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Remember when I said that I wasn’t going to spend one. more. minute thinking about invites? I lied. What can I say?
The most frustrating part of my whole invitation experience was that, had I planned a little better, I would have been much, much happier — all while spending about the same amount of money.
Learn from my mistakes, ye who follow.
I spent $52 for 60 invitations. Not bad, right? But I wasn’t happy at all with the quality of the paper. I even debated buying new stationery, or at the very least envelopes, because I was so unhappy with them.
Total: $52.92. With the same cost for stamps - $12 - the total would have been about $64… just $12 more than what I went with. The trick with Paper Source, by the way, is to go straight to the Sale link and pick your options.
This wedding-planning thing sure makes you face who you are and what matters to you.
And if I have any advice to offer you, even those of you trying to stick to extreme budgets for whatever reason, it’s this: make sure you’re happy. Now, I’m not saying that you need to be thrilled, or that every detail needs to be everything you’d always hoped, but you do need to be happy and willing to defend your decisions and details.
My invites didn’t meet that standard. I hand carried one to a neighbor and found myself giving myself a pep talk on the way over. “Don’t apologize for them; don’t mention that you bought them for less than twenty bucks; don’t apologize for them….” This is no way to feel.
I like the invitation itself; if you know us, you’ll understand. I like the inserts directing folks to RSVP online or by phone. The design is simple and clean with a little bit of quirkiness. I hate the envelopes. Hate. They’re cheap and flimsy and they make me sad.
In the end, having already spent the money on invites that were not reusable in any way, I kept them. And I’m over it. But if I had it to do all over again… well, now you know.
I am so surprised by this post just because I genuinely thought that your invites were lovely! I understand if they weren’t ideal in your eyes, but they certainly are not anything that I would be embarrassed about.
Ugh I know all about invitation frustration. I had to buy two (!) sets of the same invites, since the first batch had already been printed and were in my hands featuring information that was no longer pertinent to our downsized and re-located event, we ordered a second set with the new info on them. We ended up making the most of it by using the old invites, which were envelope style with a pattern on the outside, as table number tents, bar menus, place cards, escort cars and seating charts. At least I was happy with the invites. I had other items I was not so happy with though.
I thought your invitations were lovely. I really did… I wouldn’t bother saying so otherwise. And truthfully the ONLY ONLY ONLY people that would ever notice the quality of the envelopes is someone who has gotten married in the last 6 months, or has already picked out their own invitations for their wedding. And those people might not like their envelopes early!
There are definitely better ways to spend your money & the invitations and inserts were adorable and great… and the wording on them was brilliant. THAT is what people will remember!!!!!!
No one is going to notice your envelopes, promise. Great post though -I agree that if you’re not happy with something and it’s not too hard or expensive to fix, you’re best off fixing it.
Oh Miss Cheese, we spend so much time/money picking the right envelopes and liners and stamps and calligraphy… but like Heather12457 said they’re “the first thing thrown away!” Your invites are fun and beautiful (I love that you have your pets on them!). Dont worry about any aspect of your invites, they’re wonderful!
Besides, out of sight, out of mind!
Keep “Cheesin’”!
Oh my! I really thought I was the only person who had this issue with the invites. My sentiments are reflected 110% in this post, except for the fact that I spent probably 5 to 6 times as much on invitation supplies. Damn you Paper Source! Really not the place for a newbie DIY-er who doesn’t have an exact idea of what she wants. I had warning from another bride to save myself the trouble and money and to just get them printed but FI couldn’t comprehend spending $200+ on paper that gets thrown out anyway. So this is what started the multiple trips to Michaels, Joanns and Paper Source to buy various solid papers, design papers, envelopes, ribbons, rubber stamps, embosser and powder, cutter, punch out stamps, xyron machine, etc. etc. Also, it really kills me that Target is now pouring out super and cheap invite sets that look a lot more professional than what I put together. But alas, the invites have been sent and I hear many people didn’t appreciate the RSVP by website (c’mon we’re in the 21st century already!!) or the lack of parental names on the front of the invite (again, 21st century) but I guess all a person can do now is say OH WELL and focus on making the actual event something to remember. I will return to this post to read what others have said and hopefully it’ll continue to make me feel okay about not sending out picture perfect invites….
Don’t stress about it.
Every time I get a wedding invitation, I’m conflicted. I think, “oh! It’s so pretty and it’s on such lovely paper–I want to keep this forever!”
…but unless it’s a best friend or close family member, what am I going to do with it?
So each time a wedding ends, I hover over the garbage can and say a sad little good bye to the beautiful invitation. The “keepers”–invites of those closest to me–are in a pile in a box …somewhere.
Now that I’m engaged, I’m trying SO hard not to get beautiful, expensive invitations, or get too carried away if I DIY. Most of them will just be thrown away anyway. Maybe there are other people having sad little moments over the garbage can like me. ;(
Instead, I’m spending more time and money on details that will last the test of time.
Best wishes.
haha it makes me sad that people will just throw them away, with all the effort and money I’m pouring into these, they better frame them!!!
the only consolation I have right now is that I’m putting these in my portfolio for school and job searching. double duty invites 
For all you ladies out there looking at Paper Source, I would highly recommend Paper and More. They have really nice paper for much cheaper than Paper Source and their shipping and customer service is amazing. Check out their metallic and linen papers!
I so appreciate your honesty, Cheese! As some of the pps said, no one saves the envelope; people will, however, remember the warm wording and the excitement conveyed through the paper package. That’s the important part. Also, in terms of practicality, stardream is a royal pain to print on — you really need a laser printer for the ink to dry quickly, so unless you already had a laser printer, that’s a lotta extra cash to consider!
Aw Miss Cheese I feel your pain! I feel the envelopes can be as plain as white because its what keeps the actual invitation in pristine condition and THAT’S what matters 
At this very moment, I am going through the exact same thing you are. My biggest conflict as that they will look too homemade and will not be up to the standards of graphic designer uncle (who isn’t even a person who would care about invites).
I think we all have our one thing that we stress about during wedding planning. This, my friend, is ours!
Just another comment about Paper Source - I was super excited that the Stardream Sapphire line had all gone on sale so that I could use it for my invites. However, I found out the day after I placed my order (via email), that they were sold out of the A7 flat cards and the 4-bar flat cards, although they were still on the site and I purchased them. I was very frustrated to go through the whole order of materials for my invites to find out the next day they were out of what I really needed.
I have found that their sale page often contains items that are “sold out,” so be cautious when purchasing. I’ve made my recent sale purchases from Paper Source over the phone to ensure what I needed was in stock.
@Kodiak: Aw, thanks.
Y’all, I appreciate your comments. In the end, I was pretty happy with my invites, but I should have spent the extra money (or at least thought about it) to avoid all of the angst. But, since I was going for “least expensive,” I didn’t even compare costs. I suppose that was the lesson.
I felt the same way with my first invites purchase. I soon found myself buying new envelopes and planning to make liners I’d be happy with! While PaperSource seems to be the “go-to” store for textiles on WB, they didn’t have ANYTHING that was close to my colors!! So I went with Paper-Presentations.com and I LOVE the stock I got from them! YAY Google!!
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Mrs. Cheese, Knoxville Age and Occupation: 29, Engineering Manager Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, CAD Designer Engagement Date: July 31, 2008 Wedding Date: May, 2009 Blogging Since: October 16, 2008 Venue: Our home and the two acres it sits on About Me: I’m an emotional girl who loves sentimental things, parenthetical asides, and trying to do things herself. I can cook, sew, am a whiz at planning, terrible at delegating, and totally in love with my fiancé (who will be my second husband but first love of the rest of my life). For our home/ garden/ DIY wedding, we’ll be moonlighting as interior designers, home improvers, and gardeners with the help of our fabulous friends and neighbors. We can’t wait to be married, and are learning how fun getting married can be.
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