It is one of the biggest days of your life. The venue, wedding cake, gown, and decor all add up. If you are the one footing the bill, or love a good bargain, it is great to find ways to save money.
The best way to save money on your wedding invitations is to design them yourself using an invitation design website. This is the most cost effective because you are in control of the minor details.
Choosing a regular-sized envelope for the invitations and making sure the weight of your invitation is under 1 ounce will also significantly reduce your cost for mailing the invitations.
And lastly, while designing the invite, keep it simple. The more details you add, the more it will likely cost you. Wedding invitations, on average cost $280 for 100 invitations. If you, do it yourself, you could save a significant amount and do it for under $100.
What is the average cost of 100 wedding invitations?
The national average of 100 wedding invitations is $280. This is not including postage costs, which would be an additional $100-$200. Wedding invitations make a significant dent in the overall wedding budget.
Best Way to send wedding invitations
The cheapest way to send wedding invitations is by text message. If you are keeping your wedding small and only inviting a few family members, this may be a viable option with sending them the time and place of your wedding. However, most feel this kind of invitation is too informal.
Another way to send the invitation is by an evite. Again, many people may frown upon the informality of this, however, it is your Big Day! You get to make the decisions and design your wedding however you like.
There are many different platforms online to send evites through. Punchbowl and Evite are two of the most user-friendly. Most evite websites provide free templates that you can customize to include your wedding information and have the capability to send it directly through their website.
Best way to do wedding invitations
The best, and most cost-effective way to create your own wedding invites is by using a graphic design app or website. Canva is an online website that allows you to design invitations for free and choose your own preferred place to print.
You can upload your own pictures or use one of theirs. Update the text with your wedding information and you are ready to print.
Nationwide stores such as Walmart, CVS, Office Depot, and Walgreens all provide printing services and will even allow you to preaddress the envelopes so all you must do is put on a stamp and mail. This not only saves you money but saves you time.
You can also use websites such as Zazzle, Vista Print, and Shutterfly. They have predesigned invitations, or you can custom make your own. If you do decide to use their website to design your website, beware that you can only print it through them. You would not be able to design it and then upload to a printer service of your choosing.
How to save more money on wedding invitations?
Do not be afraid to use a coupon! Many of the online printing services and invitation design websites offer coupons for their services. Simply search the company name you are going to use, followed by the word “coupon”, and look through to find one that fits your needs. Many times, they will have a coupon for 50% off!
When designing your invitations, keep them simple. Many wedding invitations allow customizations such as foil letters. Adding lots of special designs to your invitation can add up quickly.
Another way to save money on wedding invitations is to request an RSVP online versus sending back a pre-stamped envelope. You can set this up with an evite website and leave the evite web address on the RSVP card. Better yet, you could include it on your wedding invitation and skip the extra expense of an RSVP card.
How to save money on postage wedding invitations?
Postage is usually a non-negotiated rate, however the trick to get a cheaper price is to buy them in bulk. The current price of an individual stamp is .55 cents. A book of stamps, that includes 20 stamps, is $10. This brings down the individual stamp price to .50 cents a stamp.
One thing to watch for is the weight and size of your wedding invitations. If you are doing customized wedding invites, be sure to ask what envelope size and the weight will be before purchasing. If you are trying to save money, the key number to stay under is 1 ounce. You will also want to use a regular size envelope. If you have a larger envelope or a heavier invitation, this will really add up in cost for the additional postage.
Another way to save money on postage is to hand deliver invitations. If you have friends and family who are local, you could easily drop by to hand out your invitation.
How to do wedding invitations
There are many tutorials online that walk you step by step on how to design your wedding invitations. Making sure you have all the important details on the invite are key so that your guests know when and where to show up as well as the desired attire. A tutorial is a helpful resource to make sure you are not missing anything.
YouTube is also a great resource that has video tutorials to show you how to design your wedding invitations, whether you are designing them by hand or using a website to assist you. If you are a visual learner, this is going to be your best bet!
Pinterest is a great place to find ideas and inspiration for your invitations. People share their own designs that you can pin to a board and reference when designing your own. There are also links on many of the pins where you can directly purchase the invites you see.
What are different ways to buy wedding invitations
Many online and in person stores provide wedding invitation kits that you can purchase. They generally include a decorated fillable wedding invitation with envelopes, as well as rsvp cards and envelopes. You can either hand write the information or have them printed on. These generally cost $20 for 50 invitations.
Online websites such as Etsy, provide handcrafted invitations. A seller on the website creates a custom-made design for your wedding invites. These tend to cost more than the pre-made kits you would find in a store. On average, you will find the cost to be about $100 for 50 invitations.
You can custom order from a local card shop or perhaps even a calligraphy artist. There are many websites and storefronts that offer wedding décor and invitation sets that perfectly match your theme. These are usually very expensive due to the high attention to detail and time that gets put into them.
What does a wedding invitation include?
A wedding invitation includes:
- The couples name
- Who is hosting the wedding
- Dress code
- Location of the ceremony
- Date & time of the wedding
- Location of the Reception
Most invitations also come with a separate RSVP note and pre stamped envelope.
Is it cheaper to make wedding invitations
It can be an extreme cost saver to make your own wedding invitations. The national average of 100 wedding invitations is $280. This does not include postage which could add another $150! That is a large amount of money that you could use elsewhere for your special day.
If you make your own via a free invite designer such as Zazzle, your costs become just the printing and postage. The current cheapest customizable invitation on Zazzle is .35 cents, which brings your total to only $35 for the print costs. Add in the postage for a regular sized envelope and weight of under 1 oz. The postage would be $50 and your total overall cost is $85. This is a significant difference!
Is it worth making your own wedding invitations
It is worth making your own invitations if you have the time. But we warned, it can be a time-consuming process. You may spend four to five hours designing and addressing the invitations, but those few hours may save you a couple hundred dollars.
In conclusion, the cheapest way to do wedding invitations are by evites and text messages. These are very informal ways to invite your guests. The next best option would be to design your own via an online invitation designer, such as Canva. You could then pick the cheapest print service and hand deliver the invitations to your guests.