Wedding Photo Invitations...
Welcome your guests with a personal touch.
Your wedding will be unique and personal. Start it off that way with wedding photo invitations. They'll help you set the tone for your special day. On this page, we'll show you how!
We'll walk you through each step of the process and, very soon, you'll be creating your own unique photo invitations. Of course, once you learn how, you can create all kinds of photo cards, including wedding thank you notes, photo Christmas cards, photo party invitations, and more.
Browse around the rest of our site for lots of great ideas to creatively use your photographs.
Too busy to make them yourself? Outsource your photo invitations.
What you'll need to create Wedding Photo Invitations:
(Don't worry - I'll go into detail on each of these below.)
- A digital photograph or photographs of the two of you.
- A color printer (or access to one).
- Greeting Card or Graphics Software.
- Good photo-quality card paper.
1) Digital Photograph(s):
If you already have some great photos of the two of you in a digital format (on your computer or on a CD,) you can skip down to step 2. If you want to use a printed picture you own but don't know how, click here to learn how to scan photos. If you have a digital camera but don't yet know how to save the photos you've taken to your computer, click here to learn how to retrieve digital camera photos.
2) A Color Printer:
If you don't yet have a color printer, and don't know anyone who will let you borrow theirs, you might be happy to hear that you no longer need a fancy Laserjet printer to get good photo-quality prints. An Inkjet or Deskjet will do just fine.
Another option, if you don't have or want a color printer, is to create your wedding photo invitations at home and have a professional printing company do the printing. Don't be surprised if you end up paying enough to cover the cost of a printer or custom-designed photo wedding invitations and their printing by a company specializing in wedding invitations. Still, paying to print your own homemade invitations lets you be as creative as you want... (AND the price of printing photo cards has come WAY down since I first wrote this page.)
3) Greeting Card or Graphics Software
This is the step that will most determine whether your invitation-creation will be an enjoyable experience or a nail-biting, hair-pulling one. With the right software, you'll create beautiful photo invitations, in just a few hours, that your friends and family will rave over and you'll want to use your knowledge again and again for Christmas Cards, Birthday greetings, Birth Announcements (when the time comes), and many other photo card projects.
There are tons of greeting card and graphics software programs available and we've tried out many of them. One of our favorites is Photo Explosion Deluxe. Another good product is Greeting Card Factory Deluxe, especially if you want to print other kinds of "canned" greeting cards. Photo Explosion's focus is exclusively on photo cards.
4) Good photo-quality card paper.
This is one of the most common mistakes beginning card-creaters make. I know because I've done it myself. In my quest to find the cheapest photo-quality card stock paper, I've tried MANY brands and varieties. You wouldn't believe the difference in the print quality!! Low quality paper will make your photo wedding invitations look amateur. I feel so strongly about this that I won't even recommend a brand until I've tested thoroughly enough. Until then, I suggest you buy small quantities of several brands and thicknesses, and try printing your photo invitation on one sheet of each. The paper that doesn't perform as well can always be used for simple greeting cards or party invitations later, when the outcome isn't quite as important.
Now that you have all of the necessary items...
The way you'll create your printable photo wedding invitations will vary depending on your software. Follow your software instructions and see what ideas it offers, but don't let the software encourage you to create your invitations in a style that's too busy. Remember that with wedding invitations, the K.I.S.S. rule (Keep It Simple...) applies and a simple design is just about always best.
The most fun thing about creating your own personalized photo wedding invitations is that you can try out several (or many if you're like me) different design ideas and see what your friends and family think before you settle on your final design.
Color or Black and White?
Whether you should create black and white or color photo wedding invitations depends on what style you're going for... Black and white photos can lend an elegance and timelessness to cards and invitations. But, of course, color photo invitations can feel more modern and grab your attention, especially compared to the standard, traditional black and white printed wedding invitation.
Keep in mind that, if you choose a black and white photo, you'll STILL most likely want to print them in color. Otherwise, you'll end up without the lovely yellows that warm a typical black and white photo. Try printing once each way, in color and in black-white, and look at the difference. If there IS none, then you can money by printing in black and white. Most likely though, you'll end up wanting to print your photo wedding invitations in color.
Outsource your Wedding Invitations
And, of course, if you're busy with all of the other wedding arrangements and want a pro to create your custom designed photo wedding invitations, there are more and more companies offering unique photo invitations every day on the web (and locally).
Make sure to check out some of the other wedding invitations they've created to make sure their style matches yours. You can even find software to create your own online photo cards or invitations and then leave the printing to them. You design it and they handle the time-consuming printing (and sometimes even the mailing!) With printer ink prices so high, this is often a great choice!
What ever method you choose, incorporating photographs into your wedding invitation will add a personal touch that your friends and family will appreciate. Most importantly, make sure the invitation design is uniquely the two of you and you'll be sure to be proud of it.
Want to send your wedding photo invitations by CD?
See other people's photo wedding invitations (and how they used their wedding photos AFTER the big day) on this "What Have You Done With Your Wedding Photos?" page. Share your own finished product or just get ideas for your current project. Then, of course, come back and share it when you finish! Get helped now and then help future brides and grooms by sharing what you've learned.
