10 Tips for Perfect, DIY, Bridal Shower Invitations

My big project this month was something particularly special- invitations for a bridal shower I am throwing in honor of my best friend!  I get a little crazy when my closest ladies go through huge life events and this is no exeption. I want everything to perfect!

Of course, an event’s entire mood is created by the invitation first (first impressions, right?) so this one needed to fit the theme for this event. Because I want my best friends shower to be different, special, and anything BUT run-of-the-mill, I decided to throw not just any old bridal shower (boring!) but an “elegant, evening, soiree”.  Those were my mantra words and everything else stems from that.

Here is my finished product:

1. Consider sourcing your actual invitations from Etsy (and printing them at home!).  This is sometimes cheaper (definitely cheaper in my case) and lends itself so well to being completely customizable.  There are thousands of templates created by artists who care enough about their products to perfect them just for you- yay, special!  Unique! Plus, you get the files almost instantly right onto your computer.

Invitation from etsy shop: Slive88

2. Add a detail that is specific and thoughtful for your guest of honor.  I know my best friend and her fiance love wine so I created the “wishing well” card to stock their wine racks. Here’s what my little jingle said,

“Before Meredith and Andrew walk down the aisle, let’s help them stock their wine racks in style! Bring your favorite bottle of red or white so they newlyweds can party all day and all night!” 

3. Think outside of paper!  I knew I wanted some kind of detail in my invitations that wasn’t paper. My first thought was to fill up the mini envelope with sprinkles.  Fortunately for me, I tested this idea.  No one wants melted sprinkle invitations- not even my sprinkle LOVING best friend.  Guess that idea needs to be reserved for winter soirees. So instead of sprinkles, I picked up this pack of glitter HEXAGONS (I know, amazing) to spice up my wishing well envelopes.  Confetti would be fun too. If you have a larger budget for stamps and mailing costs, you could even package the whole invitation up with a rock candy stick, a paper fan, a mini paper bunting banner, etc. etc. Maybe I should do a post just on invite fillers!

P.S. I used see-through velum envelopes so you could see the glitter! Find vellum and parchment options here.

4. Skip the forever “love” stamps and pick something a little more personalized. Don’t go crazy, but there ARE cool and different stamps out there.  The bride chose these and shipped them to my house- easy peasy.

5. Mentioning the bride- don’t be afraid to ask for her help!  My best friend was so sweet to offer purchasing the stamps. People are mostly realistic and if they know you are doing an amazing job for their special day, they are usually more than happy to pitch in. If I lived closer (and I wasn’t keeping most of this shower a surprise!) I might have even had my friend help me cut out all the pieces and seal everything up.

6. Mentioning cutting- GET A PAPER CUTTER. You really cannot make custom invitations without a paper cutter. Trust me.

7. Write all the addresses by hand in something OTHER than pen. Definitely tedious, but there is no other way to address special invitations. I didn’t get too hung up on perfection here- I like my own handwriting and had fun creating swirly, swoopy, boxy lettering on each envelope. There were definitely a few mess-ups (buy extra!) and they are not all exactly the same, but I love how they turned out. These are the gold paint calligraphy pens I used both purchased at JoAnn Fabrics:

8. PUT YOUR PHONE NUMBER ON THE RSVP LINE! Yes, woops. I forgot to do this. For this type of event, there are probably older generation family members and friends who -gasp- don’t use the internet.  The bride’s mother helpfully pointed this out to me and helped pass along my number for those who might need it.

9. Triple check that your envelope will mail correctly with the postage and address style you have attached BEFORE you drop the entire stack into a blue mailbox. Nothing would be worse than getting all of the invitations mailed back to your door.

10. Add a little something to the back of your envelope. I used washi tape (slight obsession) but a sticker, stamp, doodle, or wax seal would all be amazing. After the address, this is the first glimpse each guest gets of the event soon to come- make them excited!

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Just because I love you… here is a sneak peak at some more of my inspiration:

Stay tuned- I’ll be posting more of my DIY details in the next few weeks!

-J