DIY Invites - Not Always the Cheapest Option

If you are thinking about creating your own wedding invitations yourself, remember - it's not necessarily going to save you any money.

Invites are an important part of your wedding, as they are often one of the only things you will be able to keep as a memento of the event. Most couples these days use their invites to set the theme or colour scheme for their wedding, whether that be attaching a ribbon that is the same colour as the bridesmaids'  dresses or having them designed so they personally represent the couple.

With wedding stationery, there is often a certain degree of input needed from the bride and/or groom, whether that is handwriting the invites, adding a ribbon or embellishing them with some other personal detail. You can, however, find designers that will design everything from scratch. Alternatively, you can often choose from a range of their pre-designed templates. Some designers will also take care of the naming and addressing of the invites for you - all you have to do is supply them with a list of names and addresses.

When purchasing or designing your wedding invitations, it is important to remember the other wedding-related stationery you'll need to produce closer to your wedding date. These elements include the Order of Service, Name Tags, Table Cards, Menus and Thank You Cards. It is always good to keep these in mind when designing or choosing your invites, as you want to make sure that you are able to match these in some way down the track.

Using a designer or a specialist invite printer can save you a lot of time, stress and sometimes money. You would be surprised how much time goes into creating your wedding stationery...and how the costs of all the little bits and pieces you have to purchase can add up!

Our tips when looking for a designer or a specialist invite printer:
-    Choose someone who has previously designed a lot of invite stationery (it is a unique style of design, which entails lots of various bits and pieces...so you need someone experienced).
-    Look for these designers and specialist invite printers on wedding websites such as ours and flick through the bridal magazines.
-    Have a clear idea of what you want before you approach them. The more changes you make or the more "guess work" they have to do, the more it will cost you.
-     The more attachments, fiddly bits and layers of paper you have, the bigger the cost.
-    Always get a designer to quote on the whole job, including your initial invites, envelopes, reply cards, reply envelopes, place cards, table cards, table number cards, Order of Service and the design elements itself. Once you have the final quote, break that down into a price per invitation and see if you think that is reasonable.
-    An average price that couples spend on their invites is around $4-$10 per invite.
-    If you are in charge of purchasing the envelopes or ribbon for your stationery - hit the Yellow Pages and look for the manufacturers. Give them a call and see if they will sell you them straight from the factory, minus the retail mark up, as this could save you a lot of money.

Lauren has designed many sets of wedding stationery, and some of the most effective designs she has done have been the cheapest to produce. She focused all her attention on creating a wonderful design that represents the couple and then printed them on simple white card with no layers of paper, clips or ribbons. Remember, once you start to add layers of paper, clips and ribbons etc...the cost starts to escalate. Even some specialty papers can cost up to $2 per A4, so take your time and shop around!