How to Make Wedding Invitations

Our DIY announcements were designed for you to create your own invitation without requiring special skills or software. We offer detailed instructions below for how to make wedding invitations using layered cardstock and keepsake embelllishments. The unique embellishments add a one-of-a-kind dimension to your announcement, standing out from the typical flat card.

Invitations layers consist of a heavyweight cardstock (which is pre-cut to fit in standard A7 invitation envelopes) and a translucent vellum or opaque white printable overlay. Using the free invitation templates for MS Word, the process is simple: just change the wording, print on the standard size 8.5×11 overlay sheet, then cut …no tiny sheets to try to print on! Attach the printed overlay to the background card with a brad, ribbon or glue dots, then finish with a keepsake embellishment for texture and interest. Click below for illustrated step-by-step instructions how to make wedding invitations by the embellishment used. Instructions include videos to see an invitation made from start to finish using our tested and ready to go blank wedding invitations supplies.

layered diy invitation

Click for detailed instructions how to make wedding invitations by embellishment used:

Helpful tips how to make your own wedding invitations:

Put together a couple of invitations from start to finish, the first few will always take much longer until you are familiar with the process.

Setup your workspace as an assembly line process: complete a step for all of your invitations before moving on the to next step. If you have help, assign a step (or steps) to to one person. For example one person attaches all overlays to background cards, one person attaches the embellishments, one person addresses, stuffs and seals the envelopes.

Easy instructions to create printable overlay for all layered invitations

1. Download our free wedding invitation templates for Word

The text for layered invitations will be printed or copied onto 8.5"x11" overlay paper using our free wedding invitation templates, the standard sized sheets are provided for ease of printing as small pre-cut overlays would be difficult to setup and feed correctly. Each sheet will provide four 4.25"x5.5" overlays.

template 2
change template text

2. Change Text and Font

Change wedding invitations wording as desired and experiment with different typefaces to get the look you want. Insert beautiful vintage invitation clip art (click for examples) for a personal touch. The free wedding invitation templates are setup for 11 lines of text using 29pt line spacing...the first line is blank to adjust for the embellishments requiring holes. You may need to make adjustments depending on length of wording and the embellishment chosen. When finished, copy and paste the text into the other three table cells.

print on overlay paper

3. Print onto Overlay Sheets

Print on test paper before printing on the overlay. Make sure you have several people proofread your text and cut the test paper in half both ways to make sure it is centered. Print on overlay's when you are sure everything is correct. We recommend purchasing water resistant ink jet ink or using a laser printer or copier, for better durability.

cut overlay paper with trimmer

4. Cut Overlay with Paper Cutter or Trimmer

After you have finished printing, you will need a paper trimmer or paper cutter to cut the overlay in half vertically and horizontally. If you are using a cutter, cut the paper 5.5" from the edge of the longer side, then again at 4.25" from the edge (longer side up). If you are using a paper trimmer, mark the overlay with a pencil using the lines on our paper guide at the top and sides or measure 5.5" down from the long side and 4.25" from the short side. Starting with the long side up, match up the pencil line with the guide marks on the trimmer. You can cut two sheets of the 65# overlay or three sheets of the vellum at a time. Mark the cut sheets on top and bottom with a pencil using the paper guide or measure 4.25" from the edge and make the final cut.

How to Order Our Layered DIY Invitations

Click on green buttons below to select components to make your own invitations. First choose a heavyweight cardstock for your background, then select an opaque white or translucent vellum overlay to print on using our free wedding invitation templates. Then add a unique keepsake embellishment and envelope. View our easy instructions how to make diy invitations for detailed tutorials with video.