Wedding invites set the tone for what guests can expect from the day itself. The aesthetics, the finish, the quality all contribute to the expectations that guests build for the day itself. More and more people opt to make their own, citing affordability and uniqueness as their main reasons. Professional wedding invites can be pricey, but there are many options at different price points across the market, so are they really more expensive?

To make invites from scratch, you would need time, effort, materials, and expertise which may be more costly in the long run.

 

The Elements of an Invite

Firstly, a colour scheme must be picked to create a cohesive theme throughout the wedding experience for the guests. Next comes the design, which is more than just simply picking a font. What else is going on the invite? This often ties into the theme; if the wedding is going to be outside, then perhaps flowers or plants will be showcased on the invite. Sizing is also a consideration; how big are the invites to be? Will they have folded elements or simply be like notecards?

When ordering your invites, half of these elements are not your concern. You simply pick the colours, design and provide the details, and they do the rest. Most professional invite makers often have specialist equipment like the Duplo DC-516 Cutter Creaser to produce higher volumes while maintaining quality. If you choose to make your own, then all these elements should be considered.

 

Cost Considerations

The cost of invites will depend on the size of the wedding, a good rule of thumb when budgeting for a wedding is to put aside five percent of the total budget for wedding stationery. Most professional invitations cost somewhere between three and ten dollars per guest. If you choose to make your invitations, there can be unexpected costs. Ink cartridges can be pricey depending on how much ink you use; this will depend on the intricacies of the design and how many invites you are making. Paper or card stock, for wedding, invites you would usually want to pick a nicer card stock than just standard paper, but these can be expensive; you will also need extra in case of mistakes. Envelopes can run a cost as you will need specific sizes, and you may want the colours to match. The most significant cost consideration is arguably time. Do you have the time to dedicate to this project in the months leading up to your wedding?

So when considering expenses, your decision will boil down to opportunity cost: what are you willing to give to produce the kind of wedding invitation you want? For instance, Ukrainian women will sometimes invite fewer guests if they don’t have the resources to print professional wedding invitations for hundreds of people. On the other hand, some African event planners will recommend personalized handmade wedding invites because of their uniqueness, sentimental value, and cost-effectiveness. But no matter the part of the world you live in, your financial capacity will play a role when choosing between professional wedding invites and homemade ones.

 

Final Thoughts

If you choose to make your invitations, you may not have thought about the rest of the wedding stationery. What about place cards, menus, programmes? If you make the invitations, it may mean that the other items do not match, or do you simply end up making them all? If that homemade touch is important to you, by all means, make them, or perhaps you are incredibly talented in making those types of things, then why not do it. Just consider how much you are undertaking before committing to it.