I shipped 150 photographs from South Korea to my friend Nicole and what came back were the most beautiful wedding invitations we have ever seen — and I ripped mine open so fast I forgot to photograph it.
I was looking through the blog and realized that our very cool wedding invites never made it on the site.
Adam and I created these and then my friend Nicole put them together.
From Korea, I shipped her about 150 photographs, enough stamps to mail the whole darn thing.
She hole punched (with the help of her hubby’s power drill), and bradded these babies together like a book. Then, wrapped them in brown paper bag type paper wrapped with twine so they looked like little packages.
She used mismatched stamps and put them all over the upper right of the packages.
I have to admit two things.
1. they were the coolest invites ever
2. I don’t have a photo of the completed package. I was so excited to get mine that I ripped it open and didn’t even think to take photos. (she sent me a picture, so here is a completed very awesome DIY invite.
Here are some more photos of our DIY personal touches from our most fabulous day!
Q: How do you make DIY wedding invitations from abroad? A: With a very good friend a power drill and international shipping patience. We designed our invitations from South Korea selecting approximately 150 photographs to tell our story then shipped everything including enough stamps to mail the finished invitations to our friend Nicole stateside. She hole punched each one using her husband’s power drill bradded them together like little books wrapped them in brown paper bag paper tied with twine and sent them out with mismatched stamps covering the upper right corner. They were perfect.
Q: What makes a wedding invitation truly memorable? A: Personality. The most memorable invitations tell a genuine story about the couple rather than simply announcing an event. Ours were a book of photographs assembled by hand wrapped like a package and mailed with mismatched stamps — every element reflected exactly who we are as people. Nobody who received one forgot it.
Q: How do you plan a wedding while living abroad as an expat? A: Very creatively and with enormous trust in the people back home helping you execute the vision. Living in Korea during our engagement meant coordinating everything across time zones relying on friends and family for physical tasks and letting go of the need to control every detail personally. It taught us that the most meaningful wedding elements are the ones rooted in genuine personality not perfect execution.
Q: What are the best DIY wedding invitation ideas? A: Our favorites involve unexpected materials and formats — photo books tied with twine kraft paper wrapping mismatched vintage stamps and handmade touches that feel personal rather than printed. The key is designing something that could only have come from you as a couple. Guests keep invitations that feel like a gift rather than a piece of mail.
Q: How do you add personal touches to a wedding on a budget? A: DIY is always the answer — but only for the elements you can execute beautifully with the help of people you trust. Our invitations cost a fraction of professionally printed alternatives and were infinitely more personal. The personal touches from our wedding day shown in the photos throughout this post all came from the same philosophy — make it meaningful rather than expensive.
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