Many online sources can help you design invitations or select ready-made ones for your affair.
The design of a party invitation can set the tone for your whole affair; therefore, it is worthwhile to consult a few references before penning your own invite. While many websites offer invitation advice or templates, a few sites offer exceptionally fresh designs for a wide range of occasions. Take your cues from these sites for invitations that follow your party's theme, permit some personalization and offer convenient extras like shipping assistance or matching thank-you notes. Does this Spark an idea?
Tiny Prints
For a wide selection of customized party invitations with professional polish, try tinyprints.com. Prices started at 59 cents per card as of August 2010, and the website offers affordable templates for a range of occasions. Invitations are available for baby showers, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, housewarmings, seasonal and holiday parties, graduations, baptisms, christenings, first communions, bar or bat mitzvahs and corporate events. In addition to invitations, shoppers can order matching address labels, gift cards, party favors and thank-you cards. Many invitation designs incorporate a photograph, and all designs allow you to personalize the text. Tiny Prints will mail the invitations to you, or your invitations can be sent directly to guests at an additional charge. The website also offers a free online "RSVP manager" to help you keep track of your guest list. Rush delivery is available, with invitations arriving in as little as two days after ordering.
Celebrations
An all-around party preparation resource, Celebrations.com offers advice on parties of every stripe. Articles on the site discuss specific party themes and regularly include advice on invitation design and wording. Many articles feature links to other free online invitation resources specific to individual party themes. For unique graduation invitations, for example, Celebrations recommends a number of themes tailored to the graduate's personality. For a politically minded graduate, the site recommends sending out bumper stickers with "Vote for Joe to graduate in 2015"; party planners can then write the rest of the pertinent information on the backing of the sticker. For a budding mogul, Celebrations suggests sending out small piggy banks as invitations. Party details can be written on the pig, itself, or written on fake $1 million dollar bills and slipped inside the bank.
Shutterfly
Shutterfly.com offers a range of products printed with your favorite photographs. With a wide range of personalized invitation templates--most of them incorporating your photos--Shutterfly combines a degree of design flexibility with a professional finish. As of August 2010, invitations start at 55 cents apiece, and many of them are single, 5-by-7-inch cards with splashy and contemporary designs. The collection of invitations can be browsed by designer, color palette, price, paper type, number of photos, card size or card format (folded or not folded). Standard shipping is free on orders exceeding $30.
Tags: August 2010, free online, party themes, range occasions, Tiny Prints