Say 'I do' to inexpensive invitations

One of the most difficult tasks in the wedding planning process is sticking to your budget. Often, the first category to get penny-pinched is the invitation. Personally, I highly recommend a less expensive meal in order to splurge on paper. You can't very well put a shrimp puff in your scrapbook!

Fret not, though. You can still have it all! Come close. Closer. I'm about to share some quick and easy industry tips you can apply to even the most inexpensive invitations to make them look like you spent thousands of dollars. Shhhh! It will be our little secret.

Each of the images below started as a meager piece of standard card stock. With a little elbow grease, craftiness, ribbons and things, they look very, shall we say, couture!:

Cutting corners:
Invest in a corner rounding punch or decorative corner punch. Your best bet is to purchase one from the Internet as most craft stores will not have a large selection from which to choose. Rounding corners instantly adds a look of elegance to anything. Experiment with rounding only two corners, or opposite corners as well.

Tie one on:
There are so many wonderful ribbons available today - grosgrain, European satin, plaids. Depending on the ribbon, you can turn a plain piece of card stock into a formal and gorgeous invitation. Or, keep things fun and casual with a plaid or striped ribbon. Raffia, twine, string and rope are also fun options.

Adornment:
Add dried flowers, beads, dried leaves or other bobbles to your invitations to give it a truly personal touch.

Put on your jacket:
Wraps and jackets add a special additional design element and give your invitation a feeling of importance as guests formally unwrap or open the invitation. You can purchase pre-made wraps or create your own from of a piece of translucent vellum or paper. A belly band, which is simply a wide band of paper that wraps around the invitation, is also very popular.

The layered look:
Attach your invitation to a slightly larger piece of card stock for a layered look. Layering adds another design element and also adds thickness and weight to an otherwise flimsy piece of economy card stock. Experiment with colors and textures.

Box it up: 
Place your invitation in a beautiful box for a dramatic presentation. Invitations can be mailed directly in the boxes for just pennies extra.

Here are some of my favorite links for supplies:

www.papermart.com: Boxes, ribbons, you name it! Low quantities, low prices!
www.envelopemall.com: Large selection of envelopes and paper, great prices!
www.envelopments.com: Pockets and layering sheets with matching envelopes
www.joann.com: round corner punch

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Post and images provided by Dawn @ dawnviola.com