Host a DIY Wedding Invitation Party

Host a DIY Wedding Invitation Party - Congratulations! You’ve decided to make your own wedding invitations. You’ve picked the perfect paper, decided on the proper invitation party wedding wording, and selected a whimsical and fitting theme. And now you’re overwhelmed. How will you ever finish in time to send these out? You have the glue sticks, the envelopes, and the ideas, you just don’t have the time to put it all together!

That’s what your friends are for. Feel guilty about enlisting your friends and family to help you put invitations together? Don’t. People love to help with weddings. They like to feel like they are an important part of your special day. Assisting you as you put your invitations together will give your sister, your mom, or your best friend a sense of pride and purpose. And hosting a DIY wedding invitation party is the perfect way to bring family and friends together. You can turn making your own invitations from a daunting chore into a fun group project! Here’s how:

Choose just a few close friends and/or family members

Too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the soup, and too many crafters at the table can ruin the invitations. Throwing a party for twenty friends is too much work for a busy bride! Entertaining all those people once they arrive will take your focus off the task at hand: making those invites. Choose just three or four friends to make this a more manageable event. Preferably one creative friend to offer advice and artistic flair, one super helpful friend who will be willing to lend a hand no matter how boring the task, and one fun friend who will bring life and humor to the party!

Pick a day (or night) that works well for you

Don’t schedule your party for the couple hours before you go in for a dress fitting and then head off to cake tasting. And you don’t have to plan it around everyone else’s schedule, either. You’re the busy bride, and your friends are coming to help you. If your best friend is only available on Thursday nights, but you’re always tired when you get home from work, that’s okay. Another friend will be available on Saturday afternoon when you’re fresh and ready to work. Make sure you block off plenty of time to complete your project without feeling hurried or rushed. Traditionally, invitations should be sent out six to eight weeks before your wedding, so plan to make them at least a couple weeks before you plan to send them out.

Provide some simple food and drinks

What’s a party without munchies? Show your friends how much you appreciate their help by serving hors d’oeuvres and cocktails! This is not the occasion for pizza and beer (greasy fingers on the invitations!) Instead, try a light treat such as delicate cheese on water crackers, pear slices, and chardonnay.

Assign everyone a job

You don’t want to come off as a controlling bridezilla, but you do want to be organized. People will be frustrated if they come to help and you’re not sure what to have them do. Set up an assembly line. Your mom can trim paper, then hand pieces to your cousin who hole-punches and ties ribbon. She can send it down the line to your friend who will glue on decorative accents! If you station yourself at the end of the line with the envelopes, you can double-check each invite before you send it off. Have an extra buddy who wants to help but you’re out of jobs? Hand her your camera so she can get pictures of the party for your scrapbook!

Enjoy yourself! 

Yes, making DIY wedding invitations is a task that has to be completed, but it can also be an event to be celebrated! (Think bridal shower, but with better games.) Share stories with your friends and family. Encourage married ladies to share how they met their spouse or tell funny wedding anecdotes. Turn it into a friendly competition: set up two assembly lines and see which team can finish the most invitations in twenty minutes. You can get work done and have fun!

When the party’s over, you’ll have a stack of invitations stamped and ready to mail. But more importantly, you’ll have a night of laughter and memories with your close friends. Don’t forget to thank them for all their help and hard work! Maybe you could throw a party to make DIY thank you notes!