Weddingbee Blog

So I feel like I kind of left you hanging with the invitation posts. I started off telling you about my inspiration then I moved on to explaining the torturous design portion of the process, then I explained the assembly and send off. But I never actually did an official reveal of what our invitations looked like in the end. I would like to apologize for that. I had intended to write that post as soon as Mr. Ticket and I returned from our little mini vacation to Philly for his brothers wedding. But as we were en route home we received some very sad news: Mr. Ticket’s grandma passed away that morning. With this news and sending Mr. Ticket back to the East Coast for a few days I simply was not in the mood to write about our invitations. I wasn’t really in the mood to write about anything.

Life happens. It doesn’t stop just because you are planning a wedding—this was a harsh truth that really took hold of me that week. That being said I would like to report that the wedding in Philly was a complete success—Mr. Ticket and I had a total blast and the happy couple had a wonderful day.

Mr. Ticket sporting a spiffy Tux

And while we are still mourning the passing of his grandma, we are trying to honor her memory by continuing with the planning of our wedding. She had deeply wanted to attend and she would be pissed at us (she was a FEISTY grandma and I loved her for that) if we didn’t continue planning as usual. So without further ado…

Our Invitations!!!

Sorry for the crappy pictures—it was late at night when I finally had time to take them and clearly I was tired and rushing, since they are rather blurry and shiny.

Boxed up and ready for delivery!!!

The front (my least favorite part of the entire suite is my handwriting)

The back (with our beautiful orange seal and embossed glittery calligraphy stamp)

When you first open it up (unless you open it like Daddy Ticket and just rip the envelope to shreds)

The insides!!!

The bane of my existence for several months right there.

Quick directions for our OOT guests

Everyone’s favorite part of the invitation so far has been the RSVP.

Image via NattyMichelle on Etsy/ Blurring by Miss Ticket for Privacy

By far my favorite part of the invitations is this custom map made by NattyMichelle on Etsy. She is amazing! She was very communicative throughout the entire process, she sent me multiple drafts of the map until it was completed. I ordered a print of the map after the fact (it’s gorgeous, and  I want it hanging in our future home) and when the first one came a bit crinkled and bent (darn post office) she sent me a new one free of charge. NattyMichelle is AWESOME!

We ordered extras of just about everything because I’m crazy paranoid and I just knew I would screw something up. I’m going to base this price breakdown off of what we actually used including tax and shipping. The last few items I lost receipts for, so I rounded up the nearest dollar from what I know they cost. We sent out 52 invites in all.

Price Breakdown

• Envelopes from Cards and Pockets: $29.21
• Backing paper from Michaels (for invites and envelope liners): $13.33
• Ivory card stock from Staples: FREE! (Normally $13.99 but we used a Rewards Certificate)
• Pop up stickers from Michaels: $8.58
• Lace from Johanns: $25.80
• Map from NattyMichelle on Etsy: $75
• Custom address stamp from PinkInk Paper on Etsy: $40.00
• Postage from USPS: $68.64
• Invisible ink pen from Deal Extreme: $1.39
• Wax from LetterSeals: $5.51
• Mini Moo Cards from Moo: $18.99
• Cardstock book for invitation background (scanned and altered):$9.00
• Wax seal from Michaels: $5.00
• Black ink from Michaels: $9.00
• Embossing dust from Michaels: $5.00

Total: $314.45

Cost Per Invitation: $4.73

Cost Per Invitation With Postage: $6.08

Had you told me this is what our invitations would cost when we first got engaged I would have told you that you were on crack. As it stands now, staring at those numbers, I still can’t believe how quickly it all added up. I know I could have ordered perfectly nice invitations from Wedding Paper Divas or David’s Bridal for the same price or less, but they wouldn’t have been as personalized as I wanted. The price of these suckers could have easily dropped drastically had I skipped on the custom map and address stamp, but honestly, those two little details are my FAVORITE part of our invitations. They are the parts I didn’t have to do! I’m quite pleased with how they turned out in the end. We have received nothing but compliments on these tricky little bastards *ahem* beauties since they were mailed out and I love people for those compliments. It made the whole mind-melting process almost worth it.

*All personal photos unless otherwise noted.

Were your invitations a beastly labor of love? Did you decide to DIY or save yourself some sanity and purchase from the professionals?