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Wedding invitations can be quite expensive. By simply using your computer and following some basic instructions you can create your own quality bridal stationary and save a substantial amount of money in the process. Even those who do not consider themselves "crafty" can easily put together their own unique invitations using heavy stock paper and some embellishments.

Step 1: Choose a Background That Reflects Your Wedding Colors and Theme

Begin by choosing a heavy stock paper with a distinctive color, texture or print. This background paper should compliment the theme and colors of your wedding. Be sure the weight of the paper is at least 65 lb weight or more, depending on how sturdy you want the background paper to be. As this paper will not be printed on, you need not worry if it will feed through your printer. Cut the paper to the size you wish your invitation to be. By cutting an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet in half your invitation will be 4 1/2" x 5 1/2", which should be suitable for your purposes.

Step 2: Select a Lightweight, Sheer Paper For Printing

This is the paper where you will print the wording for your invitation. It will be secured on top of the background paper. Look for a translucent type of paper in a solid color. Some choices are: tracing paper, vellum, or rice paper.

Measure and cut the paper so that it is slightly smaller than the background. This will give your wedding invitation a nice solid border along the edges, creating a more professional look. Once you have your wording typed out and adjusted to fit properly (when printed), set your printer to "economy" or "draft" mode. This allows the least amount of ink to print on the paper making it harder to smudge - a good tip for those using an ink jet printer.

You may wish to add a small wedding graphic as well. You could place a graphic at the bottom center of the page or if you have a nice corner graphic, you could embellish the 4 corners of the paper. Remember to keep the graphic small so that it adds interest, but does not overwhelm the invitation.

Step 3: Attaching The Printed Invite To The Background

Here are a few methods which you can use to attach your printed paper to the background:

Glue the entire piece down. Using paper glue or small dollops of hot glue carefully dot the corners and edges of the translucent paper and center it over the background. For added embellishments you may wish to glue on a small ribbon bow, tiny silk flower, add a pretty sticker, or perhaps wrap a contrasting paper or silk ribbon band around the invitation.

Fasten the papers together at the top. Using a small hole punch, make two holes through both papers near the top. Tie the paper together using thin silk ribbons, raffia, small tassels or decorative metal fasteners.

Use a faux wax seal to secure your invitation. At the top, be sure to have your wax partly on the thin paper and partly on the background paper. Use a metal seal to press down into the wax. Once dry it will hold the two papers together. You may want to dab a bit of glue between the papers first for extra assurance. There are several faux wax seal kits that you can purchase in order to do this. If you want to save some money, you can also make your own "wax seal" by using colored hot glue gun wax, although I would suggest practicing first on scrap paper so you can get an idea of how much hot glue you need to make a proper "seal".

More Wedding Stationary Ideas That You Can Make

Don't stop at just wedding invitations. Use the above methods to create matching reply cards, wedding programs, and thank-you notes. Your guests will be impressed with the uniqueness of your invitations and you will be pleasantly surprised at how fun and easy creating your own wedding stationary can be.