Wedding Invitations

We got them all printed for free, we just had to pay for the blank card.

We did them at the GF's office late one Friday bank holiday weekend when no one was around (It might even have been Good Friday).

It was pretty strong cardboard and by the time we've got them all done, three laser printers were a bit wiffy, with the smell of toasted inerds.

We were a bit panicky that we're killed them, but they were fine again on Monday.

sillysmiles wrote: »

oneway - did ye design your own then?

Yeah. No biggie, I think it was Microsoft Word, some classy fonts and a bit of trial and error, turning it upside down for the inside text etc. All a bit of a laugh.

well, if you go for hand-crafted ones it wouldn't be surprising that they'd be highly priced and IMO over the top for what they're for. However, having done our own invitations, which weren't even that complicated, I can see why those in the business would charge 3-5 E apiece.
If you're creative, make your own and you'll save a load. However, you'll need to be careful with your budgeting cos all bits and pieces that you'll need, such as tools, can all add up as well.
Easiest is simple printed invites, from the likes of Vistaprint. We used them for thank you cards.

MadDog76 wrote: »

This thread has p****d me right off!!! :mad:

We paid 9 euros per invitation for our wedding and it wasn't a small wedding ......... my now wife and mother-in-law told me at the time that 9 euros was a bargain ......... WTF!!!!!!! :mad:

OMG were they gold plated?? :eek:

Ours worked out at about €4 each including envelopes and rsvp cards etc and it was money well spent as far as I'm concerned. We were delighted with how they turned out and all our guests have loved them (not that they would say otherwise).

I considered designing or printing them myself but in the end decided that having them done properly was a better option as we knew they would be correct and perhaps more importantly, ready on time that way.

Minted.com is worth checking out. very reasonable

We (I) did ours ourselves.
For the time and effort put into it, I was only mildly happy with the result but other people seemed to like it. I thought doing myself would be easier, but looking back, I think you have to be very clear on what you want to achieve and be realistic with your expectations for results.

Tips for any lurkers or people planning their wedding soon:

Vistaprint is not a bad option - have a look.
There are a few sites that will let you set up a wedding website pretty easily and they have matching invitations - some of them are quite Pinterest/Etsy style so it could be a good option.
Think about things like - will you have a wedding website or an email address - i.e. how will people RSVP. We sent a postcard so there was no facility for people to post things back to us. We heard from friends that you don't get the responses and end up texting / emailing people to find out if they are coming. So we have tried a website and mobile for our responses. Expecting responses in the next couple of weeks, so we'll see how that goes

If you are going to get our invites from Etsy / Pinterest - give yourself plenty of time. Getting the invites organised is one headache, the second is finalising the guestlist. If the two collide (and because one is linked to another, there is already a certain degree of crossover on the two tasks), it can be very annoying. So after helping with a few weddings and organising my own, I would advise you to get the invites designed and ordered as early as you can.

Some people say the invites can set the tone of the wedding. Fair enough if they are poorly designed or have a general lack of effort. But I can honestly say that from my point of view, the invites that I remember the most are the ones that were simple and not overly elaborate (that's if i remember what someone's invite was like at all!).
YOU care about the invite (which is fair enough) but realistically, people just want to know if they are invited, the time and date of the event and where it is on! There are no awards handed out for invites.

donkeyoaty0099 wrote: »

Never get the obsession with super fancy wedding invites. It arrives, I check the time and date, put the details in my phone and then bin the invitation. Sits in my house for all of about 15 minutes (or however long it takes me to get to the post in the evening.)

I Think most people pay a little more attention to them than that, it might only be that they sit on the mantle piece for a little while but people do appreciate a nicely done invite. It can also give a good indication of what the tone of a wedding will be like, traditional and formal, relaxed and friendly or quirky and different.

Like others here I think its nice to have a good looking well done invite but I wouldn't go over board, its not worth it.