Chances are, you'll need a map to include with your wedding invitations. If you are having your invitations custom designed, you graphic artist will probably create one for you. But what if you aren't? There are lots of websites and artists that can create pretty maps for you. But did you know you can do it yourself? I didn't really believe it either, so I made one for our office location! Here's how it works... {Word of Caution: Don't rush this project! Give yourself plenty of time, and work on it over a few nights. If you lack patience, consider hiring someone instead.}

Step 1: Find your locations in Google Maps, Mapquest, Bing, or another online source. If you will have multiple locations, be sure to zoom out wide enough to show them all. You'll be tracing this map, so be sure you are happy with its size, zoom and position. Use Print Screen to capture the image.

Step 2: If you have access to a drawing program, like Adobe Illustrator, open it up and paste your map into a new drawing. If you don't have Illustrator, you can accomplish the same thing using Microsoft PowerPoint! Paste your image in a new slide to get started.

Step 3: Use the drawing tools to trace the main streets on your maps. If you are using PowerPoint, use the Curve tool to trace most roads. You can also adjust the thickness for major roads, and add text boxes to add labels. Remember, it doesn't need to be exact, as long as all the roads are where they should be. Once you have all the roads traced, delete the original Google map and check out your design!

Step 4: Add icons to your map for your ceremony and reception locations - Google "free wedding clipart" to find some cute images. You could also add rehearsal dinner locations, or any other places your guests will need to find.

Step 5: In PowerPoint, use the Select All command to select all the elements of your map. Once everything is selected, right click and choose the Save As Picture option. A dialogue window will open allowing you to save your map as an image file. Depending on the size your printed map needs to be, it may be better to save the file as a PDF.

That's it! This is my finished product: