How I saved money on my wedding invitations

Dec 30

Every couple needs to save money somewhere. One of the ways I did this was through my wedding invitations. Trust me, it wasn’t easy to pass on the gold foil print, laser cut details, and hand calligraphy addressed envelopes but I still feel like my invitations had character and quality. Here is how I did it:

Step 1: Shop Around

Determine where you want to get your invitations printed. It is important to know this ahead of time because your designer will need to know what size your invitations are going to be. Believe it or not, each website may not offer all the sizes you are looking for or if they do, they may not offer the same finish in each of those sizes. For example, we chose with Vista Print and below is what we ordered. (Other places to consider would be Zazzle, Kinkos, Office Max, etc.)

Main Invitation for Ceremony - Flat Invitation - 5"x7" - Linen Finish
Reception Card with Directions Printed on the Back - Flat Invitation - 5.5"x4" - Linen Finish
RSVP Card - Flat Invitation - 5.5"x4" - Linen Finish
Hotel Information Card - Signature Business Card - Linen Finish

Step 2: The Design

If you haven’t fallen into the Etsy trap yet, this will do it! I found someone to custom design my whole entire wedding suite… and then some! She worked with me on colors, fonts, wording, etc. Just go online to Etsy and search for anything along the lines of “Printable Wedding Invitation”. You can find plenty of great designers that will make a whole wedding suite for you starting around $20 and up. Mine totaled about $70 for the entire design, but I had them create a few extra pieces, as well as, make custom designs for the front and back of each of my wedding pieces. Here are a few snapshots of the designs that the Etsy Designer (Melissa Ann Designs) made for me:

Note, before you confirm your design, make sure that you triple check spelling, dates, times, addresses, etc.!!!

Step 3: Order Prints

You may have experienced with your Save The Dates that after you order, you received a promo code or coupons for your next purchase. My advice to you is, if you can, order just a minimum number of invitations and wait for them to send you a coupon before you order the rest! I know it’s hard to wait, but you will enjoy the extra 20% or 40% off. Or maybe you will get lucky and catch a current online sale!

Also, before printing, you may also want to know where the “bleed line” falls. In printing, the bleed area marks a small area at the edges of your card that isn’t a crucial part of the design. The diagram below provides an example of what I’m referring to. You want a design that will fill the entire card but the darker interior should contain the crucial information and design you need. After printing, the cutting may not be completely precise and some of the outside area may not make the cut. Printers will specify how much bleed to use in your card.

Once again, before you order, triple check everything, especially that all of your finishes match.

Step 4: Check Out Your Savings!!!!

We ordered 200 invitation suites total from Vista Print and, after applying an internet promo code, our subtotal was $305. For this price, we got everything mentioned earlier in this blog including envelopes! Add the $70 cost from Etsy for the design, and you’re looking at about $375.

Then we checked to see what an apples to apples comparison would be from a popular wedding invitation site, such as Minted.com. It would have cost us $1354. That is a total savings of $970!!!!! Just imagine all of the other wedding goodies you could buy with this!

Hopefully this article has shined a light on one way you can save a little cash on your big day!

Rhiannon Kirk

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