STEP 1

Go shopping for your materials. A good place to shop would be an arts and crafts supply store such as Michael’s crafts. You can get other supplies like card stock, ink, or glue at an office supply store. Buy 8 ½ by 11 inch card stock in a 65 lb. Weight or heavier, some decorative paper preferably eight ½ by 11 inch or larger. Buy a very small paper punch and some decorative brads in a color to match the wedding and invitation theme. Buy some thin ribbon to match the invitations.

STEP 2

Use your Word processor program on your computer to create an invitation template (most common is Microsoft Word). Open your word processing program on your computer to a new document. Choose File>page setup. A new window will open. In the box where it says "page orientation" choose landscape. Set all page margins to a half inch. Hit "ok".

STEP 3

Choose Format> Columns. A new window will open. Set the number of columns at two. Enter one inch as the space between the columns.

STEP 4

Create the invitation's text. Type the invitation's text into the first column on the page. Highlight the entire text using your mouse cursor. Select to have the text centered on the alignment button on the program's toolbar. Choose a scrolling decorative font and change the size of the font to suite your needs. Select Edit>Copy while the text is still highlighted. Move your mouse cursor to the next column and select Edit> Paste. Using the "enter" button on your keyboard center the text vertically on the page for both columns.

• Be sure to follow proper wording and spelling when composing your invitation. Do not, for example, use zip codes for the church and reception hall. No one is going to mail something to you there. Spell out the words Street and Avenue and avoid other abbreviations. Find other invitations to use as a guide. Ask friends and family to proofread for spelling and accuracy.
• Dr. Mary Jones and Mr. John Smith request the honour of your presence at the wedding of their daughter Mary Jane to Colonel Dusty Rhodes at two o'clock on the first of November at Christchurch Hall

STEP 5

Print the invitation text onto plain white printer paper.

STEP 6

Go to a local copy shop. Call ahead and make sure they have paper cutting services. Bring both the cardstock and decorative paper to the copy shop. Request to have the invitation text copied onto the decorative paper. Ask that they cut the cardstock in half to make cards sized at 5 ½ by 8 ½ inch. Have the decorative paper cut in half and then trimmed around all edges by a quarter inch.

Assemble the wedding invitations.Take a piece of decorative paper and place it centered over a sheet of cut cardstock. Punch a small hole through the top center of both sheets of paper. Cut the ribbon into lengths of about 10 to 15 inches. Press a small brad through the middle of the ribbon then insert the brad into the hole in the invitation to hold the two sheets of paper together. Flip the invitation over and open the prongs of the brad to secure it in place. Turn the invitation over again and tie the ribbon into a neat bow. Snip off the edges of the ribbon diagonally so they are equal in length.

TIPS

• When buying paper for your wedding invitations choose papers that match or compliment each other. Make sure and choose a decorative paper with a pattern that is not so bold that it overpowers the text you will print onto it. Many scrapbooking papers come in wedding themed patterns and soft floral patterns. Vellum is also a good choice but you may have to print onto it yourself as some copy shops may refuse to send it through their machines.
• Scrapbooking background papers are great for making handmade cards and invitations. You can find them at any arts and crafts supply store in the scrapbooking aisle.
• Using a copy shop can be a quick and easy alternative to printing them yourself at home. It is quick, and cheaper than you would expect. Plus you will save your printer's ink cartridges.
• Decorative papers do not always come in the standard sizes (8 1/2 by 11 inch). Especially if you choose a scrapbooking paper which a lot of the time comes in 12 by 12 inch or smaller. If the paper is too big you can have it cut to size for you before the text is copied onto it. Choose a copy shop with paper cutting services.

Source: www.wikihow.com