Invitation help?

[runwiththestorm]

Hey folks. If any of you don't recall, here's a quick recap:

-Emily and Mike
-May 1, 2011
-Casual, afternoon outdoor ceremony
-Dragonfly theme

Comments

[uglybracelets]

Cards and Pockets. We were going to use them but found an even cheaper option (walmart).

For about 50 invites you spent 120$. I didn't find out what their printing chargers were, but I would imagine its pretty reasonable.

[runwiththestorm]

Walmart? Really? I have to admit, I'd never have thought of that.

[uglybracelets]

Yes they have some but there are limited choices and you have to print them yourself. However we found a pocketfold set for like 60$ total for what we need.

[kutie_kara]

You were expecting custom invitations to be CHEAPER?? I always thought custom ANYTHING is usually pretty expensive.

Have you tried www.invitationsbydawn.com? I've looked there, and there are lots of pretty options for super cheap!

[runwiththestorm]

Often I've found things on Etsy and Zazzle to be far, far cheaper than mass produced alternatives. Guess that's not quite true of invites. ;)

[etoilepb]

My Etsy invitations were actually pretty pricey (I spent twice as much as I could have, from some listings), and I clocked in at about $325 for enough to invite 90 people. (Something like 65 invitations, including RSVP cards, all the envelopes, and reception cards.) So it might be worth continued browsing if you see things you like. :)

[runwiththestorm]

I'm a bit overwhelmed by the sheer variety on Etsy, but I'll keep poking around. Thanks! :)

[plaidpineapple]

So, if you're having 75 people, you'll need, what, 30-60 invitations? Let's assume 50 for this example.

http://www.weddingpaperdivas.com/product/2856/signature_ecru_wedding_invitations_dragonfly_garden.html

Those are $114.00 for 50 invitations. 50 RSVP cards = $67.00. 50 Reception cards for reception #2 = $62.00.

Total = $243.50.

[runwiththestorm]

You know, there are a lot of nice invite on that site! I think what I may have been not realizing is that most sites don't do free customization. To have it made with your name and such costs extra, which is why it looks cheap but when you're doing it's quite a bit more expensive.

Thank you, I'll look around through those.

[runwiththestorm]

and you know, I feel really silly right about now. I haven't been thinking in terms of different households so you're right, I need less than the 75 I've been looking at. Thanks!

[oh_cake]

We're inviting 130 people, roughly 78 addresses. We ordered through cardsandpockets and spent $252 + $32 for a brand spankin' new ink cartridge and printed at home. I got A LOT of extras at cardsandpockets so I'm sure it could be done for less. And their paper quality is awesome. I have received a ton of compliments about the "beautiful" invitations! :)

Does your $300 budget include postage? Because we spent 61 cents per invite and that adds up FAST.

[kiwibttrflyty]

Hallmark.com has really nice invites in their Paper Cards section that are under $2 per invite and they didn't charge sales tax. You can either have the finished invites shipped to you or you can have Hallmark mail them. If Hallmark mails them then postage is free.

We ordered 42 invitations and spent $58 total (we had Hallmark do the mailing).

[kiwibttrflyty]

I should note that the $58 was invitations only, no RSVP or reception cards.

In an effort to reduce the carbon footprint of our wedding we did things as paperless as possible. Our RSVP was web/phone based and we put the link to our wedding information site on the invitations.

[runwiththestorm]

I'd really, really like to do the online/phone RSVP, but so many of the people being invited really aren't computer savvy, and neither FH nor I have enough spare time to field calls from folks and make sure the information gets put all in one place. I really wanted to do what you folks did, though.

[kiwibttrflyty]

We didn't field phone calls. We used an online RSVP service (www.rsvpmenow.com) that offered low price web based RSVP collection and allowed us to add on an 800 # for people to call for an additional $25 (we got their info from an online bridal show and got a coupon code for 50 free credits, which resulted in no cost for us).