italian wedding announcements to get printed I might mention it just so they can be on the lookout for a potential problem, but there won’t be any ranting or raving from this customer.

And, without further ado, here are our wedding invitations.

Its been a while since I posted “DIY Wedding Invites Pt.1: The Layout“. I have since gotten back all of my invite pieces from printing and have completed and mailed all of them. Here is my process to get to the final product!

My wedding invitation

While I was waiting for everything to be printed, I made sure I had the final supplies to complete the invites so when I did get them back I could get to work right away. I still needed:

- Permanent adhesive roller
- Refills
- Faux sealing wax
- Wax seal
- Postage stamps

I decided to assemble them bit-by-bit so I wouldn’t be overwhelmed trying to complete them all at once.

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We decided to buy our invitations at a local store and print them ourselves. This is saving us a lot of money. Rose Budette and I like to keep things clean and simple. These invitations let the words be the decorations. I can’t wait to get them printed and mailed out. Most of these packages include the invitations, RSVP cards, and envelopes for both. They also come with simple print instructions, taking the stress out of letting someone else handle your invitations. What do you think?

Oh, by the way, the invitation in the picture is the example that came with the wedding invitation kit.

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:

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Following Poppy Blossom’s post where I learned the wonders of online paper shopping via Paper and More, I was ecstatic. I quickly filled a shopping cart with samples and had the plastic ready, before learning that P&M will not ship to Canada. *insert Canadian frustration here* Their suggestion was “Mail it to someone you know in the US and have it forwarded on”. Thaaaanks.

I figured this was not the time to call in a favour from my NYC bestie, and that I need to save that for more important designer shoe emergency which is sure to unfold in a few months.

Onward and upward: I found another company who does online paper AND ships to Canada: Cards & Pockets

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I fell in love with gorgeous copper-colored paper from Paper And More, so I got both the text-weight paper and matching cardstock to meet all of my DIY stationary and décor needs.

Since I bought the paper by itself and not with an invitation kit, I had to create my own template, and did so using Microsoft Word. All I did was find out the common dimensions of wedding invitations and envelopes and then created a text box to match the size I wanted to use.

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