Look for Less
As I am sure most of you know, I am a HUGE fan of all things Etsy. It’s such an incredible environment for buyers to support local artists and find something that is truly unique. Yesterday, someone mentioned using Etsy’s Dear Emma shop for their wedding invitations, which of course, prompted me to spend WAY too much time pouring over the invitations featured….
I definitely found some pretty great little shops that are doing really beautiful, innovative things with wedding invitations. And, the best part is that they are completely affordable! This set by Cheer Up runs for $1.75 / piece for seating cards and save the dates, to about $3.00 per set for wedding invitations…
I also loved the work by Pink Lily Press…
These designs run about $5 per complete set, which is great seeing that you get the invitation with outer envelope, inner envelope, a belly band of sorts and choice of response postcard or standard response card. Coordinating save the dates, reception cards or additional inserts are also insanely affordable, starting at about $.75 per piece.
So, after spending quite a bit of time on the Etsy site today, I am thinking that we should start an Etsy Picks section on Style Me Pretty. Let’s start with Etsy Wedding Invitation Picks…if you already have a favorite shop OR you don’t mind going through the invitation section to find your favorite designers, I’d love to hear from you! Just leave a comment with a link to your favorite Etsy invitation shop and I will get started on the Etsy Wedding Invitation gallery!
I get a lot of emails from brides requesting chic, but affordable invitations. In my opinion, the BEST source for budget friendly but oh-so-fabulous invitations is Wedding Paper Divas. Hands down. They have a huge array of lower, to mid-priced invitations that are incredibly sophisticated design-wise and give you the chance to infuse your wedding stationery with color, personality and most of all…style!
I have to say, I am floored by the selections of styles that Wedding Paper Divas feature. From the whimsical and brightly colored, to the more sophisticated and elegant…there literally is something for every personality, within every budget, from about $1.50 a piece to $15 a piece depending on the printing method you choose.
Without a doubt though, my favorite invitations on the Wedding Paper Divas site are those designed by Joy Deangdeelert Cho of Oh Joy! and Nanauka Joy. She has such a beautiful design sense…one part vintage chic, one part complete sophistication and her line of invitations for WPD is spot on perfection…
You can see all of Joy’s GORGEOUS designs right here!
Printing Your Own Wedding Invitations
There are so many ways to work within a budget when it comes to wedding invitations…if you are working with a flexible budget, finding a great custom designer or ordering out of a pretty letterpress or engraved album is absolutely worth it. There is just something so luxurious and easy in going about it this way.
With that said, there are great…really, really great ways, to design a beautiful invitation on a budget!
Companies like Paper Source have great invitation kits that allow you to purchase a pretty suite of papers and envelopes, print your own invitations, then assemble the finished project. If you are willing to put in a little leg work, you can save quite a bit of money! And, if you are a bit resourceful, you can save even more by ordering through Waste Not Paper, the wholesale portion of Paper-Source. You will need a wholesale account to do this and you will have to order in bulk, so the best way would be to work with your area store on this.
If you are willing to really get your hands dirty, you should skip the kits all together as a lot of the cost is built into the manufacturing of these pre-made pieces. Places like Paper-Source and Paper-Papers sell gorgeous card stock and envelopes that can be hugely customized into drop dead gorgeous invitations. The curious collection at Paper-Papers is particularly beautiful.
(these are some fun designs that I “whipped” together…forgive the picture quality! The first was actually used for my wedding program. The second is for my sister-in-law’s bachelorette party…the cute frame was made by Heidi at Spitfiregirl Design)
Here are some tips if you are printing your own invitations…
*If you aren’t an artist or graphic designer, the best way to do add decor elements is by using high-end clip art…Dover makes clip art books that have beautiful Victorian flourishes, pretty vintage icons, florals and branches, the options are endless. They come with a CD that you can just put right into your computer. You can also use pretty rubber stamps to add a bit of flair.
*Use a program like Adobe Illustrator to create your invitations. Although it might take a little while to figure out, it will ultimately allow you to play around more with the general design. You can download free versions on the Adobe website.
*Choose your fonts carefully. You generally want to use 2 fonts on each invitation…a script and a block. Check out My Fonts or Linotype for a great selection. These will usually cost around $20-$30 to purchase but you can use them on all of your stationery needs.
*Think about the pieces you need…most people generally want an Invitation, a Response Card and perhaps a Reception Card. Make sure you order enough paper for mess-ups as printing each piece can often result in a few wasted pieces. I always order at least 25 extra pieces of each card stock size. To save even more $$, order sheets of larger paper, then cut them down to the right size.
*To really take the invitation suite to the next level…think details. I like to layer my printed card stock on top of a different color so that it appears to have a border around it and it seems thicker and more luxurious. That means that I have to cut about 1/4″ off of each side using a basic rotary cutter, then paste the top sheet onto the base using the amazing 3M tape gun. Time consuming, yes. But, the end result seems more unique and definitely more high-end.
*Wrap it up! I also like to wrap each invitation suite (invitation in front with response and reception cards in back) with a really pretty ribbon. No bows or anything as they usually get crushed in the envelope, just a single wrap secured using my scotch tape gun in the back. You can also use pretty strips of wrapping or scrapbooking paper to do this. My favorite look for an invitation (and perhaps the easiest to achieve) is a simple white card stock, layered on a chocolate or black stock, then wrapped with a gorgeous graphic belly band. Simple & Chic.
Although designing and printing your own invitations can take a serious time commitment and can often be frustrating if you are a novice, if you give yourself room for error and enough time to practice, this is a GREAT way to infuse your invitation with personality and that handmade touch. If it still seems a bit too intense for you, I have some tips on ordering out of an album coming up in a future The Look For Less feature!
Wedding Calligraphy by Laura Hooper, III
I know that our readers are working with a huge array of budgets, particularly when it comes to the “add-ons” like calligraphy. Lucky for us, Laura Hooper has been kind enough to offer some cost saving tips on working with a calligrapher…
More from Laura…
Allocating Your Budget: First and foremost I think it is really important to try to factor calligraphy into your invitation budget. Many girls forget to do this and that is where you encounter the budget problems. They spend $10-$15 dollars a set on invitations and don’t factor in $2-$3 for calligraphy (per invitation). Go in knowing that the rate for an envelope in pointed pen is going to cost around $3 per invitation. If you are doing inner envelopes, factor in another $1.50 per piece.
Quick Tip…When you are at your invitation session, perhaps choose a slightly less expensive set, so that you have room for calligraphy in your budget. Everyone says this, and that is because it is true: that the envelope is the first thing that your guests will see of your wedding, and they should always be hand lettered.
Working with New Talent: If you do not have room in your budget for an experienced calligrapher, you can likely find someone just starting out in the business. They typically will have lower prices, but just know that even if you request a sample, it does not mean that your order will consistently look as good as that sample throughout. The more experience a calligrapher has, the more consistent they will be. Brides should ask for references from calligraphers who offer budget calligraphy, so that they can confirm with previous clients the quality of the lettering throughout the order.
Quick Tip…Contact area art schools to find students who have experience in calligraphy. Typically, art students will charge you much less than someone who has been in business a long time.
Help from Friends & Family: If you have no room in the budget at all, enlist your mom, aunt, or a friend with nice hand writing to do the addressing for you. You can purchase an inexpensive light box at any Michael’s store, and use guidelines to be sure the lines are straight. Practice makes perfect, so make sure they do a few practice runs on some spare paper…not your expensive invitation envelopes.
Overall it is really important to figure out what is most important to you when it comes to your invitations, and how much you are willing to spend on all the aspects of the invitations, including calligraphy, in advance. That way there are no surprises later!
Thank you so much to Laura for sharing these brilliant tips with us!
Reader Inspiration Boards - Sierra Nevada Wedding
I’m actually traveling back to Boston today, after a great vacation with my family. But, I wanted to leave you with a reader inspiration board that is sure to get the creativity (and the motivation) flowing!
This gorgeous board is designed by Rebecca who is looking to create a magazine-worthy wedding for “waaaay under $10,000!” Here is the inspiration…
Here are some of Rebecca’s ideas for keeping the cost down…
1. I found a wonderful private 30 acre vacation rental in the high sierras with a log cabin and a lake as our venue. It’s breathtakingly beautiful, rustic, and private. And much, much cheaper than hiring a formal venue!
2. I will be doing all the flowers myself. I’m even growing most of them myself as I am fortunate to have a large, fertile garden and a green thumb. They will be a mix of burgandy/mauve, peach, gold and green dahlias, callas and roses. I will use all sizes of mason jars as vessels/candle holders, as well as flax wrapped around plastic containers as vases for the centerpieces, and will cover candle shades with flowers to create cool mood lighting. I like the idea of using feathers to add to the nature meets luxury theme
3. I will prepare all the food ahead of time. Again I will be growing most of the produce, e.g., wonderful heirloom tomatoes, fresh basil and shallots for the salad, purple and gold potatoes, purple tipped asparagus which fortunately grows for a long season in my west coast yard. I will marinade all the meats ahead of time, rent a giant barbeque, and pay a few local cooking school students to man the barbeque and act as wait staff. Because of the huge saving here I can afford to splurge on luxury items such as lobster, oysters, caviar, filet, etc.
4. Being a graphic designer, I’m creating all the paper goods myself. I’ve already created a retro “wish you were here? . . . we do!”
postcard of the lake at the venue as a save the date. I even super-imposed a picture of my beau and I in a row boat onto the card and then used a watercolor filter to make it look like a painting
5. I’m the lead singer in a band! So my band mates will provide cool laid back mood music throughout the event. And I’ve penned a song as an ode to my husband-to-be that I will perform during the event - my own version of a speech!
6. I got my beautiful, very expensive looking dress custom made by a place in Thailand that I found on Ebay. Cost about $200
7. I also bought the 20×60′ tent on Ebay, much cheaper than renting, and will just resell it afterwards. I will however rent the chairs and tables unless I can find a real deal and do the same as I did with the tent!!
8. I’m accumulating all the linens/tablewares from places like DeeDees Discounts and Ross - going for eclectic luxe meets shabby chic!
I honestly think that Rebecca might be one of the most resourceful people I have ever met! I can’t wait to how all of her ideas translate! Definitely keep us posted, Rebecca!
Wedding Invitations by Chewing the Cud, II
I’ve had a few emails from readers lately, requesting more budget-friendly features on SMP. I know that we have a really wide range of readers out there, so I want to make sure that everyone is getting a little something that can truly inspire elements for their own unique wedding.
So, in an effort to really reach out to all of our brides, I am going to start offering a “Look for Less” style feature on many of our posts. Today, Viola from Chewing the Cud, is offering her tips on working with a budget when it comes to your invitations…
From Viola at Chewing the Cud…
–Combine your information into one component (for example, include the reception information on the main invitation, rather than purchasing a separate card)
–Eliminate the response envelope by creating an RSVP postcard.
–Figure out if some of the information be communicated online? Directions, things to
do etc. are perfect for your wedding website.
–Offer a trade with your designer…if you have a unique skill, offer to swap services…I did this with my photographer and it worked out great!
–If you are working with a designer, have him/her create a template for you, then print menus, place-cards etc at
home. Companies like Paper-Source are perfect to find cute, coordinating papers that are easy to print at home.
–Play the bride card and gather all your crafty girlfriends (and
boyfriends) for a crafternoon!
Thank you so much to Viola for sharing these great tips. I think that the one thing that I really want to convey on SMP is that even if you are working on a budget, you can still work with great designers, photographers and planners to help you execute your vision. It just might take a little bit of imagination and working outside the box.
Look for Less Tip…Figure out where you place value in your wedding…is it the flowers? the invitations? the food? Then, rearrange your budget so that the emphasis is on what you love…skimp on the rest!
I found this fabulous find while perusing the Splendora blog the other day. For those of you that don’t know, Splendora is THE authority on everything fabulous. They profile the latest and greatest in San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles, always managing to find the best boutiques, newest trends and restaurants WAY before anyone else does. In a word, they are brilliant.
Anyway, I loved this particular find because to me…champagne is the epitome of luxury, of elegance, of celebration. A good champagne can turn a party into a chic affair, and yet a bad champagne can turn a a chic affair into a frat party. In all honesty though, how many people can afford to stock a bar with Dom Perignon? Not me, that’s for sure.
So I love that the girls over at Splendora found this beautiful and oh-so-affordable champagne, Bouvet Rose. At $12 a bottle and nearly as good as the pricier versions, ummm…hello?? How much better can you get!
