When I first started planning my wedding, I learned very quickly that there is really no such thing as a budget wedding, unless you only invite 20 people. So with that being said, there are certain things that you inevitably have to pay for, but I thought this was a great way to cut some costs. I spent a couple hours working on these and the cost came to just a little over a dollar after postage. This was about 50-65% cheaper then ordering ones online with a premade design.
At the time I made these, I did not have Photoshop so I used Publisher which is pretty user friendly if you do not have Photoshop. I printed them at MPix.
First, I started with a picture from our engagement session. There are no filters or edits to the coloring of this picture. The effect is all natural light and shot by the talented Janie Koike from Life Writing Photography.
I got the specs needed to layout the cards from the Mpix website and made sure that I set up the page according to their dimensions.
The Save the date and numbers font is Janda Stylish Script and the flourishes are from the Nymphette font.
Our names are Captain Howdy Font and the "and" is from Bergamont Ornaments font.
I made a text box for each word and the date at the top. Then each flourish was added and then some tweaking was involved to get it just right. Then I grouped the text boxes together so I could move it around.
Our names are in the same text box which works fine because it was just straight across and centered.
For the backside I downloaded a free chalkboard background I found on the internet via google search.
I wanted to use a mix of fonts for the information but I also wanted it to be legible so I tried to stay away from anything that was over styled.
All the cursive is the same Janda Stylish Script that was used on the front. I also used Captain Howdy again for the names, Florida and the bottom line.
The date is EcuyerDAX, the fancy "And" is Bergamont Ornaments and the plain lettering for the rest is Modern No. 20.
The dot lines were just free form lines available through Publisher.
When I saved the image I saved them as Jpegs with high resolution and uploaded them to Mpix
I like to use Publisher because its really easy to position all the boxes in a simple way. Before I started laying everything out though, I searched through tons of websites for ideas. Originally, I was going to just order them through a similar premade template, but I would like one part from one company and another from somewhere else, and with Mpix's great pricing I figured it was worth taking a shot.
From the beginning, I knew I wanted something with a vintage feel to notify our guests about our date and destination wedding and I couldn't be happier with the results. I think that the save the dates are also a great way to have fun and be less formal about announcing the wedding.
I also opted for the larger 5x7 size since this would be hanging on fridges and I wanted all the info to be easily read. At first I thought maybe it would be too big, but it was just right. Also the stock was very thick and perfect for sending as a postcard. VERY pleased with Mpix.
Please feel free to ask me any questions if you decide to try to make your own!
