As the price of a wedding continues to skyrocket, couples are
continuously seeking to find ways to save money on their
ceremony. In addition to self-catering or buying pre-worn
dresses, many couples reduce their expenses by using their
creative talents to craft their own handmade wedding
invitations. Using ordinary craft materials, including colorful
stationary, paper scrolls and ribbon, as well as decorative
elements, such as buttons or glitter, anyone can create
attractive and professional wedding invitations at a fraction of
the cost.
While many couples choose to purchase premade invitations from a
store such as Hallmark, or discount personalized cards from an
online vendor, such as Moonpig, these sources nonetheless
increase the customer's price because of overhead and profit. A
stylish invitation can be created for very little money,
starting with little more than a photo and carefully chosen
wording written in calligraphy. Craft glue in complimentary
colors can accent these element, particularly when combined with
contrasting layers of paper.
A variety of cultural influences, including Indian henna
designs, Japanese characters and Native American imagery can be
incorporated into the wedding invitation to add a distinctive
flair and draw in the eye. It is important, however to ensure
that the work as a whole has a cohesive theme, ensuring that the
invitations will have a professional look. Unlike mass produced
cards, because each card will be handmade, they will each have a
unique character and will show the care and craftwork that went
into their creation.
Rather than spending money on mass-produced and identical
Hallmark cards, couples preparing for their wedding should
consider the invitations as a means of sharing their mutual
creative exploration with each other and with the friends and
family that they hope will attend their wedding. Unlike cooking
the wedding food or baking the wedding cake, creating the
invitations by hand will require a minimal investment in
materials, a lower time requirement and will pose a much lower
risk of error, allowing for creative expression. Most
importantly, with the addition of a photo of the happy couple
and, perhaps, the inclusion of a poem that symbolizes their
relationship, the hand-crafted invite helps create a much firmer
bond between the invited and the soon to be newlyweds.