Your wedding is one of the most important days of your life, so of course you want your guests to be just as excited as you! Invitations are your guests ‘sneak peek’ of what to expect for your celebration so it’s only natural you want an amazing invitation to showcase your style and get guests excited for your big day.
Simply because you are budget-conscious doesn’t mean you can’t have a stunning invitation. Here are 9 ideas on how you can have gorgeous invitations without breaking the bank!
1. Consider the Options
It’s hard not to be wooed by all the beautiful options available for wedding stationery. Foil pressed, letter pressed, ribbons, wax seals, seeded paper, acrylic invitations, pocket folders, laser cut, envelope liners, printed envelopes…okay, you get it, it’s a long list!
All these options are beautiful (and the choices can be overwhelming), but don’t just follow the latest trend or try to combine too many ideas. Consider what best reflects your personalities and which elements suit your celebration style.
Yes, you may love the idea of a personalised envelope liner, but do you want that more than the pocket folder or wax seal? All the additional upgrades can quickly add up, so think about which ones are most important to you.
2. Printing Styles
Foil pressing, letter pressing, calligraphy and engraving are very expensive especially for smaller weddings. Consider digitally printed invitations. A well thought out digitally printed design can still be just as beautiful.
However, if foil printing for instance is one of your ‘must haves’, rather than printing the entire invitation suite in foil, use it as an accent and leave the additional cards in digital print.
3. Additional Invitations
Even when you are carefully budgeting, we always suggest you order a few additional invitations. More than once mail has gone missing and you may need to re-send an invitation or have a last-minute guest adjustment. Ordering a few additional invitations now could save you in the long run as printing just one or two later will cost you a lot more.
4. Use Technology
Although not strictly traditional wedding etiquette, consider having an email address rather than an RSVP with return envelope. If you are having a destination wedding or have a lot of guests travelling from out of town, what about a wedding website? This way your guests can RSVP and get all the information they need without the expense of printing. Just pop your website URL at the bottom of your invitation.
5. Selecting your Paper
Metallic, textured, matte, recycled, seeded, cotton or handmade. There are so many card and paper options for your invitations. When selecting your paper or card remember they do vary in price and some can get quite expensive. When working with your invitation designer ask if there are any different options for paper or card. You may even have a thicker more expensive paper for your main invitation and your RSVP and additional cards might be on a thinner or less costly stock.
6. What about an “All-in-one” Invitation?
An all-in-one invitation is just that, your invitation with a detachable RSVP postcard that all folds up to become your envelope – pretty amazing! This style is simple and cost effective while still having a professional finish.
The savings for this style mean you may have enough budget leftover to splurge on guest address printing too!
7. DIY Invitations
Making your own wedding invitations is perfect if you have a small number to create or are a little crafty. Remember to research first, sometimes buying all the bits and pieces can actually cost more than having a professional create them for you.
When you do make your own, remember to leave plenty of time to design and create them properly. You don’t want to be rushing to get them done. There are some great templates online (Check out Polka Dot Bride Made), just remember to consider the style of your wedding when looking at the invitation design, colours and font styles.
8. Invitation Size
In the world of postage, size does matter! Currently a standard size envelope sent within Australia costs $1.00ea. Your envelope must measure a maximum of 130x240mm with a thickness of no more than 5mm and weigh 250g or less.
Next size up is $2.00ea, so consider the size and weight of your invitation as this additional postage can quickly add up.
9. Proofread!
This might seem simple but check EVERYTHING! Not just spelling, check names, dates, times, locations, addresses – EVERYTHING! Then ask a family member, co-worker or friend to double-check just to make sure. Reprinting your invitations because you misspelled the venue name, have the wrong year or incorrect venue address means the cost of reprinting your invitations and you don’t need that!
Showcased Invitations available at Little Flamingo Creative Stationery
Ms Zebra Says: I couldn’t agree more that ensuring your invite reflects your style – but also fits within your budget is SO important! Thanks Little Flamingo for this great invite wisdom!!
Hi, I’m Shannon from Little Flamingo! When your guests receive their invitation, we want them to be as excited about your wedding day as you are! With this philosophy and a crazy love for paper and all things wedding, The Little Flamingo team are continually creating and updating our collection of unique, classic and on-trend invitation designs.
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