Creating Wedding Invites: Free Computer Software Options

Planning a wedding can be stressful, and creating wedding invitations can be a costly affair. Luckily, there are many free tools available online to help you design and create your own wedding invitations on your computer. From Adobe Express and Canva to Greetings Island, these websites offer customizable templates, layouts, and designs to help you craft the perfect invitation for your special day. You can personalize your invitations with images, fonts, colours, and text, and even add special touches like envelope liners or belly bands. With a little creativity and some DIY work, you can design beautiful wedding invitations without breaking the bank.

Using Adobe Express

Adobe Express provides a free, straightforward process for creating wedding invitations that are unique to you and your partner. The platform offers a range of customisable, professionally-made templates, or you can start from a blank canvas.

To get started, launch Adobe Express on your desktop or mobile device. From there, you can browse thousands of templates or begin with a blank canvas. You can then customise your invitation with images, either by uploading your own photos or choosing from Adobe's libraries of free stock images, icons, and designs.

Next, enter the text you want to include on your invitation and personalise the fonts, colours, sizes, and layout. You can also add text effects to make your invitation stand out.

Once you're happy with your design, save and share your invitation by downloading it to your device, printing it out, or sharing it digitally. Adobe Express allows you to resize your invitation with one click to share on social media, or you can download it as a high-resolution JPEG or PDF file to send to friends and family.

Using Canva

Designing your own wedding invitations can be a great way to save money and add a personal touch to your special day. Canva offers a free wedding invitation maker that allows you to create stylish and elegant invitations that are sure to impress your guests. Here's a step-by-step guide to using Canva to design your dream wedding invitations:

Step 1: Launch Canva and Search for "Wedding Invitation"

Begin by launching the Canva app or visiting their website. In the search bar, type "Wedding Invitation" to browse through their extensive library of wedding invitation templates. With hundreds of options to choose from, you're sure to find something that suits your taste and wedding theme.

Step 2: Choose a Template

Canva offers a wide range of templates for every theme, including destination weddings, beach weddings, and winter weddings. You can use the search tool to filter the templates by colour, layout, or style. Whether you're looking for something rustic, minimalist, or elegant, Canva has you covered.

Step 3: Personalise Your Invitations

This is where your creativity comes into play! Canva's drag-and-drop tool makes it easy to customise your chosen template. Upload your own photos, play with colour schemes, and add shapes, lines, and icons to make your invitations truly unique. You can also stylise your font to fit your wedding theme and add a romantic touch.

Step 4: Print, Share, or Post

Once you're happy with your design, it's time to share your invitations with your guests. Canva offers several options for this:

• Print through Canva Print: Send your designs straight to Canva Print and have high-quality invitations delivered to your doorstep. Choose from various paper and finish options, such as premium paper, fancy envelopes, and eco-friendly materials.
• Share Electronically: If you prefer digital invitations, simply click the "Share" button and send your invitations via email or post them directly to your social media accounts.

Step 5: Include Essential Information

Make sure your wedding invitations include all the necessary details:

• A request for attendance
• The names of the couple
• The date, time, and location of the wedding
• Any additional information, such as the wedding website address, gift list details, dress code, and catering information.

Step 6: Consider the Timing

It's important to send your invitations with enough notice. For destination weddings, it's customary to send save-the-date cards eight to twelve months in advance. For local weddings, four to six months is generally sufficient.

By following these steps and using Canva's free tools and templates, you can design beautiful wedding invitations that will set the tone for your big day without breaking the bank.

Using Greetings Island

Greetings Island offers a wide range of free and premium wedding invitation templates that can be customized to suit your style and preferences. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to make wedding invitations using Greetings Island:

• Explore the Templates: Greetings Island has an extensive collection of wedding invitation templates designed by professionals. Browse through the various options, including different themes, colour schemes, and font styles. Whether you prefer a floral, rustic, boho, or simple black-and-white aesthetic, you're sure to find something that matches your vision.
• Select Your Card: Once you've found a template that catches your eye, select it, and you will be directed to the design page. Here, you can start customizing your invitation to make it truly yours.
• Customize Your Invitation: Greetings Island allows you to personalize your wedding invitations in multiple ways. You can choose custom fonts, colours, and add text, images, or stickers to the design. Include your uploaded photos, featured or overlaid with text, for an extra personal touch.
• Finalize and Download: After you've finished customizing your invitation, it's time to finalize your design. You can choose to download your invitation as an image or a PDF. Greetings Island also offers a convenient QR code option, allowing your guests to respond digitally without the need for a traditional RSVP letter.
• Print or Share: Depending on your preference, you can opt to print your invitations or share them digitally. Greetings Island provides free shipping for professional printing services, or you can download your design and print it at home. Alternatively, you can share your invitations via social media, text messages, or email.
• Create an Event Page: Greetings Island offers a comprehensive event management service. By creating an online event page, you can easily collect RSVPs, send reminders, and manage all the little details of your wedding in one place.

With Greetings Island, you can create elegant and personalized wedding invitations that reflect your unique style. The platform offers a user-friendly experience, ensuring that designing your invitations is a smooth and enjoyable process.

Using Edraw

EdrawMax is a versatile invitation maker with a ton of features. It has a unique 'Wedding' tab where you can design and customise your wedding invitations, save them to your computer, and send them to your friends and family via email, Facebook, or print them directly from your computer.

EdrawMax has a massive library of templates to choose from, with options for every style and theme, from floral to rustic, boho to black and white. You can also create your own template from scratch if you can't find what you're looking for. The intuitive drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to create your unique invites in minutes. Simply click and drag design elements onto the canvas. You can add images, text, and even your logo. You can also add or remove elements that are not relevant to the invitation, such as adding the logo of the wedding venue but removing the address and phone number.

EdrawMax also offers free cloud storage, so you can save your projects in the cloud and access them anywhere. You can also share your projects with others to access and edit your designs. Exporting your final product is easy, as you can save your invites as Microsoft Word, PDF, PowerPoint, JPEG, or PNG files, and then save them to any cloud storage service. You can also embed your files on any website or social media by clicking the 'Share' button and pasting the EdrawMax link.

With EdrawMax, you can preview your invitations and see settings and colour variations before printing. You can print a single invitation or a whole batch with high-quality printing tools.

Using Inkscape

Inkscape is a free vector graphics program that can be used to create wedding invitations. It offers a range of features that make it a great option for designing and printing wedding invitations.

To get started, download Inkscape and explore its various tools and functions. You can find tutorials and guides online to help you get familiar with the software. Once you have a basic understanding of Inkscape, you can start designing your invitations.

One of the benefits of using Inkscape is the ability to create unique graphics and designs. You can experiment with different fonts, colours, and images to find a style that suits your wedding theme. Inkscape also allows you to import your own images, so you can personalise your invitations with photos or other custom graphics.

Inkscape provides precise text formatting options, enabling you to adjust the spacing and alignment of your text to ensure a clean and polished look. This level of customisation ensures that your invitations look exactly how you want them to.

Additionally, Inkscape offers extensions that can further enhance your invitation-making process. For example, you can use the Inkmerge extension to perform a mail merge and print envelopes with names and addresses from a CSV file. This saves you time and effort in addressing each envelope individually.

When you're happy with your design, you can print your invitations onto paper of your choice. Some users have suggested printing on rustic brown paper or kraft paper, but keep in mind that certain colours may not turn out as expected on specific types of paper.

Overall, Inkscape provides a flexible and customisable platform for creating wedding invitations. With its range of features, extensions, and design capabilities, you can design and print elegant and unique invitations that reflect your personal style.

Frequently asked questions