Wedding stationery should comprise about 3% of your wedding budget, For Aaron & Summer’s wedding, that is $120. When the kids first got engaged and I started our wedding Pinterest board, I had pinned an invitation that I loved. It was the right color and I felt, a good representation of the couple. I had to do a lot of searching to find the cost of that invitation and in my searching I found out for the 65 invitations we needed, it would cost us over $900 for these invitations!! Of course, there was no way that was going to happen, so we looked elsewhere.
Along the way we found a design on Vista Print that we all really liked…and was in budget. Unfortunately, while we were waiting til it it was time to order the invitations, a friend of the couple recently used a VERY similar design for their invitations. Back to the drawing board-again. We looked at Wedding Paper Divas and Etsy too but we just didn’t find the right fit. On a recent trip to the craft store I saw some blank invitations that you print yourself by Wilton. I didn’t see any at that store that I liked but I came home and looked online and found some that could work. According to the Wilton website, Staples also carried their invitations. Hubby and I ventured to Staples to see what they had available and while I didn’t find any Wilton wedding invitations, I found one from Gartner that was perfect! Recently we took the kids to Staples and they agreed that these were perfect so they bought the invitations and response cards- for a total of $1.08 each or $81, and they have enough budget left to order the photo thank-you cards that they have their eye on!
Yes, we saved a lot of money and yes, we have to print and assemble the invitations ourselves. Is the savings worth it? YES! Aaron can print the invitations on a fabulous printer at work…yes, he got permission. Once that is done, we will have an invitation assembling party and get that done in short order.
In the end choosing your wedding invitation focuses on 3 things:
- Budget
- Style
- Theme
Going overboard and spending too much on invitations is just silly. Stay around 3% of your budget and you will be fine. Make sure the invitation you choose fits the style of your wedding. If you are having formal wedding then make sure your invitations are formal and use a font with flourish. An informal wedding calls for an informal invitation, no script fonts required…and definitely no sealing wax! If your wedding is a backyard barbecue, make sure your guests are aware of that fact by the invitation you send. You don’t want Aunt Pearl showing up in her Sunday best to sit on a picnic bench and eat ribs.
Your wedding invitation is the first peek your guests get at your wedding and it is all about setting expectations. Not only does it inform your guests as to where and when the event is happening, it lets them know how to dress and what to expect. Make sure your invitation accomplishes its goals.
Next week I’ll be sharing on the sticky subject of invitation wording. Make sure you are subscribed so you don’t miss out.
You sure are doing a lot of leg work. But the savings in the end are worth it.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and input.
Choosing the perfect wedding invitation can be a source of stress for many couples.