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As your wedding gets closer, it’s time to start thinking about invitations.
Your wedding invites will be keepsakes for years to come, so understandably you will want to make them memorable, appropriate, and representative of who you are as a couple.
Sometimes pre-made invitations are just not quite what you want, which is why we have made this guide to creating your own (it’s easier than it sounds!).
Where to Start: The first thing you need to consider is budget. If you are having a small wedding, you have more freedom to consider doing hand-made invitations, or ordering custom-made invitations. If you are having a larger wedding, you may find it easier to use pre-printed invitations.
Making your own is a fantastic way to do it for several reasons. It is cheaper, especially when you buy materials in bulk. You have full artistic license, so you can be as flowery, funky or funny as you like. Plus, it's great fun! Your guests will be so blown away by your effort that they will find it hard to say no (well, that’s the plan anyway). However, it does take a lot of time, which is probably the biggest drawback. Research: If you do decide to go ahead and get creative, the best place to start is the internet. Research research research! Spend time just browsing through invitation sites and getting ideas. Anything that appeals to you or catches your eye is a potential influence-so note down the colours and the designs, or whatever it was that made you look twice. Consider different approaches - do you want to include a photo? Do you want to have a minimal amount of text or do you want the text to be the main focus of the invite? Are you more interested in a formal style or do you prefer something a bit more relaxed?
Think about these things as you browse through. Bookmark your favourite sites, and go back a few times. Gradually you will start to get an idea of what you like and what you don’t.
Start Creating Now is the time to evaluate how committed you are. You can take your ideas and preferences to a design company and they can create your invitation for you. This is a good option if you are short on time, but it is very costly.
If you want to go the whole hog and do it yourself, you need to start scoping out materials. There are plenty of companies in New Zealand that specialise in quality stationery materials, and they are usually happy to give quotes.
It also pays to wander down to your local printing company and talk to them about costs. You may decide to write invites by hand if you're having a very small wedding. This is a good option for saving on printing costs, but relies on good handwriting to be successful.
Get some samples, and play around with colours and textures. Lay different colours on top of each other, play around with photos of you and your fiancée, try different varieties of text and different layouts of the information.
A good approach is to select a main material, such as a thick piece of rose card, and take it down to your printing shop with the information you want printed on it. Once you have this main body of the invitation, you can get some glue and make some samples. Experiment with ribbons and layers and textures. If you yourself lack an artistic eye, get a creative friend to help.
Keep Them Personal Above all, trust your instincts! It doesn’t matter whether it is trendy, eclectic, old-fashioned, or simple. All that matters is that YOU love it.
It’s your wedding, and your marriage. Create something that represents you. That’s the beauty of home created invitations; they are unique and memorable! Good luck!
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As your wedding gets closer, it’s time to start thinking about invitations. 
Get some samples, and play around with colours and textures. Lay different colours on top of each other, play around with photos of you and your fiancée, try different varieties of text and different layouts of the information.