There is a special joy in designing your own wedding invitations. You feel it the moment the finished cards arrive, and your friends feel the warmth when theirs land in the mail.
Going the DIY route does raise a few more questions than you might expect — which paper to choose, which finishes to add, and so on. If you want to print affordable wedding invitations that don't look cheap, you've come to the right place. A wedding is a big expense, so it pays to spread your money sensibly. Once you know how to make invitations look like they cost thousands, there's no reason to pour a fortune into them. Below, we walk you through a handful of tips and tricks for printing invitations that look far more expensive than they really are.
1. Designing Your Wedding Invitations
To save money, you might decide to design the invitations yourself. If you're not sure where to start, browse other people's work on Pinterest, Behance or other design platforms for inspiration.
That said, designing from scratch is very time-consuming, and planning a wedding already comes with plenty to juggle. If you're worried you can't pull it off, find a style you like online first, then bring in a layout artist or designer to build it for you. Just know that a designer won't reproduce a reference exactly — after all, everyone has their own style. Some experienced designers will work from your requirements to create a one-of-a-kind invitation together with you.
If you do bring in a designer, it's best to voice your opinions and requirements right at the start, so they can get a real feel for your taste. Otherwise you'll only waste time.
2. Choosing the Paper
The paper and the print finishing both have a direct effect on the quality and appearance of your wedding invitations. For a budget-friendly option, go with matte-laminated card or plain white card — they take any print colour and are easy to add finishes to afterwards. If you're looking for something more special, try frosted translucent plastic card, deep-red card stock, pearlescent white card or textured paper.
Printing your invitations on frosted translucent plastic card or cotton card brings out a luxurious feel — it costs a little more than ordinary card, naturally. But the distinctive texture absolutely takes your invitations up a notch.
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Matte-laminated card
If your budget is tight but you still want finishes like foil stamping or embossing on your wedding invitations, matte-laminated card is your best bet. As long as the design itself is lavish enough and paired with the right print finishing, the results are anything but cheap.
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White card
If you're after the feel of raw, uncoated paper, white card is a great choice for your invitations. Its surface isn't matte-laminated, so you get to enjoy the natural texture of the paper itself — though it costs a little more than matte-laminated card. Because there's no lamination, UV coating shows up very faintly on white card, so we don't recommend adding UV to it.
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Deep-red card stock
Sometimes the elders in the family prefer a red invitation, and to keep them happy, deep-red card stock is the obvious choice. Bear in mind, though, that deep-red card is a speciality stock, so it's pricier and comes with more constraints. Printing white on it, for example, requires white ink, which costs more than standard four-colour printing. If you're using a speciality stock, we'd suggest designing the invitation around full-coverage foil stamping. The print bill runs higher, but the finished effect will exceed your imagination.
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Ice-white pearl card
Ice-white card is one type of pearlescent card, and its signature trait is a subtle shimmer across the surface. It's also nicely substantial — it feels firm in the hand rather than flimsy. Given the paper's own character, a single-colour print plus a touch of foil stamping is all it takes to make the whole thing beautiful.
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Textured paper
For wedding invitations and cards alike, textured paper is one of this year's hottest picks. Textured paper simply means stock with a rough surface — it feels almost like coarse pulp paper to the touch. The best-known examples, earth paper, wool paper and kraft paper, all fall under the textured-paper heading. Designing for textured paper takes real care: keep the design restrained rather than too eye-catching, because the paper's own texture is its standout feature.
Print Finishing
To make them even more distinctive, you can add a layer of UV coating or foil stamping to your wedding invitations. Foil-stamping just the lettering is already enough to make an invitation eye-catching without losing its poise. Foiling only the text is inexpensive, yet it lends a sense of luxury and makes your guests feel valued — something money can't really buy. You could also opt for die-cutting to produce a personalised, one-of-a-kind invitation. A single finish isn't very expensive, but stacking two, three or more finishes will cost noticeably more.
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Foil stamping
Almost every wedding invitation you see on the market today features some element of foil stamping. Add foil to even an ordinary sheet of paper and you'll instinctively find it striking and rather lovely.
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Letterpress (emboss and deboss)
Letterpress is used less often on wedding invitations, mainly because the pressed impression isn't as showy. But if you're drawn to a more artistic, understated look, letterpress finishing is the perfect fit for you.
A Few Tips
Some friends might tell you that invitations run off a home printer are surely the cheapest option, and they may be right. But the results are anything but professional. Never mind the "expensive and lavish" wedding invitations for a moment — guests who receive a home-printed invitation will only find it shabby.
Professionally printed wedding invitations make your guests feel respected and build anticipation for your big day. And in truth, professional printing isn't necessarily more expensive than doing it at home. Once you add up the cost of speciality paper, ink, folding and the rest, the DIY route often ends up pricier than professional printing. More importantly, a wedding happens only once in a lifetime, so printing beautiful invitations matters more than anything.
If a friend is in the thick of wedding planning, feel free to share this article with them for reference. And if you're starting from a blank page on your own invitations, Printing Banana is happy to give you professional advice. Browse our wedding invitation printing, message us on WhatsApp at +852 3001 5678 (English is fine), and we'll help you get it right — with delivery across Hong Kong and Macau.
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