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With hundreds of templates to choose from, Truly Engaging’s vast library of customizable wedding stationery has something for almost every taste, theme, and budget. But sometimes you want to design your own stationery from scratch, and that’s okay too!
Here’s how you can upload your own wedding invitation design to Truly Engaging and why that option may be just what you need to pull off the wedding day of your dreams.
Why Upload Your Own Design?
There are so many options for wedding invitations already available on the market. So why would anyone want to design their own?
If you’re an artist, it may almost feel unnatural not designing your own wedding stationery. Perhaps you want to digitize one of your paintings or an embroidery project and then add text, photos, and other design elements before printing it off. Maybe you have a loved one who’s brilliant with design but doesn’t typically work with printed mediums or have the ability to reproduce their original creation in mass quantities.
Truly Engaging's Upload Your Design function lets you take greater control of the entire invitation creation process. Instead of customizing an existing design, you get to start with a blank page (or a background or image already in your database) and go from there.
Afraid you’ll get two-thirds of the way to the finish line and not be able to wrap things up? Our design team can help you dial in your layout and even tweak elements to meet your specifications.
Check out the process below and see how you can turn your personal design into a keepsake your guests are sure to love.
How To Get Started
The first thing you need to do is to go to the main wedding invitations page and click on the first option: Upload Your Design. You’ll see it as a white rectangular card-like icon with “upload your design” written on the front.
Click through and you’ll be on the product page for DIY 5” x 7” invitations.
Before you start customizing, take a moment to read through all of your choices for styling, color, trim, and other factors. You can adjust some options now but you may find yourself tweaking others once you’ve uploaded your design and know what suits that design best.
Basic design options include:
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Style: Invitations come in classic 5” x 7” format in either portrait or landscape orientation, but you can also explore horizontal or vertical foldover invitations that include a little pocket to hold enclosure cards or other goodies, such as a business card from a hotel you recommend or a small pre-wedding gift.
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Shape: In addition to the classic sharp-cornered invitation shapes, you can explore a bracketed rectangular as well as rectangles with rounded corners that give off a softer vibe.
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Orientation: This is pretty straightforward. You’ll either choose to orient your invitation vertically (also called portrait mode, because it looks like the long up-and-down format you’d choose for a formal portrait) or horizontally (also known as landscape mode).
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Quantity: Here you’ll choose how many invitations you want to have printed and mailed. Keep in mind that the more you order, the bigger your quantity discount will be — meaning you’ll pay less per piece as your quantity climbs.
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Paper: You have five options for paper at Truly Engaging. All are of excellent quality with different finishes. Some are more suitable for a certain design or aesthetic. Options range from the Premium Smooth and Luxe Satin to Triple Thick paper that has an uber-luxurious look and feel.
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Suite Items: These aren’t options for your DIY invitations but rather add-ons that can augment your invite, make the mailing process easier, or deliver more information to potential guests. From RSVP postcards to envelope liners, these suite items can be practical, ornamental, or a little bit of both.
Uploading Your Design
If your artwork is in .jpg or .png format*, you can upload in Design Studio. Simply hit the “Personalize” button at the bottom of the option area on the product page and you’ll be taken right to the design page.
Once there, take a moment to familiarize yourself with the page. There are four views, so you can see every detail of your design. On the right-hand side of the page, you’ll see tabs for Colors, Images, and Backside. Toggle through those tabs for access to specific design and editing functions.
To upload your design to the studio space, click the blank invite in the middle of your screen. You’ll immediately see a pop-up window with options to upload an image or create a QR code. QR codes can be useful for sharing a wedding website without printing out a whole URL. Instead of meticulously typing out the URL into their phone or computer browser, they can use their smartphone camera to scan the QR code and be taken to the website automatically.
For the main sections of your invitation, stick with your DIY images/designs. Click to upload and you’ll be returned to the main editing view, where you can adjust background colors, add another image, or move on to the next view.
Use the same process described above to add images or photographs to the rest of your invitation. Before you save and exit or head to checkout, make sure you click the “Backside” tab. There, you can play with the layout for the back side of your invitation. Add more photos, upload a QR code, use a text block to share a quote or thank you — there are so many possibilities and a multitude of layouts to explore.
*If you need to upload another type of file, such as a pdf, upload that using the function just underneath the “Personalize” button. The Truly Engaging team will position your artwork and send you a proof in 2-3 business days so you can approve the layout before it goes to print.
Envelopes, Addressing, And More Options
Once you click through and edit all four views of your invitation, you’ll hit the “next” button to start designing your envelopes. The default color is a clean, crisp white, but you can upgrade to a kraft-paper inspired motif or to a pearl paper that comes with a beautiful sheen.
You also have the option to add guest and return addresses. This is another upgrade, but many couples find that it’s well worth the added expense to have their wedding invitations professionally addressed. Printed addresses are easy for everyone to read, and delegating that chore takes another task off your undoubtedly lengthy to-do list.
If you decide to add guest and/or return addresses, you’ll get to choose from a couple dozen styles. Some are simple and straightforward, while others incorporate elegant embellishments, monograms, or holiday graphics for an extra layer of pizazz. Then you’ll be directed to upload your guest list. Those lists should be in .csv or .xls format (a spreadsheet, basically). If you don’t have a spreadsheet ready, you can also enter your guests’ addresses manually.
The last optional upgrade is envelope seals. These come in several shapes and sizes, and you can customize the color of your seals to match your invitation.
Once you’ve made your choices, you’ll review and approve customized items to ensure they meet your expectations before they’re sent to print. If you’re happy, click “Add to Cart.” If you’d like to make changes, do so and then return to the proof page and continue on to purchase.
A Few Extra Tips To Help Make Your DIY Design Sing
Our design process is fairly intuitive, and the editor was created to be as user-friendly as possible. But there are a few tips that may help you streamline things even further.
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Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Our incredible in-house designers are standing by and happy to jump in if you hit a snag. Use the “Design Request” button available during the editing phase to get assistance with adding, removing, or changing something within your uploaded design. Please note that if you use the design request feature, your entire order will be placed on hold while a designer works through your changes. This typically only takes two or three business days.
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Pay special attention to alignment and white space. Giving your design a little room to breathe can make special elements like your family crest or your favorite engagement photo stand out even more. Alignment is important because your uploaded image needs to fit inside the given print parameters. But don’t worry — reviewing your proof gives you plenty of time to double-check your edges and ensure guests can see your design exactly as you intended.
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Feel free to experiment. See what your design would look like on different paper. Try a contrasting background color, and then toggle to an off-white to see what you like better. If you’re using a text overlay, play around with the fonts. You may discover that you’re drawn to an element or overall look that’s a bit different from what you originally intended.
Now that you know how to upload your own wedding invitation design, you can do the same with everything from your save the date magnets to the custom coasters you’ll use at your reception. Use the same design, extract a few key details to maintain cohesion and alter the rest, or go with an existing Truly Engaging design that complements your DIY invitation. Whatever you choose is sure to be perfect for you, your significant other, and your big day.