Wedding gifts/Money/Invites?

Hiya all =)

Sooo I'm still in the middle of whether I'm having a church or registry wedding (He's checking out the church and talking to Vicars) & I'll be emailing the registry office shortly to see if I can book a provisional wedding date and ask a few questions.
Anyways, For those of you who married in the UK, did you send invites to those in the states or some kind of "notice" that you were getting married? My mom is a bit upset that I'm not marrying in the states, It's not an option due to my fiance's criminal record at the moment. We've given to alot of family members when they got married as it's an "expected" return when some one else gets married kwim? Do I send like a "just married" or "getting married" announcement to those in the states? I was thinkin' of posting a video of the wedding somewhere for those in the states to view afterwards, but how does this work? I know of at least 10 family's that will give money for my wedding. We're kinda counting on the cash to help pay for the spousal visa, as with the wedding planning and me not working for 6months will be a bit tight. Gotta learn to budget. My fiance' told me it's custom in the UK to give presents for a wedding. *Maybe I can get a new microwave!* The one he owns is older then me I swear.... Curious to know, what are wedding "customs" in the UK? My fiance' has only been to one wedding his entire life.

Also.....Does Boots have where you can use pictures to make postcards? I believe Walgreens does this in the states.. I thought it'd be cute and a cheap way to do invites for those that will be likely attending the wedding.
Serious any budget helping ideas/input is much appreciated!

An invitation to the wedding is the proper thing to send before a wedding.  Just remember you are inviting them to a wedding and they could show up. 

An announcement can be sent after the fact, but gifts (monetary or physical) should not be expected as you are technically just sharing your joyous news with them. 

As for gift giving customs - I think it is a very personal thing and varies based on people's circumstances.  Some people may not give you a gift if they aren't attending the wedding.  Some may because they are fond of you or feel some sort of obligation to "pay back" for weddings you have attended.  We received a mix of money, gift list and random gifts from both people in the US and the UK. 

There are definitely places that will do photo cards.  They may not have as many templates to choose from as some of the sites in the US, but they do exist.  Snappy Snaps is a major chain of camera/photo stores in the UK.  You can see if they have any information online.

An invitation to the wedding is the proper thing to send before a wedding.  Just remember you are inviting them to a wedding and they could show up.  

An announcement can be sent after the fact, but gifts (monetary or physical) should not be expected as you are technically just sharing your joyous news with them.  

Well said.

We got married in the UK and sent invitations to friends and family in both countries. Some from the US came - some I hadn't expected to, which was lovely. And of those who understandably couldn't make the journey, some gave us presents and others didn't. I don't think we got any cash - either gifts or vouchers, and that was great. My British family and friends gave a combination of those as well - gifts and vouchers.

If you want to share your wedding with family and friends who can't come, you could have a wedding website. There are lots of cheap and free options out there.