Real Brides: Ashley and James take on DIY Invitations

We first met James and Ashley on a CRAZY BUSY Saturday. They are one of those couples who are just...well...infectious. They are both so nice, smiley and awesome that you can't help but be in a great mood after talking to them! They knew they wanted to make their own invitations - already having purchased a DIY kit - but just weren't satisfied with the results. James' mom encouraged them to take the 1 hour+ drive down to our studio after hearing about us on Fox 8 News.

Not wanting the hassle of printing the invitations, they knew they wanted us to provide the printing but handle the rest of the project on their own. Their initial visit lasted about 1.5 hours and we were able to work with them to finalize their design, wording, typestyle and layout. They weren't sure of their final counts - so a quick email and phone call later in the week was all we needed to get the proper amount of product ordered. About two weeks later, their product was here, printed and ready for pickup. The rest is history.....and the couple has shared photographs and a few tips from their DIY journey......

Product arrives - time to dig in!

To conserve paper, we printed multiple pieces on a single 8.5 x 11 sheets. We were able to get 20 tags per sheet, 4 invites per sheet, 5 rsvps per sheet and 6 reception cards per sheet.


James was the designated cutter....

Everything is *perfectly* cut and ready for assembly

Ashley did the spray gluing for the thinner pieces...

And tape gluing for the cardstocks....(this is our tape gun - they are available for rental with any DIY purchase)

Ashley and her mom Laurie working on assembly

James' mom Becky did ALL the addressing of the outer envelopes by hand...and even used the back of the pocketfold as an inner envelope by writing the guests names directly on the pocket.

The finished product - hot pink, orange and white pocketfolds.

We ask all of our DIY clients to complete a brief survey to share with other prospective DIY'ers. Here are the results of theirs:

Did you initially plan on making your own invitations? Yes

Approximately how ling did your project take to complete: 20 hours

Was was the difficulty level of your project compared to what you expected?: About what I expected

Please describe your project in as much detail as you'd like. Feel free to include funny stories, hassles and mishaps, your over all experience, etc. : Advice would be to have a paper cutter! Split the project up over days, I (James) did all the cutting while watching the basketball playoffs and Ashley did the gluing of the invitations while watching movies in the background. With the cutting, be sure to "Math Out" how many sheets of cardstock you will need for each card before cutting and place them in separate piles. When gluing, the gun saves so much time and is easy to use. Make sure to have old newspaper down for the spray adhesive as it travels everywhere no matter how careful you are. Save all left over pieces - you never know when they might come in handy again. Be sure to get your invitations weighed. Our finished invite mailed at $.61 even though it was a standard sized envelope. Again, spread the project over a week as taking your time will give you amazing results! We had a great time making our invitations and now have even more special memories as we did them together.

Do you feel Paper Persuasions was a valuable partner in helping you throughout your project?: Yes. Stephanie was very helpful and spent so much time explaining and helping us pick out and individualize our invitations.

James and Ashley - thanks for taking that long drive down to the studio! You both were a pleasure to work with. Your project turned out amazing and we are happy to have provided the paper products and printing services for your DIY Invitations. Best of luck as you continue to plan the wedding...and Ashley - we hope have a blast at your Bridal Shower this weekend!!