Weddingbee Blog

Several readers asked for more detail on my DIY’d invitations, so here it is!

To determine how many invites I’d need, I came up with a working guest list then added 15 extras (to take care of people I’d forgotten to include in my original count, printing mess-ups, etc). I used Paper-Source and chose various color combos for the following elements: Invitation top layer, invitation backing layer, map cards, brunch enclosure, response cards, response envelope, inner envelope, and outer envelope. You might need other enclosures–reception cards, hotel cards; or you might choose to forego some of these elements–brunch enclosure, outer envelope, etc.

Once I decided how many and how much of each element I needed, I created an Excel spreadsheet of my order. I included: item description, color, price per package, total price, dimensions, use, and a checklist column for double-checking my order once it arrived. Since I ordered the paper for my STDs, thank you cards, and rehearsal invites at the same time I ordered the paper for my invitations, I wanted to make sure I could keep everything straight–and remember why I’d bought what I did!

When my papers came in (in a GIANT cardboard box!) I spent an evening sorting everything in various piles and bags. I labeled each thing–”invitation backing” “thank you envelopes” etc. I don’t trust my memory, so this was extra insurance on my part! That way, as I approached various elements of the wedding stationery I could grab just what I needed, and not use up any extra on accident.

Because I love you guys enough to share all my deepest darkest secrets, here’s the breakdown of my invitation cost (this for the invites only–not the STDs or rehearsal invites or thank you notes!). This made 90 invitations.

Item Total Cost
Stardream Silver A7 Envelope (90) - $38.25
Superfine Soft White A7.5 Envelope (90) - $38.25
Black flat card A7 (100) - $18.00
Blue 4-bar flat card (150) - $17.50
Blue A6 flat card special cut (100) - $16.00 ($14.00+ $2.00 special cut)
Blue 4-bar envelope (90) - $24.75
Blue A6 flat card (100) - $14.00

Those items are, in order: inner envelope, outer envelope, invitation backing, reply cards + brunch enclosures, invitation printed layer (top layer), reply envelopes, and map cards.

But you also need to factor in other supplies:
1 can spray glue: $3.92 at Michaels
2 silver ink pads: $15.98 at Michaels
1 black ink pad: $3.99 at Michaels
Inkjet ink: $30.00 (???)

So that brings the total cost of all my invitation stuff to: $220.64.

Divide that by 90 invitations, and it’s about $2.45 per invitation (not including postage).

You will note, I didn’t include the cost of my rubber stamps, since I used those for other wedding projects and will continue to use them after the wedding. I also didn’t include tax.

So if, like me, you don’t consider your labor to be worth much, DIY’ing invitations can be a pretty good deal!

Lastly, here are a few more ways to save money or time on your invites:
~Print enclosures on vellum–it’s lighter and cheaper than flat cards, and you might even be able to ship them for standard postage rates!
~Use clip art or images (with permission!) and integrate them directly into your layout design when printing the cards–you won’t have to go through and stamp every single card!
~Forego one of the envelopes–they’re usually not necessary any more, and just add weight and expense.
~Use a postcard for your reply card. It’ll only be 24c to stamp it, and you won’t have to buy reply envelopes.
~Or, you could have guests reply via phone or email. The etiquette fuddy-duddies won’t like this idea, but for a bride on a very tight budget it can help.

Here are ways I *don’t* recommend trying to save time or money:
~Don’t print your invites at Kinkos or someplace–their quality is quite low, and since you can’t lay them out for the ink to dry, you’ll waste paper that gets smudged.
~Don’t use cheap glue. It will be messier to work with and might bleed or splotch your work.
~Don’t just buy exactly enough supplies–it’s too much pressure on you if you don’t have any wiggle room! It’s always worth it to buy extra.
~Don’t diy if your time is valuable! If you’ll be taking time away from work just to do your invites, it’s probably not the best idea.

Let me know if you’ve still got questions!