Don’t worry, everyone! I’m back! We’ve been out-of-town for a wedding since Friday, and yesterday I was just feelin’ sort of uninspired. Not to fear though, I’ve rearranged the order of my last few posts in this budget series, and I’m back on track. It is just really hard to feel excited over officiant fees. I’ve decided to tackle that tomorrow, and move forward to something I always love: pretty, pretty paper goods!
Stationery — 2%: save the date cards, invitations and RSVPs, programs, seating and place cards, menu cards, thank you cards, postage and misc.
There are two important things to remember when searching for wedding stationery:
1. Your invitations will be the first impression of your wedding to your guests.
2. Your invitations are eventually going into the garbage. Just like everything else from your stupid wedding.
Ultimately, these two things can be at odds with each other. The first inclination is to buy something amazing, but it’s hard to spend all that money on something that people are just going to throw away.
Invitations can be EXPENSIVE! But, fortunately, it’s also easy to get really cute stationery suites for a budget friendly price. Target and Michael’s both sell complete invitation kits that include everything you’d need to get your invitations sent out. They range in price from about $25.00-$35.00 for packs of 30-50. You have to print them yourself, but your guests would never know the difference.
If you want something a little quirkier and more whimsical, Printable Press has GORGEOUS designs. They don’t actually sell you the physical invitations. They sell you the PDF of your design, and you print as many as you want yourself. The pricing depends on what you want to include, but you can get away with just invitations and response cards for $100.
Unless a significant amount of your guest list will be coming in from out-of-town, Save the Date cards aren’t really necessary. They’re fun, they’re cute, but they’re also just an extra expense if you don’t really need them.
You’re going to absolutely need invitations, response cards, thank you cards and postage. Everything else, you can do without.
Programs are totally unnecessary, and if you really feel the need to tell people what they’re having for dinner, a large board in your reception or dinner area would work just fine.
Seating and place cards can also be disregarded. Making a seating chart is fucking annoying anyways, and people are more than adept at finding a seat on their own. The only reason we did it, is because we really wanted our friends to get to know each other. I made place cards that turned out beautiful, but they took days to do, and made my lower back go out. Fabulous, but I’m not sure if they were worth it. However, if you want to have them, they can be easily made for about $20. If you feel like putting yourself through the same hand-cramping torture I did, I’ll be doing a how-to on my place cards in the next week or so. If you’re not going to make seating charts, to avoid any confusion, just be sure to clearly reserve your bridal party and family tables.
This could be an opportunity for you to get really creative. Realize this though; if you decide to hand make your invitations, and then give up halfway through, it isn’t saving you any money. You really have to know your limitations, and have a good idea as to how much time you truly have. I’m a major advocate of paying people to do things for me. There were many times I wished I could pay someone to finish my place cards, but we were on a seriously limited budget. If you think you can make your own invitation suite, more power to you. I think you’ll probably eventually be kicking yourself in the ass. But, hey. Prove me wrong! It’s not easy to do.
Next, we’ll tie up the loose ends on this budget series. Thank. GOD!
Photo: Hello Lucky!