By now hopefully you have created your wedding invitation list.  Now it’s time to decide where to get your invitations.  Or maybe you want to try making them yourself with your computer and printer?  It is actually easier than you think to go this route, and can save you money on your budget.  But first, you need to decide on a few other things.

Save the date cards

Don’t send these if you can avoid it.  Personally I find them redundant.  The wedding invitation is going to serve this purpose, so why waste the paper, and more importantly – your money – on something that is really not necessary, especially if you are on a tight budget?  The ONLY reason I can think of that one would need to send these out, is if your wedding is going to be eight months or more from right now.  Because the further out your wedding is scheduled, the less likely you will have the specific details – what time, and WHERE.  But if it’s say, six months from now and you know exactly where the wedding will be and at what time of the day, then skip these cards.  The wedding invitation itself will suffice.  And besides, this article is only for giving you ideas on how to save money on your invitations – you don’t have to go out and order them right this moment or hurry and print them out on your printer!  You can do that later!

Pre-printed invitations

If you aren’t feeling particularly creative and don’t want to spend more time in front of your computer designing your invitations, then you can have them printed professionally.  However, be sure to shop around if you chose this route.  Prices for wedding invitations vary wildly, from $100 or less to well over $500 – for just 50!!  So choose carefully. There are good reputable stores who have beautiful invitations at reasonable prices, and often there are slight discounts the more invitations you purchase.

Make your own invitations

If you have software like MS Office or Photoshop or even Paint Shop Pro, you can make your own invitations. The most expensive part of this endeavor will be the paper cards and envelopes that you will need to purchase in order to print your invitations onto.  Usually this kind of card stock can be found at any local craft store, like Michael’s or JoAnn’s, or possibly Hobby Lobby, etc.  You can even find card stock at office supply stores (naturally).  The same applies here as for the pre-printed invitations – shop around for the best deal.  Usually these are packaged in packs of 25 or 50, and often the craft stores will have coupons up to 50% off of a single item, so you can save money by searching for those before you go out to buy the card stock.

Then just kick back at your computer, choose some pretty scrolly fonts, or whatever tickles your fancy, and create away!  The card stock usually comes with a piece of paper you can “test print” onto so you know whether you’re staying within the borders if it is embossed in any way, or just so that you can see if it formats nicely on paper as opposed to what is on the screen.

This is how I created my wedding invitations, although I borrowed a piece of software specifically for wedding invitations from my future sister-in-law to create them.  Since I only needed less than 40 invitations, this was the optimal choice for me.

Oh, and don’t forget to buy enough stamps – you will need a stamp for the envelope you are sending to the invitee, and one for the RSVP envelope for them to send their response!  So the number of your invitations times two, is the number of stamps you will need to purchase.  Sadly enough, chances are you’ll probably spend almost as much money on stamps as you did your wedding invitations if you shopped frugally!