Top 8 DIY Rustic Wedding Invitations

When you think of rustic-themed weddings, the first thing that comes to mind is nature, burlap, and warm lights. The beauty of rustic weddings is that there is a lot of room to DIY. From flower arrangements to table lights, there is plenty of room to personalize. Even for invitations, there are numerous ways to incorporate gorgeous rustic elements without breaking the bank, here are just a few.

Floral and Cacti

Rustic doesn’t mean you have to go bland with fifty hues of brown. Country weddings are big on flowers too! In fact, highly contrasting flower colors against brown give off a sense of nature, which is one of the main rustic themes.

Different species of cacti can also give this vibe. Cacti colors range from green to violets and even reds. For your rustic wedding invitations, create a collage of flowers and cacti that beautifully contrast in the background of your invitation using white or brown for your paper. 

The perfect typefaces for these are Ambarella script and Rustic Gold.

Chalkboard

If you want to go for a more minimalist approach without sacrificing creativity, try this chalkboard concept! Use paper that is black to dark gray, then use fonts that are chalk textured. These kinds of fonts are easily downloadable online, plus they are free. Gold pens also work well with dark papers if you want to write the invitations yourself.

You can also use any non-textured fonts and achieve a chalkboard invitation design by using sponges. Print the invitations as is using bold white fonts. Using a sponge and some diluted acrylic, gently dab the sponge on the paint, gently drag the painted side onto the card, and let it dry. 

This should give the illusion of a lightly erased blackboard. Just make sure that your invitation details are still legible after painting.

Wooden Frame

Nature is playing a massive part in rustic themed weddings. That is why, besides flowers and plants, wooden materials are also prevalent. For this DIY invitation, you are going to make a wooden frame. 

You can either purchase thin wooden frames in your local supply store or make one yourself if you like to get crafty with your hands. If you want to go more minimal, you can easily craft an invitation with a stand on the back that will still work as a frame.

Two frames with a hinge in the middle are best for rustic invitations, where you can place a prenuptial photo on one side and your wedding announcements and rsvp on the other. This props up on the table, which means none of your guests will forget to save your selected date!

Light-up Invitations

Outdoor country weddings are big on warm lights. There is nothing like being in the garden with white tablecloths, fresh-cut grass, and stars in the night sky. For this rustic wedding invitation, you can bring a glimpse of that wedding night to your announcement using a simple trick.

Gather a 3V 12mm coin battery, copper tape, cardboard paper, and your choice of the LED light. Print your card design and decide where you want to put the LED light. You can choose to light up an image of a firefly or a star. For an advanced design, you can opt to use pop-up cards that light up from underneath.

On the base cardboard, set up your light circuit with the battery’s positive side facing upwards. Place two lines of copper tape on each leg of your LED legs. One copper tape should adhere to your battery while the other should be folded such that it only touched when pressed. 

After that, cover your circuit with your printed invitation with a “press me” area on top of the battery. When your guests press this area, the coppers should touch the battery and light up your invitation.

Travel Inspired

For the more adventurous couples, how about centering your invitation on your travels? This is an excellent option for a couple who have lots of travel photos. To execute this, gather photos from your travels together to print along with your wedding announcements. After, design your envelopes like a love letter or a postcard.

Don’t be shy to fill the back of your envelope with as many post stamps as you can and manually write your recipients’ names. Use twine rope to seal your envelope and make a ribbon on the front. You can also have your own customized ink stamps to put all over the envelope, which you can use until your wedding reception. Isn’t that neat?

Cloth Envelopes

Are you looking to make elegant-looking but cheap rustic wedding invitations? Use burlap or scrap cloth to seal your envelopes. Simply cut out a rectangular shape of the fabric that can be folded around your envelope. Then finish with a twine rope or a ribbon, which you can label with a tag before sealing with a knot. You can write to you and your future spouse’s initials and your guests’ names in the title.

Playing with Lace

Add texture in an instant by incorporating lace to your invitations. Using brown cardboard as your primary paper, print your invitations with black font. Using cloth lace or white paper with lace pattern cut-outs, cover the outer side of your letter or envelope’s outer side. The brown contrasting with the white lace will surely bring out a touch of romance to the whole invitation.

Bohemian

Bohemian themes are known for beautiful patterns. You can play with colorful cloth or beads for this design. There are rustic wedding invitation templates you can use to overlay your invitation, but the most popular bohemian icon are tapestries.

For a simple bohemian invitation, print a tapestry on the back of your main card and leave out a rectangular area blank in the middle. This blank area is where you should write out your announcements. You can ask your local printing press to have your text engraved in gold for added texture.