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.

You want to create a wedding invitation so beautiful that your guests will frame it as a memento of your ceremony. Of course, you’ll also want to keep an eye on your budget. Did you know that the average couple spends 5% of their wedding budget on invitations? For a $20,000 wedding that’s $1000. You don’t have to spend that much. Instead of turning the task over to a graphics designer, why not design your own?

Creating your own beach invitations may seem like a thorny challenge at first. Luckily, there’s no cause for stress. With so many choices of paper, color, and type-styles, you can easily craft invitations that perfectly reflect your unique style…without breaking the bank. This is a chance for you to be as wild and creative as you would like. Have fun!

Here are some tips to fire up your creativity:

Design online: Type “design your own wedding invitations online” into Google, and you’ll be presented with dozens of websites that allow you to create your wedding invitations for free! Most offer a variety of ready-made designs. You can start from scratch or choose one of these ready-made versions and then customize it to your heart’s desire. Go ahead. Release your inner artist! You won’t be charged for the invitations until you have them printed.

Size and shape: You may want your invitations to be in the shape of palm trees, sea horses or other beach-related objects. While custom shapes are classy, there are downsides. The printing company will have to set up their equipment to cut the paper into the shape of your choice. This requires extra work and you will be charged accordingly. Also, the post office sometimes charges more to mail odd or oversized shapes so you’ll want to consider postage costs as well. If you are minding your budget, your safest bet is to stick with square or rectangular shapes.

Images: What images come to mind when you think of the beach, sand and surf? Perhaps you envision sand dollars scattered along the beach, palm trees silhouetted against azure sky, or sailboats drifting along the horizon. Any of these can be incorporated into the design of your wedding invitations. A single image of a starfish, a tropical flower, a dolphin or a sunset can be repeated to create a tasteful background. If you have a favorite beach photo or painting, you can easily integrate it into your design as well.

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.

To make your beach invitations stand out even more, how about including your favorite poem, quote or song lyric? Does your husband or wife-to-be have a favorite expression they repeat often? Include it to give your wedding invitations a warm, personal sparkle that your guests will appreciate and cherish.