How To Design And Print Your Own Wedding Invitations (Australia)
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Are you thinking of creating your own wedding invitations? DIY invitations can definitely be a fun and creative activity to help alleviate the stress of planning a wedding!
A general misconception is that DIY invitations are a cheaper alternative to ordering professionally designed and printed invites. However, this is not always the case. Sometimes, a DIY project may end up costing more (in both money and time!) because there will be a lot of trial and error involved. As with most things in life, if you do your research and have a plan of action, chances are that you will have a mistake-proof project.
I’ve created this guide especially for Aussie couples wanting to make their own invitations with some suggested suppliers that may be useful.
First things first, these are some things to consider when choosing to DIY invitations:
- Where and how are you going to get your invitation design?
- Where and how are you going to get your invitations printed?
- What size are your invitations going to be?
- If you are after trimmings, where do you go to buy these?
- Where do you find the right size envelopes to mail your invitations?
- How do you print names and addresses onto envelopes? (If you're choosing not to handwrite it)
This post is going to provide guidance on the first three questions. I'll cover the remaining topics in separate posts.
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1. Where and how are you going to get your invitation design?
This is probably the most important part of the DIY process. A decade ago, the only easily accessible digital invitation design option for DIY lovers was Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. This meant a lot of handmade invitations consisted of terrible fonts and clip art that were made for the purpose of writing contracts and essays, not to create aesthetically pleasing invitations.
Fortunately for us, technology has revolutionised incredibly in the last few years and now there is a plethora of choices! The great news is that you can still have a gorgeous and unique wedding invitation design for a lot cheaper than you probably expect!
EDITABLE DIGITAL TEMPLATES
In my opinion, the best and cheapest way to get a beautiful wedding invitation design is by using online templates. A designer would’ve taken the time and effort to create a gorgeous design that you can easily personalise with your wedding details. We have a selection of editable templates here at The Hello Bureau or you can head to Etsy for a wonderland of invitation templates.
⚠️ One thing to carefully check is what size the templates are – most of the templates on Etsy are created for US paper sizes. So, for us Aussies, we will need to make sure that the templates are formatted to the International ISO 216 standard (for example – A4, A5, A6 and in millimetres). I will expand on this in the next question.
CANVA
Another option for invitation design is to use an affordable design software such as Canva. You can design your own invitation from scratch or work from pre-existing templates in their database. You are also able to purchase premium fonts and graphics to use in your projects. Canva also has an in-house printing service which will save you time looking for a printer.
PROFESSIONAL CALLIGRAPHER
For those who love a bit of classical romantic old-school vibes, hiring a calligrapher or lettering artist is a great option. Ask them if they can send you the invitation in a digital format, so you can do the printing yourself. Most calligraphers will offer invitation services, so my tip would be to search calligraphers on Instagram and contact the ones that you would like to work with. One of our faves is Melbourne-based calligrapher, Letters By Fiona.
PROFESSIONAL GRAPHIC OR STATIONERY DESIGNER
Hiring a professional designer to design your invitations is a great idea for those who don’t want to touch any of the computer stuff or are after a unique design. Most designers are happy to create a design for you and then supply you with the print-ready digital files. Professional designers also pay to have access to premium fonts and graphics, which means you won’t have to purchase these costly assets just to use on your project.
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Does this sound like too much effort already? We totally get it! Leave the design and printing to us. 💁🏻 Check out our range of printed wedding invitation cards here.
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2. What size are your invitations going to be?
If you’re planning on making your own invitations, I’m going to write more about the sizing of invitations here because it can get confusing.
AUSTRALIAN PAPER SIZES
Here in Australia, we use the ISO 216 standard paper sizes. These are commonly known as the A-sizes. You will be familiar with A1, A2, A3, A4, A5 and A6 etc. We measure our paper using the metrics system – that is, in millimetres and centimetres. These paper sizes are also used internationally in most parts of the world. For a table of common invitation sizes, head to our Paper Sizing Guide.
US PAPER SIZES
The only area in the world that doesn’t use the ISO 216 standard paper sizes is the US, including Canada and parts of Mexico. Instead, US paper sizes follow the Imperial system of using inches and have a different length and width ratio from ISO 216 sizes.
SO, WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
As mentioned before, a large number of editable templates online are created according to US paper sizes. If you were to take a 5”x7” invitation template file to print at Officeworks, it would not fit any of their default A-size paper options.
There are a handful of places in Australia that can print US paper sizes, but they will take a while to find and may not have the kind of paper stock you are looking for. Brisbane-based printing company, ePrint Online, offers US size printing, as well as custom size printing, on a variety of premium paper stocks.
As a general rule (and to make your life easier) I would recommend sticking to templates that offer A5 and A6 files. And always remember to check the dimensions are in millimetres/centimetres and not inches.
BEFORE PURCHASING A TEMPLATE ONLINE
Just make sure that when you purchase a wedding invitation template online that, (1) it is the right size for Australia’s paper sizing, and (2) if it isn’t the right size, contact the seller and ask if they are able to resize the template for you. If they can’t, there’s no point buying that template – it’ll just turn into a headache when it comes to printing and sourcing envelopes.
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3. Where and how are you going to get your invitations printed?
Okay, so you’ve got the design sorted and have the print-ready PDFs sitting on your computer. Now what? Personally, for me, the printing part is what I find the most stressful. Simply because most of the time, you don’t really know what you will receive once you’ve placed an order online.
As a stationery designer, I've spent many years researching and testing out paper stocks and print methods. It is only through multiple rounds of trial and error that I've been able to select the best printers and paper stock for my clients. If this is your first time ordering printed stationery online from a website such as Vistaprint or Officeworks, here are my suggestions.
- My number one tip for printing invitations is to find a place that has sample packs of their paper. Or at least a place that lets you print a sample. Why? Because with most print places, once you’ve placed an order and they’ve shipped it to you, there are no refunds. If the paper or print quality is not up to your expectations, most printers will tell you that you should’ve got a sample first (I learnt this the hard and expensive way during the early days of my career).
- If you have a local print shop nearby (some popular ones include Officeworks, Kwik Kopy, Worldwide Printing and Snap Printing), it’s worth going in and asking them to see their range of paper suited to invitations. Most print shop employees are friendly and will be happy to help.
- My top recommendation for printing invitations online is MOO. They have free paper sample packs and a really good selection of premium and luxe paper at decent prices. It’s easy to order online too! For Australian customers, MOO prints in international A-sizes, so that’s really handy for us!
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I hope this guide has helped you to understand more about how to design and print your own wedding invitations.
If you've decided to save the hassle of designing and printing your invites, you can view our collection of invitations here or contact us for a custom design.
Stay tuned for my next post on where to find wedding invitation trimmings!
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The Hello Bureau is a Melbourne creative design studio specialising in wedding and event stationery. With over 10 years experience in the industry, we seek to share our knowledge to help you with your creative wedding and event stationery projects.