Make your own wonderful wedding creations
Craft everything from invites to wine labels to chocolate boxes
By Tara Nolan
As every bride knows, there is a lot more to her wedding day than showing up in a beautiful white dress and saying “I do.” Why not let your computer step into the role of wedding planner and help you cross off some of those items on your lengthy to-do list?
Wedding and shower invites
Designing and printing invitations for a shower or wedding is easy to do and can help save you money, as Natalie Glasbergen, from Whitby, Ont., discovered. “I’d like to think of myself as a crafty person and I thought it would be fun to make my own cards,” she says. “I think that making my own cards adds a personal touch. Also, if you have a theme for your wedding, you can create the cards to go with it.”
Shop around for decorative paper — even office supply stores offer packages of special paper, such as coloured stock and vellum. Use a program such as Word to create a romantic design with a cursive, easy-to-read font. A soft Clip Art image faded into the background with text overtop will make guests believe your card was professionally made.
Print a test page to ensure your measurements are right and to avoid wasting good paper. Glasbergen kept the design on her invitations simple and was able to print two invites per 8½ ” x 11 ” piece of vellum.
Use ribbon to tie the pieces of your invitations together or a glue gun to adorn them with fabric appliqués or flowers.
Thank-you cards and stationery
For instant mementoes, prepare blank thank-you cards before the wedding day and then insert a digital photo taken right after the ceremony. Kate Budd from Toronto got the idea from her father, who had received such a card after attending a wedding in Bosnia. For her own wedding, Budd’s father took a digital photo of the newlyweds. The bridesmaids’ husbands printed the pictures and attached them to the cards that were then handed out to guests after dinner.
“The cards were in lieu of another type of keepsake from the wedding,” explains Budd. “We wanted to do something more personal.”
After the honeymoon, when it’s time to send out thank-you cards to family and friends, make your own stationery sets. Add a handwritten message and photo for a personal touch.
Chocolate boxes
Order truffles from your favourite chocolate store and place them in intricate boxes you designed on your computer.
Step 1: Download and save the Word template provided. Add images and text to the box. Make sure the top flap image will appear upright when the box is folded. Print the box on heavy cardstock.
Step 2: Using a pair of sharp scissors or a utility knife, cut out the box. Score the fold lines using half pressure with your knife.
Step 3: Fold and attach the box using glue or tape. Insert matching tissue paper to protect the box from the chocolate.
Wine bottle labels
Plan a romantic wine-tasting excursion with your fiancé a few months before the wedding. Ferment your own concoction to be served at the reception or to give away as a thank you. Word can create a label that commemorates the nuptials and complements your reception theme. Print the labels on a full-sized sheet of sticker paper and affix them to the wine bottles.
Other computer creations
From the moment you become engaged until you enter post-wedding bliss, your computer can help you stay organized. Print a detailed spreadsheet in Excel to help you stick to your spending limits. Print programs for the ceremony, seating plans for the reception, and place cards or menu cards for the tables.
Use a mapping program such as Streets & Trips to create driving directions for your guests. When you send out your invitations, enclose driving directions to the ceremony and reception locations in the envelopes.
All styling and inset photography by Julie Stoyka of Zariel Creative
