One the most creative aspects I have gotten to do so far for my wedding is exploring the DIY wedding invitations online. Multitudes of websites like 123Print, VistaPrint, www.weddingpaperdivas.com/, www.theamericanwedding.com, www.printedcreationsweddingstore.com, and www.invitesite.com, just to list a few, provide free tools for you truly customize your wedding invitations and for a fraction of the cost of buying from stores or professional designers.
Prices vary quite a bit due to quantity, quality and ‘name brand' design collections. I’ve seen DIY online costs from $60 total for 100 invitations, RSVP cards and envelopes (123Print) to $150 just for the invitations (AmericanWedding.com). Premiums are set for special paper, ink and ‘unique’ designs, all of which I believe are not necessary for beautiful invitations. The purpose of an invitation is let someone know you would be honored with their presence at your wedding. They need to know when it is, where and any information needed to get there, such as directions or hotel information.
Rather than using inserts and increasing postage rates, my fiancé and I have created a website using free tools from weddingwire.com. Our site will have additional information for our guests that is password protected (given
with the invitation). There will also be a photo gallery and comment section, so guests can have a direct way of contacting us quickly if they need information about wedding.
Of course, you can bypass the online DIY option altogether if you wish. Craft stores like Michaels and A.C. Moore provide kits just for such an occasion. Professional designers may cost more, but they may be a good option for the creative and technologically impaired, or if you simply have extra funds for some extra special, high quality invitations.
I admit, however, that I am way behind with the invitation timeline. According to Shannon Medley, “invitations should be ordered a minimum of 4 months prior to your wedding date but for larger weddings, at least 5 to 6
months before.” I am nearly at the 3 month mark and will be ordering mine later this week, pending Maid of Honor approval. Medley also advises that you “mail out your wedding invitations 8 weeks before the wedding and no later than 4 weeks prior to the wedding date.” (from the Wedding Invitation Timeline - When to Order and When to Mail Wedding Invitations at http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shannon_Medley
).
Thus, I need my invitations completed by the end of this month to mail our
early to mid August. In retrospect, I would have ordered my invitations early last month to avoid this timeline
crunch.
