Every bride has a thing they obsess over during wedding planning. For me it was wedding invitations!
I had spent years writing in my journal of the proper wording for invitations and announcements.
I had collected wedding invitations over the years to get ideas of what I wanted and what I didn't like.
I would spend hours online at Oh So Beautiful Paper for endless ideas on wedding invitations.
I still obsess about them.
How to curb your costs with your invitations
Keep a spreadsheet of your guest list! You can also pinpoint how much food and other stuff you need to order, and use it again for addressing your thank-you notes.
You don't want to get printing quotes until you have an idea of how many invitations and/or inserts you really need, thus the need for a spreadsheet. Plus you don't want to run out of invitations and spend extra on a rush order. If you have a strict budget on your invitations, you can also factor in the cost of stamps.
Look into Xpedex for invitation supplies in bulk. We ordered our envelopes there. Inner and outer envelopes (they do help with keeping the invitation looking nice, they get so beat up at the post office). They have all kinds of paper and envelopes in virtually every color.
Try not to put too many things in the envelope. Make sure it is heavy enough for one postal stamp
You don't need RSVP cards with a stamp. If you haven't heard back about guests coming, then call them! If that doesn't shame them, then nothing will.
I loved the square envelopes but they cost more to mail due to their shape and size. :-(
Printing
I went to Jaffa Printing to print our invitations.
Some things to consider if you go to Jaffa or another printer.
You need to have a deposit to view the proofs.
Black and white prints are generally less expensive.
They let you bring your own proofs for printing, and will help with adjusting the colors so that the final printout looks great.
Photo invites are expensive if you do it through Jaffa; if you need to change the photo, you need to pay for the change. So make your own proof and print it through Costco. Very inexpensive that way. If you don't do a photo invite, you can change the proof as many times as you want without extra cost.
Jaffa can print return addresses on the envelope on virtually any size of envelope. It looks nice, saves time with writing the return addresses, and if you have extra envelopes left over, you can use them for your Christmas Cards and/or letters.
Other things with invitations.
Labels
Your preference. I personally never liked them, it looks too business-like and impersonal. I hand wrote virtually almost all of our invitations. It took a long time but people loved them and it stood out from the other invitations that was slapped with a label that looked like it was sent from a mass mail-out. Plus I didn't want the hassle of figuring out how to print labels.
Calligraphy
Hiring a calligrapher isn't necessary although it's impressive.
You can neatly hand write your invitations and save there. The trick is to slide a lined-grid so that your writing is level while addressing. If you can neatly address without a grid, then you are impressive.
If you want ME to write your invitations, email me for a rate and writing samples. At this time, I am only taking local inquires within SLC and Provo.
Registries
Any mention of a gift or wanting money on a wedding invitation, or insert, no matter how discreetly you word it is impolite, tacky, and rude. It's saying "I'm inviting you to my party, but by the way, gimme a present."
I find it ironic when people make a big stink about the couple not wearing Sunday best in their photos, but yet the couples that look like they dress posh yet have the nerve to ask for money and presents in an invitation.
Read my old post on wedding registries; you can survive without one!
Wording
Double check your wording. I once arrived to a reception very late because there was a typo on the address.
There are virtually billions of ways to word your invitations and announcements but I just tried keeping the traditional format.
If you try to make your invitation wording "original" it may sound silly and guests will wonder what kind of wedding they're in for.
Check out what I'm talking about HERE and HERE
I had spent years writing in my journal of the proper wording for invitations and announcements.
I had collected wedding invitations over the years to get ideas of what I wanted and what I didn't like.
I would spend hours online at Oh So Beautiful Paper for endless ideas on wedding invitations.
I still obsess about them.
How to curb your costs with your invitations
Keep a spreadsheet of your guest list! You can also pinpoint how much food and other stuff you need to order, and use it again for addressing your thank-you notes.
Look into Xpedex for invitation supplies in bulk. We ordered our envelopes there. Inner and outer envelopes (they do help with keeping the invitation looking nice, they get so beat up at the post office). They have all kinds of paper and envelopes in virtually every color.
Try not to put too many things in the envelope. Make sure it is heavy enough for one postal stamp
You don't need RSVP cards with a stamp. If you haven't heard back about guests coming, then call them! If that doesn't shame them, then nothing will.
I loved the square envelopes but they cost more to mail due to their shape and size. :-(
Printing
I went to Jaffa Printing to print our invitations.
Some things to consider if you go to Jaffa or another printer.
You need to have a deposit to view the proofs.
Black and white prints are generally less expensive.
They let you bring your own proofs for printing, and will help with adjusting the colors so that the final printout looks great.
Photo invites are expensive if you do it through Jaffa; if you need to change the photo, you need to pay for the change. So make your own proof and print it through Costco. Very inexpensive that way. If you don't do a photo invite, you can change the proof as many times as you want without extra cost.
Jaffa can print return addresses on the envelope on virtually any size of envelope. It looks nice, saves time with writing the return addresses, and if you have extra envelopes left over, you can use them for your Christmas Cards and/or letters.
Other things with invitations.
Labels
Your preference. I personally never liked them, it looks too business-like and impersonal. I hand wrote virtually almost all of our invitations. It took a long time but people loved them and it stood out from the other invitations that was slapped with a label that looked like it was sent from a mass mail-out. Plus I didn't want the hassle of figuring out how to print labels.
 |
| Pretty! |
 |
| You don't need to postulate your invitation with "Love" or Wedding bands |
Calligraphy
Hiring a calligrapher isn't necessary although it's impressive.
 |
| By a real professional, Ron Tate in Sandy, Utah |
You can neatly hand write your invitations and save there. The trick is to slide a lined-grid so that your writing is level while addressing. If you can neatly address without a grid, then you are impressive.
 |
| See the grid on the lower right-hand corner? Just slide it inside your envelope, write, and repeat. |
If you want ME to write your invitations, email me for a rate and writing samples. At this time, I am only taking local inquires within SLC and Provo.
Registries
Any mention of a gift or wanting money on a wedding invitation, or insert, no matter how discreetly you word it is impolite, tacky, and rude. It's saying "I'm inviting you to my party, but by the way, gimme a present."
I find it ironic when people make a big stink about the couple not wearing Sunday best in their photos, but yet the couples that look like they dress posh yet have the nerve to ask for money and presents in an invitation.
Read my old post on wedding registries; you can survive without one!
Wording
Double check your wording. I once arrived to a reception very late because there was a typo on the address.
There are virtually billions of ways to word your invitations and announcements but I just tried keeping the traditional format.
If you try to make your invitation wording "original" it may sound silly and guests will wonder what kind of wedding they're in for.
Check out what I'm talking about HERE and HERE
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