Saving Money on Wedding Invitations
Cheap Invites Save Cash, Wedding Stress and Protect the Environment
May 2, 2009 Victoria Anisman-Reiner
Weddings can be horrifyingly expensive, and no one likes to waste money when it could be better spent elsewhere. Instead of blowing thousands of dollars on personalized wedding invitations that are going to end up in the garbage, consider these money-saving ways to get the elegant wedding invitations you want without blowing the bank… on that part of the wedding, at least.
If you're going for the extravagant white wedding, you may feel it's necessary to have specially printed invitations made by an invitation designer or a stationary store. But if you're doing anything other than the big white princess dress, 500 guests, and dozens of floral centerpieces, there's room to explore other options for your invitations.
Personalized Designer Invitations versus Premade Invites
One of those options is to use pre-made, inexpensive invitations that can be found at most office and stationary stores. Contrary to what you might think, there are some very elegant premade invitations that only take a bit of work to look just like the expensive, professionally printed ones.
These inexpensive invitations generally provide one piece to be printed with your wedding details and personal message, as well as a backing or framing paper, and ribbons or decals to be added after printing. It may take several packages of invites and a substantial investment of time, but you'll potentially save thousands of dollars compared to designer wedding invitations.
Do-It-Yourself Wedding Invitations
It's equally possible to start from scratch and design your own wedding invitations at home. All it takes is some really beautiful stationary or fine silk or bamboo paper to produce stunning, one of a kind, do it yourself printed wedding invitations.
You can print them yourself or have a photocopy store design a simple template for you and print on your paper of choice. Make sure you can find envelopes that match the paper before you get attached to a particular stationary for your wedding invitations.
Inexpensive Wedding Invitations Online
It's also possible to find some stunning discounts on wedding supplies online, including budget wedding invitations. It may take some time and effort to track down the best deals on wedding invites online, but you're almost certain to find lower prices than you'd see in stores. The one disadvantage is that you won't be able to hold sample invitations in your hands or examine a mock-up copy before sending the invites to print, but you'll make up for this in big savings.
Use Your Wedding Invitations to Make an Environmental Statement
As a rule, weddings are big, expensive, resource-gobbling events – but it doesn't have to be so. There are ways to use your wedding invitations to show your love for the planet in little ways that can increase awareness:
- Print your invitations on recycled paper, or select a premade design that notes on the back of the invitation that the contents were recycled.
- Do it yourself invites can be printed on organic cotton or bamboo paper, or made out of paper with wildflower seeds imbedded in it. Make sure to include instructions to your guests to plant the invitation once they're through with it and watch it grow!
- Make a donation to a reforestation group or green power fund to offset the energy "cost" of your wedding… and ask your guests, on your invitation, to do the same.
Sources
- The Wedding Report Inc., "Average Wedding Cost," CostofWedding.com, 2009.
- Zlomislic, Diana, "How to wed for 10K less and save the planet," Toronto Star, 28 March 2009.
Saving Money with Inexpensive Wedding Invitations
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