Picture Wedding Invitations
Can be Cheap Wedding Invitations

What could be more personal than picture wedding invitations?

You'll end up with unique wedding invitations that are quick and easy to make and above all, cheap. What's more you probably already have loads of pictures that you could use to make them.

If you choose to use a picture of you and your other half it'll let your guests see what a happy couple you make. Although you don't have to use one of your own pictures it is the best way to keep your costs down. Alternatively you could buy a professional image online.

When it comes to cheap wedding invitation ideas, picture wedding invitations are one of the easy to produce.

You have two options; do them yourself or get someone to prepare them for you.

1. DIY Wedding Invitations:

In these cost conscious days, this option is becoming more and more popular as it's normally the most cost-effective way of creating your invites. Plus, picture wedding invitations can also be simple wedding invitations.

So what will you need to make picture wedding invitations?

• A good quality picture for the front of your invite. A popular choice is a picture of you and your groom (maybe at your engagement party), or a picture of the engagement ring on your finger. You can of course choose any picture you wish.

• I must stress that you should use a good quality picture, otherwise your invitations could look distinctly amateur. If you're going to use a picture you had taken professionally you'll need to get permission from the photographer to use it.

• If you're not going to use a picture of you and your other half then you could consider buying a professional image online from one of the many picture websites such as istockphoto.com. You should be able to buy images for a few pounds but you should always check the licence agreement to ensure you have the right to reproduce the image before you buy it.

The picture below is an example of something I made up in literally 5 minutes, you could take more time and come up with something better.

• Good quality card, ribbon and envelopes etc. Always buy the envelopes first and then buy the card to suit the envelopes as there are fewer options for envelope sizes than there are for card sizes.

• Check your printer is capable of printing onto the thickness and type of card you've chosen. These items are all easily available online or at your local craft shop. Also consider how the size of your card will affect the cost of postage, in the UK if an envelope is larger than 240 x 165mm or thicker than 5mm they will be classed as large letters and will cost more to post.

• Always buy more materials than you have calculated you'll need. No matter how careful you are you will make mistakes, so allow 10-15% for wastage. If you've purchased extra then you know the card, ribbons etc. will be the same shade and will match the others perfectly.

Ok, so you've got the raw materials, now all you have to do is upload your picture onto picture editing software on your computer and crop it to suit your card size.

Then you can add whatever text you want to the picture and that's it. Print a copy to ensure everything lines up as you want it to. If not, tweak it and reprint. If everything is good then you're ready to print your photo onto your card.

Once you've printed the front image, you'll need to prepare the inside of your invitation with whatever wedding invitation wording you wish to use. When you're happy, print the wording onto a card that you have already printed the photo on to and tweak as necessary until it all lines up perfectly.

An alternative option with the inside text is to print it onto a piece of paper slightly smaller than your invitation and simply stick it inside the invitation. That way you don't have to worry about getting the internal text to line up perfectly with the pre-printed front of the card. Plus this method looks more expensive and professional.

At this stage it's easy to add additional details such as ribbons, diamante etc. but always be aware of the overall thickness as it will affect the cost of postage to go over 5mm thick (including the envelope).

2. Get your picture wedding invitations made for you

If you're not particularly handy, or perhaps you just don't have the time to make your own invites (it will take longer than you imagine) you can always get someone else to make them for you.

There are lots of sites on the web that offer a very straight-forward service. You can simply upload your picture and choose the wording and style you want and that's it. Most of these online wedding invitations suppliers also offer other options such as free wedding invitation templates (although the choice will be restricted).

You could also check out local print/copy shops as many of these will be able to use a picture of your choice and customise the entire card to your requirements and normally at less than the specialist wedding invitation suppliers. Plus small local firms are usually easier to negotiate with.

There aren't many downsides to picture wedding invitations as they're relatively easy to produce and you can have them as simple or as complicated as you wish. If you choose the DIY route you'll need to leave yourself enough time to produce the required number of invites.

But DIY is normally be the cheapest option as you can get your materials easily online and you'll be doing the labour yourself (or get your friends to help out). You can also prepare your RSVP cards, directions cards, save the date cards and thank you cards in the same way.

Get more ideas for the various types of wedding invitations and etiquette on my cheap wedding invitations page by clicking the link at the bottom of this page.

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