You have decided to get married on the beach with sounds of surf in the background. You’ve picked the date and chosen the perfect setting for your wedding. Beach invitations are the perfect tool for announcing the celebration to your guests. Your goal? To entice friends and family to share your special day with you.

To fulfill your hope, you’ll want to create an invitation that is so attractive, your guests will be tempted to frame it to help them remember the beauty of your wedding. If you are like most couples, you’ll also want to keep an eye on how much you spend for your invitations. The average couple spends about five per cent of their wedding budget on invitations. Surprisingly, that’s $1,000 for a $20,000 wedding. Beach invitations can cost much less than that. Rather than hiring a graphics designer to take on the task, trim your budget by creating your own.

It might seem challenging at the beginning, but happily, there’s very little reason to worry. There are so many different papers, colors and type-styles to choose from, it will be easy to design invitations that mirror your unique style. And best of all, you can do it without spending too much money. This is your chance to show your creativity, so enjoy it!

Here are a few tips to inspire your imagination:

Design Your Invitations Online: If you type “design your own wedding invitations online” into your Internet search engine, you’ll be shown a large number of websites that can assist you in creating the invitations for your wedding. Beach invitations are available in a number of ready-made designs which can be customized, or you can begin from scratch. The choice is yours, but both ways are free. There won’t be any charge until you have your invitations printed.

Invitation Shape and Size: If you want your invitations to have a custom shape instead of being square or rectangular, you can do so. You might choose the shape of palm trees, sea horses or some other beach-related objects. Although custom shapes currently are in vogue, they do have a few downsides. The printer will charge you more, because they will need to specially configure their equipment to cut the paper into the shape you choose. Your postage costs might be higher also, because sometimes it costs more to mail oddly shaped or oversized envelopes. If money is tight, you might consider sticking with conventional shapes and sizes.

Invitation Graphics: What images pop into your mind when you think about the beach? Wedding invitations can incorporate pictures of sand dollars on the beach, swaying palm trees, sailboats on the horizon and other beach-related images into their designs. You can create a tasteful background for your invitations by repeating the same image of a tropical flower, a starfish, a sunset or a dolphin. You can also use a favorite beach photo or painting in your design.

Paper choices: What type of paper should you use? 30 to 50 pound card stock is optimal. This is thicker than standard paper so it prints well and resists bending and creasing during mailing. If you are more eco-conscious, opt for recycled paper. Linen and cotton paper are ideal choices if your goal is elegance. Tip: To save money, go with a cotton blend rather than 100% cotton.

Type-style: The website where you design your invitations will offer a variety of fonts to choose from. You will want to choose a font that reflects romance, the beach, and of course, your own personality. One of the most popular and pleasing-to-the-eye fonts for wedding invitations is called Edwardian Script. Renaissance and Vivaldi fonts are good bets as well.

Beach invitations can be individualized even more by adding your favorite song lyric, quote or poem. If your wife or husband-to-be has a favorite expression, feature it in the wording of your invitations. By integrating these personal touches you will capture the attention and imagination of your guests. Friends and family will cherish your invitations long after the celebration has ended.

BeachWeddingMagic helps soon-to-be-married couples create their own magical on beach wedding. Visit BeachWeddingMagic.com for tips and advice on wedding beach invitations, cakes, decorations, clothing and much more.