Since I posted our map to ever after here, I’ve gotten a few inquiries on how I made it. But whenever I mention using Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator as the tool I used to create the wedding map, they usually dump the idea of creating one for themselves because they feel that these softwares are not for non-techies, who know nothing about graphic design and editing.

I thought of recommending other editing softwares but I realized that this DIY project can be replicated using something more familiar and easy to use: the MS PowerPoint. We know PowerPoint as the tool for creating presentations but lately, artistic DIY brides are creating beautiful monograms with it. So why not a map?

The only downside is the resulting image is not a high-resolution one, but unless you’re going to print out an enlarged version of it, I think it’ll do good for a wedding map.

So without further ado, here are the instructions on how to create your own wedding map using PowerPoint.

Things you will need:

• PowerPoint (any version will do)
• A copy of the map (for accurate directions, I suggest using Google Maps)
• A few images to use for landmarks (or you can use the pre-installed clip arts in MS Office)
• Fonts (if you want to use fonts other than the ones you already have in your computer)

Instructions:

1. Open PowerPoint.

2. Insert [a picture from file] the picture of your map.

3. Using the Line (Curve) Tool, draw a line over the image, tracing the routes of the map. You don’t need to do a perfect “trace” but keep the position of lines as accurate as possible.

4. Vary the thickness and color of the lines to distinguish highways from main roads, main roads from minor roads, etc.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the other routes.

6. When you’ve drawn lines over the routes that you feel should be included in your wedding map, you may remove the image of the original map.

What you will have is the framework of your wedding map. Using the original map as guide, insert texts to indicate significant places and use pictures to show popular landmarks that can help your visitors find their way to your wedding. Be as creative as you can.

Alternatively, you may choose to remove the map after you’ve “decorated” it.

7. Once you’re happy with your wedding map, save it as a JPEG file.

Here’s the finished DIY map that I did using MS PowerPoint (I got the images from the clipart collection that comes with MS Office):

8. And that’s it. You can now use this map in your wedding invitation.