How to Save Money on Wedding Invitations

A wedding day is one of the most important days in many people's lives. However, the preparation for that wonderful event can be stressful, chaotic and extremely expensive. A great area to trim unnecessary cost is the creation of the invitation and related print material. In this article, you will learn how to save money on wedding invitations while maintaining beauty and your special style.

1. The first step on any wedding to do list is making the guest list. Keep it manageable by only inviting close friends and family.

2. Hand deliver invites to people in your town to lessen postage costs.

3. Always shop around prices on print shops and papers. Make sure to check online sources first.

4. Check the weight and dimensions of your wedding invitation sample with the post office to make sure you are aware of total postage costs.

5. Looking for inspiration? Read wedding magazines, paper craft, bookmaking, origami, scrapbooking and stamp art books.

6. If you plan to do-it-yourself, make sure you have a basic tool kit which would include a sturdy paper cutter, metal ruler, T-square, X-Acto knife, masking tape, lightbox and design templates.

7. Most importantly, remember to enjoy yourself. As long as you put loving care and your personality into creating the invites, your loved ones will appreciate them.

The cost of invitations can vary widely from the hundreds to the thousands of dollars. To keep your cost in the low hundreds, you have several choices that you need to make. This how to will demonstrate how to avoid rush charges, make smart print decisions, cut unneeded traditional items and enlist the help of relatives. For those with some artistic talent, do-it-yourself methods are discussed.

Hiring a print shop is the most expensive part in the process. Therefore, it is the logical place to look when deciding what you really need and what you could cut.

Bring a Design: Printers charge more if they have to do the designing for you. So, present your own design if you are able.

Thermography: Opt for thermography instead of engraving. It will give you a similar feel and look without the heavy charge.

Bundle It: Try to buy paper in bundles. Get thank you notes and reception cards printed at the same time so that you will get a price break.

Find Paper Closeouts: Visit paper stores online and in person. Often you can find quality paper in the closeout section or on sale. Buy in bulk.

No Die Cuts: Evaluate if die cuts are truly essential to your designs. You can save a good amount of money by leaving them out.

Use Black Ink: If you only use black ink, you will lessen the price considerably. Adding colors and foils make the price climb quickly.

Try Office Document Shops: Consider skipping the pricey print shop and using an office document store such as FedEx Kinko's instead. They won't be able to do fancy die cuts or engraving, but if you have a simple design, they can use beautiful fonts and laser printing.

Rush charges are very costly. You should take every precaution to avoid them by thinking ahead and staying organized.

Be Timely: Don't wait to the last minute to take your invitation idea to the printer. Most print shops have a minimum time that they take to complete a project before they start charging an extra hourly rate for a rush.

Proofread: Always proofread your text several times before sending it to the printer. To be extra careful, have a friend look it over as well. If you have find a mistake after it's printed, you'll have to buy all new paper and pay for printing costs as well as the rush charge.

Get Extras: Have some extra invitations printed. It costs substantially more to go back to a printer to get more invitations after the job has been completed. Also, if you had the invitations shipped to you from an online source, you will incur extra shipping costs. Keep in mind that you'll never know if you'll need to send out another invite or if some get damaged during the calligraphy process.

There are some wedding traditions that date back hundreds of years. Although they are lovely, they are budget breakers. Many of them could be left out completely or altered without your guests even missing them.

Use One Envelope: Since letters are rarely damaged in the mail these days, there is really no need to have an inside and outside envelope.

RSVP: Decide if you really need RSVP cards. They aren't needed if most or all of your guests are in town, and they can just tell you in person. However, if they are needed, consider using postcards instead. You will save on the price of an envelope and postage.

Skip the Calligrapher: Instead of hiring a calligrapher to hand script your envelopes, print the envelopes yourself with a graceful font.

No Lined Envelopes: Don't bother with the extravagance of lined envelopes which is rarely ever noticed by the guests.

Forget Reception Cards: Instead of paying for separate reception cards, just include a line at the bottom of the invitation such as "Reception held at 567 Market Avenue at 8PM".

The best resource for anyone planning a wedding is their loved ones. Don't be afraid to ask them for help. Most of the times they are eager to to take part and relieve some of your stress.

• Invite friends and family over for an invite stuffing party.
• Ask a creative friend to design your invitation or hand craft it.
• Have someone close to you with lovely handwriting address your envelopes.

If you are lucky enough to have some artistic talent, try hand crafting the invitations yourself. It adds a personal touch that only you can give which only serves to make it more special. However, make sure you give yourself enough time to complete the task without rushing yourself.

Simple DIY:

• If you have access to a laser printer, design and print your own invitations with elegant fonts, floral and scroll dingbats and clipart.
• Use specialty foil paper kits with a laser printer to add metallic details to your invite. These kits can be found at paper stores.

Advanced DIY:

• Emboss wonderful designs on your paper with widely available embossing kits that you can find in any larger craft store like Micheals.
• Use a fancy fold technique from an origami or bookmaking how to.
• Add subtle and intricate effects to your paper with stamp art.
• Decorate paper edges with corner cutters or use an edge punch.
• Try a home-use die cut machine.