Invitations, Part II

February 1st. 2007 by Abby Larson | Filed Under | 4 comments

The other day, I was reading a bridal forum about invitations and the conversation went something like this…

Bride 1: “I know this girl that spent $3,000 on wedding invitations…isn’t that crazy!? She must be totally insane!”
Bride 2: “Seriously. Why would you spend any money on something that people are just going to toss in the garbage.”

Ummmmmm, yeah. The feeling that passed over me when I read that is comparable to a bride hearing that someone just dumped red wine all over her dress. Okay, maybe that is a bit dramatic (I did play the lead in the 8th grade school play) but, seriously. That is the WORST attitude in the world! The invitation (and I am saying this partly because I design invitations for a living, and partly because it’s true), is the first thing that guests will see! Not only does it set the tone for the entire affair, it helps your guests determine just how great the wedding will be! It helps them decide what to wear, it helps them to understand the formality, it helps them to know your personalities even better, it helps them to determine whether you have taste or not. Although it sounds extreme, it’s sort of true. How many times have you received an awful invitation and thought to yourself, “ugh, another cheese cube kind of wedding.”  (am I still being a little dramatic?)

Bottom line, even if you don’t have a large budget, your invitations can still be spectacular…AND, can still make your guests think that they are being invited to one swell party.

Ilee is this incredibly beautiful collection that I found the other day, when browsing Pomegranita. The watercolor designs are gorgeous and have sort of a contemporary/romantic feel to them. And, the prices start at $4.50 for a set of 200 including the invitations with hand painted illustrations, outer envelope with return address, blank inner envelope, reception card with hand painted illustration, rsvp card and rsvp envelope with imprinted mailing address.

Ilee

WIley Valentine, one of my very favorite designers, is also doing a great job at designing affordable luxury invitations. They have a line of GORGEOUS invitations that is flat printed on smooth, heavy weight papers so you get that really expensive look, without the really expensive price tag.

Wiley_valentine

Crafty Cards is yet another great budget-conscious option. According to one of the posts on Daily Candy, for $350 they’ll do it all (invite, R.S.V.P., return address on envelope), and only charge you for the paper and the shipping. That is pretty impressive. I didn’t check with them but if this pricing is still the case (or anywhere near this pricing for that matter), this is quite a deal. And, to make it even sweeter, their designs are really great!

Crafty_cards

Kenzie Kate just finished her new collection of invitations and they are beautiful. For around $1000-1500, you will get a set of 100 invitations, response cards, printed envelopes and enclosure cards. Although that isn’t cheap, it certainly isn’t unreasonable. Here are some pictures from her great new designs…

Kenzie_kate_4

So there you have it. Proof that you really can get a great invitation on a budget. So please, people…don’t just assume your guests will toss the invites into the trash. They just might put it on their fridge with all of their treasured artwork!

Wiley Valentine is a member of our Little Black Book. For more information on how members are chosen, click here.
 

4 Comments about “Invitations, Part II”

  1. Susan says:

    Ille was posted on wedding bee the other day! :) They are great! I'm using them myself!

  2. abby larson says:

    I completely agree, Susan...the colors are gorgeous!

  3. Ruth says:

    Hi Designer Abby,

    I am researching on wedding blogs and so coincidentally, from myweddings.com , it leads to your blog which is a happy thing!!!

    I thought no one is serious about wedding invitations but you are!

    The comments that you read from a bridal forum .... are the brides from Asia countries or USA?

    In my country(Asia), most couples do not care about invitation cards. They have the same mentality that people are going to toss it into the garbage. It's a sad thing. I am always looking forward to receive something personalized. However, this trend is not popular here. Sad! Most couples use standardized invitation cards which are provided by hotels (hosting of dinner is either hotels or restaurants)

    Great to find your blog!

  4. Ruth says:

    Hi Designer Abby,

    I am researching on wedding blogs and so coincidentally, from myweddings.com , it leads to your blog which is a happy thing!!!

    I thought no one is serious about wedding invitations but you are!

    The comments that you read from a bridal forum .... are the brides from Asia countries or USA?

    In my country(Asia), most couples do not care about invitation cards. They have the same mentality that people are going to toss it into the garbage. It's a sad thing. I am always looking forward to receive something personalized. However, this trend is not popular here. Sad! Most couples use standardized invitation cards which are provided by hotels (hosting of dinner is either hotels or restaurants)

    Great to find your blog!

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