In this post, I’m going to show you how you can easily create a simple, elegant, FREE wedding invitation using Canva. 🥳
WHAT IS CANVA?
Canva is a drag and drop online design tool that allows you to create gorgeous layouts and documents within your computer browser. It is super user friendly and comes with thousands of customizable templates that are ready to go!
It’s, in a word, AMAZING. 🤩
I use Canva for pretty much everything– my Etsy photos, my Pinterest pins, logo creation, Facebook ads, just to name a few.
How to create a free wedding invitation in Canva
Today we are going to focus on creating our own custom wedding invitation for FREE. Are you ready?! Let’s do this! 🙌
STEP #1: SIGN UP FOR CANVA
First, you’re going to want to sign-up for a Canva account if you don’t have one already. If you already have a Canva account, skip this step and login to your account.
Sign-up for a Canva account here.
Canva offers a free version but, I would highly recommend the free trial of their Canva Pro account. This will give you access to the best fonts and images. You can cancel before the free trial period is up if you feel you won’t use it in the future.
STEP #2: CREATE A new DESIGN
Click the “create a design” button in the upper, right hand corner of the screen. Adjust the size to whatever size you’d like your invitation to be.
In this example, we’ll use the popular size of 5×7 inches. Make sure the parameters are set to inches and not pixels. Click “create design.”
STEP #3: GET A FEEL FOR THE CANVA DESIGN SPACE
Explore the tabs in the menu on the left side of the screen to see all that Canva has to offer!
STEP #4: BEGIN WITH THE NAMES
When designing your wedding invitation, I would recommend beginning with the names of you and your spouse. The names on this simple wedding invitation will be the artwork so we want them front and center!
Add a text box using the text tab on the left. In the example above, I used 3 different text boxes so I could easily move the names around.
The font I used is called Rumba and it is available to Canva Pro users. The names and plus sign are scaled to size 113.
STEP #5: Create an intro for your invitation
Click the text tab on the left side of the screen to add another text box. Enter whatever text you would like to appear at the top of the invitation.
I like to start most of my invitations with “Together with their families” but, you can begin however you like.
Once you have entered the text, place the text box above the names in the center of the wedding invitation. Once it is centered, feel free to change the font and play around with the spacing (as pictured above).
For the details on this invitation, I used a font called Alegreya Sans Regular. I spaced the letters at 80 and the line height at 1.7.
STEP #6: ADD THE WEDDING DETAILS
To save ourselves some time, let’s copy and paste the intro text box we just completed.
This will keep the formatting the same throughout the invitation giving it a symmetrical and polished look. It will also save us the time because we will not have to adjust the spacing or line height again.
Once you’ve copied and pasted the intro text box, place it underneath the names and center it. Type “invite you to their wedding ceremony” or whichever wording you prefer.
Copy the “invite you to their wedding ceremony” text box and paste it underneath the last one and type the day, date, year, and time of your wedding. Bold the day, date, and year.
Copy & paste again and type the venue name and underneath type the address. Bold the venue name.
Last, but not least, add a text box at the bottom to let your guests know what to expect after the ceremony. I chose the simple phrase “evening reception to follow.”
The font in the last text box is Rumba (size 18) to match the names.
Optional Ideas:
I didn’t want to include this as a step since it is 100% optional, but here are a couple extra ideas to get your creative juices flowing!
The options are seriously endless when creating a free wedding invitation in Canva.
If you want to add a pop of color, head on over to Etsy and buy a graphic for personal use. I purchased the wreath below from a shop on Etsy called AnnelyBlooms for less than $4.00.
I uploaded it to Canva using the “upload” tab and added it to my design. Once I added it to my design, I had to make the names a little smaller and shift some of the text around to make it work.
This is a great option to jazz up your wedding invitation for cheap!
To find clipart for your invitations on Etsy, here are some suggested searches:
Canva also allows you to upload fonts with the Canva Pro subscription. Fonts can be purchased on sites like Creative Market and Etsy.
Sometimes paid fonts can be a little pricey so you’ll want to be on the lookout for free fonts from sites like, Google Fonts and DaFont.
STEP #7: DOWNLOAD & PRINT
I would recommend downloading as a PNG or JPEG. I downloaded mine as a PNG because that is what Canva suggested and it printed fine. Canva will save your work and allow you to edit and download as many times as you need.
There are a few options for printing your invitation. You can print at home onto 5×7” card stock or send the file to a professional printer.
If you decide to print at home, it’s recommended that you print on card stock that is 100 lb. or heavier. This will ensure the invitation isn’t flimsy.
I always like to recommend Prints of Love as a professional printing option because of their quality and excellent customer service.
I ordered each of the invitations in this tutorial from Prints of Love and they both came out beautifully! The text and graphics are super clean and crisp. The picture doesn’t do it justice!
You can also use Canva to create RSVP cards, details cards, wedding signs, table numbers, etc. The options are endless! Happy creating!! 🤩 🎨
Related: Use Wedding Invitation Templates to Save Money on Your Wedding