Wedding invitations in your own handwriting

Handwritten invitations feel personal, but writing a hundred of them by hand takes days and your writing gets tired by the twentieth envelope. A font made from your own handwriting gives you the same personal look on every piece: invitations, save-the-dates, place cards, menus, signs and thank-you cards. You can type, fix typos and print as many as you need.

Step 1: write your template sheets

Pick the Natural tier for wedding stationery. You fill in three sheets, and the font gets three versions of every lowercase letter and digit. They rotate as you type, which is what makes it look truly handwritten rather than like a font.

• Use the pen you would use for the invitations. A felt tip or fineliner around 0.5 to 0.8 mm gives clean, even lines that print well.
• Write at a relaxed, steady pace, the way you would write a nice card, not your fastest note-taking hand.
• Keep each character inside its box and leave a little space around it.
• Write all three sheets in one sitting with the same pen, so the versions match.

Take a photo of each sheet from straight above with the four corner squares in view, and upload it on the Make your font page. You check every letter, erase stray marks, and type in the font before you pay.

Step 2: design the stationery

Install the font on your computer (double-click the OTF file and choose Install), then use it in any of these:

• Canva: upload the font under Brand fonts and use it with any invitation template. See how to add your font to Canva.
• Word or Pages: simple and good enough for most invitations. Word's mail merge also fills in guest names on place cards and envelopes from a spreadsheet.
• Cricut: for cut names, signs and vinyl. See using your font with Cricut.
• Affinity, Illustrator or Figma if you or your designer use them.

In Word, turn the letter versions on once per document: select the text, open Font > Advanced and tick Use Contextual Alternates. Pages, Figma, Illustrator and browsers do it by themselves.

Mix your handwriting with one clean, plain typeface for details such as times and addresses. The handwriting stands out more when it is used for the names and the main line.

Step 3: print

Export a print-ready PDF. The font is embedded in the file, so a print shop or online printer can print it without having the font. Ask for a single proof first and check that thin strokes print clearly at small sizes.

Where your handwriting works best

• Your names on the invitation and save-the-date
• Guest names on place cards and envelopes
• Welcome signs, table numbers and the seating plan
• Menu headings and the order of the day
• Thank-you cards after the wedding
• Labels on favours, jars and gift tags

The font is yours to use as often as you like, so it is there for your anniversary cards, baby announcements and Christmas cards too.