Bridal Club Magazine

Wedding Invitations – Keeping the Costs Down

The price of making your own invitations that still look professional, while keeping costs down is totally doable. It will depend on the paper that you choose, the envelopes, and the number of inserts that you include.

Deciding what is a reasonable price to pay for doing your own, has to be weighed up against the time and effort involved. When budgeting, don't forget to include the cost of postage for both the invitation (which can easily weigh more than the standard weight and require additional postage) and the RSVP card. One way to save on the postage for both the invitation and the RSVP is to use a postcard for the RSVP rather than a card and envelope. Here are a few suggestions to help you achieve professional looking invitations at a reasonable cost.

Visit a paper warehouse in your area and look at blank invitations and matching paper to be used for the inserts.

Check with a quick digital copying centre in your area or a commercial printer who specialises in working for small businesses. You may find that they can print the invitations relatively inexpensively and they will look nicer than they would if done on the laser printer at your work … plus you won't get in trouble for using company equipment for personal reasons.

You might want to consider having the invitations done in thermography. This process makes a raised print and looks more like a commercial invitation than one done on a computer.

Another option would be to make the invitations using a piece of hand-made paper (available from paper warehouses) cut to the desired size. Then, print the invitation information on a piece of vellum; lay the vellum on top of the handmade paper, and punch two holes in the top for a ribbon. Add the small ribbon and tie a bow. Purchase envelopes and paper for the inserts that coordinates in colour with the hand-made paper.

After you have done your homework, you can compare costs and decide whether you want to pursue making your own invitations or not.

Good luck.