Wedding planning made simple
Four easy-to-use templates for an incredible wedding
By Heather Camlot
Budget, location, flowers, dresses — the mere thought of wedding minutiae can turn the joys of engagement into an agonizing experience.
“There’s a lot to worry about,” says Ottawa substitute teacher Debbie Zimmerman, who is in the throes of planning her wedding. “I’m trying to take it down from the craziness, but it’s crazy already.”
To relieve some of the pressure, make use of our four professional-looking, cost-effective and easy-to-use wedding templates:
Just change the text, delete or replace the image, load your paper and be done.
Getting started
Litsa Babalis, co-owner and co-designer of That Sky Blue stationery in Montreal, offers the following suggestions when planning a wedding package.
- Decide on a theme, which can be based on a specific colour, a special city or event, or the nuptials’ setting, such as the beach or the country. Use the theme on everything from invitations to décor.
- Establish a budget. Costs should cover paper and envelopes, printing (a good printer, ink cartridges), finishing touches (banding, vellum, ribbon) and mailing costs.
- Visit craft stores to find available products and learn how they can be used. Try homemade papers as invitation wraps or wrapping paper to line envelopes.
- Seek inspiration. Collect fabric swatches, colour cards and other decorative elements.
- Know what’s trendy. Scan fashion and home décor magazines.
Using the templates
On a tight budget, Zimmerman and fiancé Joel Karwatsky thought making their invitations would be the cheapest route. “Luckily a friend offered to make them,” says Zimmerman. But the bride-to-be admits she would have jumped at the opportunity to use ready-made templates.
Our templates allow for ultimate customization. You choose the text, font, colour and image that best suit your wedding theme.
- To alter text, highlight the current wording, delete, and type in your own.
- To alter font, select the text and then click Home > Font.
- To alter colour, select the text and then click Page Layout > Themes.
- To alter graphics, download and save a stock photo to your desktop. In Word, select the image (Insert > Picture), highlight it, go to Picture Tools > Format > Text Wrapping > In Front of Text, and drag the image over our wedding rings. If you need to adjust the size, pull one of the circles or squares along the image.
Add embellishments
Once the basic elements have been altered to your liking, you can further customize the four designs with the following ideas. Keep in mind that embellishments should be used sparingly and applied on all items, where possible, to maintain a cohesive look.
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Invitations
Our elegantly simple invitation was designed for plain, light-coloured 8½” x 11” cardstock (you’ll have two invites per sheet) and 5⅞” x 9⅝” envelopes.
Embellishment idea: Add an inkjet-friendly vellum overleaf with printed detailing such as au courant stripes, florals or a personalized image such as the songbird Zimmerman’s friend included for the musical couple. Adorn with charms or ribbon.
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Place cards
Who’s not talking to whom? Who’ll talk too much? Settling the seating arrangements is hands-down hair-raising. Making place cards, fortunately, is not. Print the front and then the back of our cards onto each sheet of matching 8½” x 11” cardstock, then cut along the solid lines and fold along the dotted ones.
Embellishment idea: Add a double-duty keepsake to your cards, such as a wine charm that can act as glass marker during the reception or a silver frame that can later hold your wedding-day photo. (See thank you cards, below.)
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Menus
Follow the instructions for invitations, above.
Embellishment idea: Trim ¼” around each invitation and carefully glue onto coloured, corrugated or patterned cardstock. Stand one or two cards per table in themed card holders.
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Thank you cards
Follow the instructions for place cards, above. Include a handwritten note on the inside, and insert into 4⅜” x 5¾” envelopes.
Embellishment idea: Add a border around the outside perimeter (Page Layout > Page Borders). Add a wedding-day photo of the new couple on the inside (Insert > Picture).
