I am trying to be a DIY-kinda bride

edellis · July 2010

For all you DIY brides out there,

what types of computer programs did you use for your STDs and wedding invites?

would I first need to buy photoshop?

then, how do i find the templates? are there certain wedding computer programs i could buy?

what have you all done?

eso16208 · July 2010

I did my STD magnets online at 123print.com. I don't think you would need photoshop- Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint and Publisher) should be powerful enough to do what you need.

My invitation paper is decorative enough, so I am just printing the text on them. I drew it up in Pages (the mac version of word) and am just going to send them through the printer.

Britt1406 · July 2010

I think a lot of people just use Microsoft. I did my STDs on vistaprint.com and just picked one design they had and changed it up a little.

Have you checked the DIY board, they'll have lots of ideas!

I bought a kit to do my invitations and was going to do my own flowers and card box but my mom offered to pay for those too, so I'll just tweek a card box from the store.

erin72682 · July 2010

Another option is to have someone custom design you the invite and email you the file. Then you just take it to Kinko's and have it printed yourself. Might I recommend my best friend and bridesmaid Samantha with www.rockpapersizzle.com

She's pretty amazing ... here are the save the date bookmarks she designed for us:

vedika · July 2010

I did all of my invitations from scratch by purchasing from Anchor Paper.

I created all of my stationary on Microsoft Publisher. I printed my STDs on Vistaprint.

All of my DIY projects are:

- STDs
- Invitations
- Menu Cards
- Escort Cards
- Memory Candles
- Aisle Runners
- Bridal Shower Invites
- Bridal Shower Thank Yous
- Bridal Shower Favors
- Programs
- BMs Jewelry
- Table Numbers
- Stickers for favor boxes
- Crystal Cake Topper

Ashley O has done a LOT of DIY projects also..Good luck and let us know if we can help you!

ericak926 · July 2010

In Response to <a href="http://orlando.weddings.com/main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_florida-central-florida_am-trying-diy-kinda-bride?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:66Discussion:864068d7-665b-4311-bfa5-2f4d261c6495Post:fa0e7064-6477-4b3a-a334-54769ed1bd08">Re: I am trying to be a DIY-kinda bride</a>:
[QUOTE]IAshley O has done a LOT of DIY projects also
Posted by vedika[/QUOTE]

Magic Ashley is the DIY QUEEN! If you got a problemo she's got an answer!

AileeneG · July 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.weddings.com/Sites/Weddings/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_florida-central-florida_am-trying-diy-kinda-bride?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:66Discussion:864068d7-665b-4311-bfa5-2f4d261c6495Post:a639cb39-3df1-4b47-8758-75ea4c3fe0f6">I am trying to be a DIY-kinda bride</a>:
[QUOTE]For all you DIY brides out there, what types of computer programs did you use for your STDs and wedding invites? would I first need to buy photoshop? then, how do i find the templates? are there certain wedding computer programs i could buy? what have you all done?
Posted by edellis[/QUOTE]

If you are going to buy a template fo some sort, then you shouldn't need Photoshop. Any template that you buy, should be easily customizable in Word or something easy like that.

If you want to design it from scratch and are willing to buy a program, InDesign would be better for that. If you just feel like you could get use of Photoshop after the fact, you might want to look at Photoshop Elements, which is cheaper, but still has most of the features that you would probably use.

I wuld suggest doing an Alchemy request on Etsy if you want something specific, otherwise, see what some of the Etsy sellers have available- they sell templates and the like there for decent prices.

AileeneG · July 2010

I missed the last part of the question-

I did use Photoshop to make mine, but I already have it, so it will definitely do the job, but it's probably not the best thing to use if you're going to spend money on a program.

Theresa626 · July 2010

I wish someone had warned me about this before I made my own invites. If I had to do it over, I never would've done them myself even though it was cheaper and they came out gorgeous. I cannot express to you the hours and hours and weeks and weeks I spent working on those damn invitations. The money you save isn't worth it.

Now, to answer your questions:

I used cardsandpockets.com for everything and they are fabulous. Their products were great and the customer service was excellent. They always responded to my emails and more importantly answered all of my questions about how to make my invitations to the best of their knowledge even though that doesn't have much to do with their service. I did not want to print them myself or cut them myself because ink is expensive and it is difficult to cut on a straight line even with a cutting board. So, I made a pdf and sent it to cards and pockets. Here is where the problem lies. I got a graphic I really like, edited it in publisher and created my invites and then used a converter to convert them into pdfs. Most professional printers will not print from a publisher file. The pdfs I created were never of a high enough resolution for professional printing and it would come back blurry and grainy. I tried about six different converters, asked for help online, others made one for me but every time it was the wrong resolution. Also, making the pdf isn't easy because you have to resize it to the exact size each time so it's time consuming. Every time I sent a pdf, cards and pockets wrote me back and said the quality would be too low. At least I didn't have to pay for fifty different proofs. This went on for weeks. Finally, my dad who does photoshop well recreated my entire invite from scratch in photoshop and we sent that file in and it was perfect. The entire process of back and forthing took a month. So, I started designing my invites in January but didn't actually get the printed version till April because of how long it took me to convert the files. Once I got the printed stuff back, everything was a breeze and they were finished in a week.

If you are doing pocketfold invitations with a mat, you'll want to use double stick craft tape from Joann's. You'll need a lot of it and after it dries, some of them don't stick so you have to go back and reapply. Make sure you budget for the cost of ink and a cutting board and double stick tape if you are doing this yourself without a professional printer.

Theresa626 · July 2010

Also, on the paper and invites board they can give you amazing advice. and weddingdna.com has good templates. You can also search for clip art graphics and edit them yourself in publisher. you can download fonts from dafont.com. If you're printing them on a home printer, you don't need photoshop. If you are not, you probably do. Also, you will need publisher not word because word doesn't have the same exact measuring capabilities. If you are using your home printer, make sure that you don't need anything to print to the edge because it won't. You'd have to center it on the page and then cut around it or use a half inch border and have the graphic go to that. The girls at paper and invites have some really good templates they have designed that you can use.

aondera · July 2010

I guess I should introduce myself... I would be Magic Ashley (Ashley O)!

Check out my bio for some of my projects. I did a lot of things myself, and have even done some things for the awesome girls on this board. My bio is definitely NOT up to date now, with my wedding fast approaching, but I will update it one day :-)

I am trying to be a DIY-kinda bride

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