Wedding Blog

Here is our second installment of the bees’ invitations. This post features invites that were DIYed by the bees!  Check out the bees’ professional and semi-DIY invitations here.

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Mrs. Pineapple’s Invitations

# of Invitations: 74
Total Cost: $171.00 (including stamps and programs)
Cost per Invitation: $2.31

Invitations:

About Us…:


Directions:

Reply:

Invitation Set:

“Since I make wedding invites and such for a living I was able to do ours on the cheap, including the printing, which was donated by a friend. The photos used on our save the dates were also a gift from my friend and former professor Charlee Brodsky.”

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Mrs. Flamingo’s Invitations

# of Invites: 80 (25 english + 55 french)
Total Cost: $330 CDN ($291.36 USD)
Cost Breakdown:

• Postage: $104.00 CDN ($91.82 USD)
• 100 Open end A7 Envelopes: $39.49 CDN ($34.87 USD)
• Printing artwork (laser): $182.86 CDN ($161.45 USD)

Cost per Invitation: $4.12 CDN ($3.65 USD)

The invitation trousseau included: invitation + envelope and postage, accommodation cards, RSVP postcards and postage.

Invitations:

RSVP Postcards:

Accomodation Cards:

“I’m really happy with our invitations, especially the price. They definitely fit in our budget. Even though I had some issues with the printing of our invitations, I wouldn’t have done it any other way. If I had to do it again, I would have printed the trousseau 1 or 2 weeks before my original deadline. That way I would have been able to make the changes and send out the invites on time.”

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Mrs. Deviled Egg’s Invitations

# of Invitations: 100
Total Cost: $192.73
Cost Breakdown:

• Paper for Invites - $38.93
• Envelopes and Paper for Bellybands - $50.25 from Envelopmall
• Stamp and Ink Pad for Bellyband - $2
• Postage - $81.48
• Ink-jet Cartridges - $19.97

Cost per Invitation: $1.93

Invitation:

Invite Card:

Reception Card:

RSVP Card:

Bellyband:

Invitation Set:

“I was so happy with how our invitations turned out! The suite included a single-panel invitation with 4-bar RSVP, reception and direction cards—all designed in Photoshop Elements and printed at home. I absolutely loved the look and feel of the textured watercolor paper. I really saved on these by using 40% off coupons at Jo-Ann’s and Michael’ when I purchased the paper. All of the postage was gifted to me by my mother-in-law, so my out of pocket expense for these was just over $100. I used tools I already had in my scrapbooking arsenal, such as a Fiskar’s rotary paper trimmer and a Scor-Pal, to give my invites straight lines and crisp folds.”

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Mrs. Cupcake’s Invitations

# of invitations produced: 130
Total Cost: $1332.79
Cost breakdown:

• All teal paper and custom die-cutting of teal envelopes: $500
• Custom Zazzle stamps (for outer and response envelopes): $347.29
• Calligraphy: $295.50
• Additional paper, engraving and printing of all pieces: Generously gifted by a vendor!
• A dozen Philly cheese steaks shipped to vendor as thank you: $190

Cost per Invitation: $10.25

Components:

ENGRAVED: die-cut invitation, outer envelope, response card, response envelope, celebration card
FLAT PRINTED: die-cut envelope liner, tri-fold directions insert

Directions & Accommodations:

Reception Card:

Reply Set:

Invitation:

Envelope:

Thank You Note & Envelope:

Invitation Set:

“I splurged a bit on our invitations, but seeing as it’s what I do for a living, it would have been impossible not to splurge! Although they still ended up being quite pricey by other DIY standards, they would have cost a LOT more if I were your average paying customer getting engraved, die-cut, layered invitations. I was very, VERY fortunate to be gifted with the engraving and production of our invitations from a very friendly and wonderful vendor that I work with regularly. For that I am extremely grateful. It was amazing that they worked with such an insane idea that I had and they brought it to life even more beautifully than I imagined. This was truly a team effort and I never could have done it on my own.

The vendor I worked with is out of state, so as a thank you, I had Jim’s Steaks in Philadelphia ship a dozen Philly cheese steaks to them (they pack them on dry ice and ship them overnight!). I think the pressmen and other amazing people involved in producing our invitations were pleased with the sentiment, or at least I hear that their bellies were! ”

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Mrs. Tiramisu’s Invitations

# of Invitations: 150
Total Cost:$418.51
Cost Breakdown:

• A7 envelopes in Superfine soft white: 15 packs @ 3.83 each = $57.45
• 4Bar envelopes in Night: 15 packs @ 2.70 each = $40.50
• 4Bar cards in Night: 6 packs @ 2.75 each = $16.50
• 4Bar cards in Superfine soft white: 12 packs @ 2.48 each = $29.76
• A6 cards in Superfine soft white: 6 @ 3.75 each = $22.50
• A7 folded cards in Night: 8 @ 7.00 each = $56.00
• Gocco screens: 13 @ 3.00 each (10 used, 3 screw-ups)= $39.00
• Gocco bulbs: 26 @ 1.50 each = $39.00
• Gocco ink- 3 gold, 1 light blue, 1 navy (with tons left over) @ 3.50 each = $17.50
• Misc: Envelope lining paper: 15 sheets @ 3.50 each = $52.50
• Paperclips: 3 boxes of 50 @ 9.00 each = $27.00
• Ribbon: $20.80

Cost per Invitation: $2.79 each

Invitation:

Invitation + RSVP:

Envelope:

“I purchased the Gocco primarily for invitations, although I used it for many other wedding projects and continue to use it. If you want to include that in the cost of the invites, then the grand total is $568.51 or $3.79 each. Postage was an additional $1 per invite. ”

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Mrs. Lemon’s Invitations

# of Invitations: 100
Total cost (excluding postage): $229.29
Cost Breakdown:

• Paper: $40.00
• Fabric: $26.00
• Embroidery Materials: $17.00
• Chipboard: $20.00
• Ribbon: $31.00
• Glue: $33.54
• Gocco Supplies: $22.50
• Envelopes: $39.25

Cost per invitation w/inner & outer postage: $3.35

Pocketfold:

Invitation:

Invitation Inside:

“DIY fabric embroidered pocketfolds - inserts printed on laser & gocco… and there you have it! Of course, the most expensive part of this project: TIME! Hard work and long hours are what made this project successful - not the dollars and cents.”

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Mrs. Sushi’s Invitations

# of Invitations: 60
Total Cost: $221.34 (includes postage)
Cost Breakdown:

• Paper and Envelopes (with plenty left over for other wedding poop): $169.74
• Postage for invite and postcard RSVP: $51.60

Cost per Invitation: $3.69

Invitation:

Bellyband:

Local RSVP:

OOT RSVP:

RSVP Postcard:

Directions:

“Could I have made our invites cheaper? Sure. But I really wanted to “wow” our guests with something different. Invites and inserts were laser printed on linen white paper. Address label were printed in 8.5×11 label sheets, then cut down to size. Return address on envelope was Goccoed. Bellybands were cut and assembled using an ATG 700 tape gun.”

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Mrs. Penguin’s Invitations

#of Invitations: 48
Total Cost: $408
Cost Per Invite: $8.33

Invitations:

Ribbon:

Invitation Box:

“I drooled over boxed invites but knew I could never afford to have a pro make them. So I made them on my own! There were 4 pieces: invite, accommodations card, RSVP, and RSVP envelope. They were tied with a wide satin bow and placed in a box with a layer of teal color coordinated jelly beans. I wrapped them with kraft paper and shipped them off! Postage for each box was $2.49… very steep, but to be expected for shipping boxes! I hand delivered as many as I could, most at my shower, and I didn’t create any boxes for my overseas guests — I only sent them the paper parts, because we weren’t sure about sending the jelly beans abroad.”

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Ms. Joey’s Invitations

# of Invitations: 75
Total Cost: $378.38
Cost Breakdown:

• Supplies to print myself including paper, ink, screens : $135.58
• Paper Lace : $6.25
• Extra supplies (labels/paper for classified section) : $10
• Screenprinting : $87.96
• Tubes : $47.39
• Postage for invitations : $91.20

Price per invite : $5.04

Invitation:

OOT Roll:

“I tried to screen-print the invites myself but they just didn’t come out right. I was really upset about having to outsource the job but I also had to face reality. In the end, I’m fine with not having printed them myself. I love them and the classified insert I made for them. The postage was a little pricey so we delivered as many as we could. We also had an extra one made to use as our guestbook.”

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Ms. Gloss’ Invitations

# of Invitations: 80
Total Cost: $255
Cost Breakdown:

• Paper: $50
• Cutting Fee: $50
• Postage: $50 (had to use 61 cent stamps for the outer envelopes)
• Envelopes: $80
• Anchor Stamp and Wax: $20
• Navy and White Baker’s String: $8 (barely dented the two pound roll)
• Edge Painting Supplies: $6
• Envelope Liners: Free (printed at work)

Cost per Invitation: $3.18

Invitation:

Information:

RSVP:

Send Us A Note:

Vellum Envelope:

Addressed Outer Envelope:

Invitation Set:

“I’m so happy with how the edge painting on the super thick letterpress paper came out, they are everything I was dreaming of and couldn’t afford. The embossed navy ‘handwriting’ helps to give the invites the delicious texture of letterpress without the hefty price tag! They are ‘fun’ without taking away from the specialness of the event and are so ‘us’.”

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Mrs. Ballet Flat’s Invitations

# of Invitations: 88
Total Cost: $89.00
Cost Breakdown:

• $50.00 - Pocketfold paper
• $15.00 - All cutting costs at Kinko’s/Office Depot
• $67.00 - Stardream bronze and opal paper for inserts/invitation backing/belly bands
• $75.00 - Stardream 4 bar and A7 envelopes
• $61.00 - 8 Gocco screens, 16 bulbs
• $30.00 - 2 packs of bronze brads, glue dots, tacky tape, scrapbooking pens

Cost per Invitation: $3.87 (plus postage)

Pocketfold Invitation:

Map:

Direction Card:

Bellyband:

Envelope:

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Mrs. Eggplant’s Invitations

# of Invitations: 160
Total cost: $560
Cost per Invitation: $3.50

Invitation (Closed):

Invitation (Open):

Directions:

RSVP:

Envelope:

“With a ton of invitations to send out, I had to find a way to make them cute and affordable. I designed them myself on InDesign/Illustrator, but did not have the time to Gocco them, so instead, opted to have them digitally printed.”

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Mrs Corn’s Invitations

# of Invitations: 80
Total Cost: $631
Cost Breakdown:

• Paper/Adhesive/Ribbon: $374 or $4.68/invitation set (including STD)
• Custom Stamps from Zazzle: $257 or $3.21/invitation set (including STD)

Cost Per Invitation: $7.89/invitation set (including STD)

Invitation:

Direction:

Save the Date:

Envelope:

Invitation Set:

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Mrs. Plumeria’s Invitations

# of Invitations: 400
Total Cost: $1400
Cost per Invitation: $3.50

Invitation:

Directions:

RSVP:

Inside Vellum Envelopment:

Outer Envelope:

“The nitty-gritty: how much did this cost me? Not a lot, but not a little, either. Each invitation’s print cost rounded out to about $3.50 total — the cost of a nice greeting card or so. Of course, this isn’t inputting the would-be cost of hours and hours (and hours and more hours) of design time and post-printing tasks. I know the design-your-own route isn’t for everyone, as it takes a good bit of computer and print production savvy to deliver print-ready mechanicals to a commercial press — but for the bride who’s artsy and ambitious, or has a friend who is, it’s the way to go for super-personalized invites with quality you can control directly. I wouldn’t have done it any other way! ”

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Mrs. Tulip’s Invitations

# of Invitations: 68
Total Cost: $204.30
Cost Breakdown:

• 75 blue pocketfolds (Cards & Pockets) $70
• 50 sheets red cardstock (Paper Presentation) $15.10
• 100 sheets white laser card (Paper Presentation) $21
• 100 6″ square red envelopes (Paper Presentation) $31.10
• 100 4″ square red envelopes (Paper Presentation) $21.10
• 2 sheets cherry blossom paper (Paper Studio) $6.00
• Gocco ink, bulbs, and screens (Northwood Studios) $35
• Glue dots, glue lines, glue stick $5.00

Cost per Invitation: ~$3.00

Invitation:

RSVP Card:

“We had a devil of a time trying to word the RSVPs because all the examples seemed too formal. But I love what we (by which I mean Mr. T) came up with. The choices are all very clear, it avoids that “M__________” line that makes me irrationally angry, and it both clarifies that children are welcome and helps us know how many little ones to plan for.”

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Miss Bunny’s Invitations

# of Invitations: 113 (Plus additional invites that were similar, but printed on regular paper and some that were e-mailed out. Sorry, guys!)
Total Cost: $280
Cost per Invitation: $2.40

• Envelopes: $39 plus shipping
• Paper: ~$40 for luxe cream coverweight from Paper Source
• Printing:~$30 for laser printing at Kinkos
  
• RSVPs: $50 for 200 vintage postcards.
• Photos: $11 to print 120 at Costco
• Postage: $80
  
• Additional costs: $30 for two Martha Stewart simple scallop punches, $6 for Martha Stewart circle scallop punch, and $15 for Martha Stewart acrylic stamp set, which is not included in the total above.

Invitation:

Envelope:

Invitation Set:

“The total cost was more than I hoped to spend, but putting a little bit of my own spending money into the little costs helped my mom’s cost come in under budget. That’s cool for her, not so cool for me. Whatevs. I’m just so glad the whole invitation ordeal is behind us and that I never have to do this again!”

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Mrs. Cookie’s Invitations

# of Invitations: 100
Total Cost: $232
Cost Breakdown:

• $150 paper
• $30 gocco supplies (I didn’t include the cost of the gocco just the supplies)
• $52 postage

Cost per Invitation: $2.32

Invitation:

RSVP Card:

Invitation Set:

“I desperately wanted letterpress invites, but they were just not in our budget. I also wanted custom designed invites, which also were not in our budget. But when I joined Weddingbee and learned about the wonders of Gocco, I was sold on designing and printing our invites. I figured I did over 1,500 impressions on the Gocco in order to print these babies. There were 3 pieces: invite, postcard RSVP, and Directions/Rehearsal Dinner invite that I designed myself. The envelopes were lined with damask wrapping paper that I found at the Container Store, and the calligraphy was my own handwriting using a red sharpie. Overall, the invites were a labor of love.“