Michael's/Wedding Paper Divas/Craziness

[Jennimac]

I'm looking at invites and even though we haven't set a date, I want to have my choices narrowed down so that when it is final decision time, I'm not looking at thousands of designs. I want the invitations to look nice, but when push comes to shove, I'd rather spend the money on the reception or just for us when we do get married--you know, a nice house, great honeymoon--something like that. I know most people will look at the invitations and think, "Oh, nice. I like that.", and then that's all that they think about it, so I'm like do I go with the nice, cool, modern printed off ones or if there are some great ones at Michael's that work with my wedding colors, I just print off whenever we get a date set, and then we save quite a bit of money.

Ya'll's thoughts, please! I've just started the first of compiling the guest list and my head is swimming. I'm hoping to keep it at about 200, but realistically it may be around 300. Yikes! What are the thoughts of people who have actually picked out their invites and got them done?

[*Stacie*]

All I can go on is from my own experience. I ordered mine from Vista Print.com and I they were fine... but that was it, they were just fine. I was wishing after that I spent a little more time and thought (and money) into the invite because that is the first impression people have of your wedding. You can start to show your theme and personality through the invites as soon as your guests open them. If I were to do it again, I would probably splurge just a wee bit more, and get something that was more ME. That was one of my biggest regrets from my wedding, and yes it is something "small" in comparison to everything else, but invites really give people more of a feel for you and who you are. So ya... I wish I blinged them out a bit :D

[Mel]

i had a friend who is a graphic designer do the design for my invites, and ordered paper from paperandmore.com and then took the files and the paper to staples and they printed/cut them for me - which was cheap, fast, and stress free! and they were personalized to set the tone of the wedding and we used the design from them throughout the wedding...

both the woman at staples and friends of mine who have done the pre-cut invites have expressed some frustrations with them b/c it is hard to line them up right and get them to not jam a printer...

that said - invites do not need to be a budget buster! there are lots of ways to do them cheap and nice, and there are lots of ladies on here who are DIY queens who can give you some additional insights!

[~Sherry~]

We printed ours off at home. By the time we bought the ink, paper, extras because some smudged, paper cutter, ribbon and vellum we could have bought them from a professional website.

You could always have someone design them (I asked Lacie (http://www.mustloveweddings.com/forums/member.php?u=2) to make Madelyn's birth announcement (http://s47.photobucket.com/albums/f193/bender2120/Madelyn/?action=view&current=draft1large.jpg), just to show you how they look) and then there are online coupon codes for 50 free prints/free shipping at places like seehere.com, snapfish, and vistaprint.

[*Sarah*]

I did my invitations myself (well, my mom & sisters did the assembling, I did the designing) and I got really good feedback and I noticed lots of copycats after my wedding! :giggle:

My Invitations (http://www.mustloveweddings.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5831)

Like the rest of wedding planning, you just need to set your priorites as far as budget goes. For us, we wanted to put money into food and reception-related things our guests would enjoy so we skimped in other areas.

[MsJessica07]

Mine were very similar to Sarah's :) They were a fun DIY project, and were not that expensive - we bought the cards at Cards & Pockets, designed them myself, then had them printed and cut at Kinkos, and then assembled them. We also did postcard RSVPs, which is less postage to return.

[*Diane*]

We ordered simple invitations for Kate's wedding and then made invitations for Biz'. I do agree that your invitation is the first impression that people will have of your wedding. Personally, I am not a fan of the invites from Michael's but it is easy to do something much more personalized without spending a ton of money. DIY can be fun and a great way to express your personality and the lighthearted feel you want for your reception.

Let me get you some links...

[*Diane*]

I have used this store for several weddings.
http://www.cardsandpockets.com/

Two of my favorite photographers are getting married. They are having their STD and invitations designed by this local artist.
http://sincerelyyoursonline.blogspot.com/2009_12_01_archive.html

First, I would narrow down what type of invitation do you need; single flat page, pocketfold with more information, etc. Then narrow down your color choices and let's define your style. (I name every wedding that I have coordinated.) Then it becomes much easier because you just have to find your invitation in your price point.

Give us details and we can help. :)

[Jennimac]

Okay, Ms. Diane....this is why you rock!

I thought on my 2.5 hour trip to spend New Year's with Micah and the theme I want for the wedding is Classic Elegance with a bit of Whimsy. I am hoping that actually makes sense and is how a theme should be. I am a girly girl and a traditionalist, so parts of this wedding are going to be very traditional. Now that being said, I do like to have a bit of fun and don't mind when there are some cute, funny things mixed in.

I have the idea for our STDs and we're going to do a photo postcard (probably from vistaprint) and then on the back where you are supposed to write on the postcard, I got this great stamp that is a calendar page. Then at the top it says 'Save the Date'. I'll have to put in the month and the actual date on the calendar. Then we can mail them out. I'll do a mock-up so you can see what I'm thinking about it.

I've gotten some sample invites ordered and I think for sure I will go with getting them printed off from a wedding invitation site. Most of the ones i like are under $2.00 and I also have to realistically think if I'm going to have enough time to do these things myself.

Can I post links to the invitations I like and show you what I'm thinking of?

[MsJessica07]

absolutely! We'd love to see them!!

[Mel]

we'd love to see!

and yes, that is a great way to think of a theme!

[*Diane*]

Great signature- classic whimsy! Bring on the pictures. We can build from there. :)

[Angela]

:word: to the others! Let's see what you have....

On that note, we ordered ours (and a few other things for the wedding) from ExclusivelyWeddings.com (http://www.exclusivelyweddings.com/). I went really, really traditional (http://www.exclusivelyweddings.com/Weddings/Wedding-Invitations/Wedding-Invitation/Classic/High-Style-White), but only needed 100 of everything (invites, reception cards, response cards, etc.) and spent just under $300. I was really happy with how everything came out.

[Raychel]

I printed ours off. We didn't have a working printer at the time so I did it at my mom's and I wasn't very happy b/c her printer was sourta sucky. Ours were just announcements though, we didn't send out formal invites b/c it was a small destination wedding.

[Winter_Bride]

My :twocents: Ours were also a DIY project. Invitations were on my list of "not as important" - as in, we needed them, but it was part of my budget that I was happy to take from for other areas as needed. I was happy with the end results, but they were pretty simple.

You're absolutely right to think about your own timeline and whether or not you'll be able to get them done! I think that under $2/invite is a good price, and if you've found something you like, that's great :)

I'd LOVE to see some of the designs you're looking at!

[SueMartin]

we made ours and for what it cost in materials, time & frustration with the printer, I wish we had had them printed.

[Jennimac]

Ok.......long time no update. I really had this desire to make invitations and I felt that I could do a great job. Part of my desire was the cost, but the other part was that I just love creating things. I had searched different invitations, etc. online and there were several designs that I liked. Not loved, liked. They were pretty, but they weren't something that struck me as, "Yes!!!! This is it!" Now I realize that all the things wedding planning wise won't do that, but I didn't want to feel like I 'settled' on something that wasn't my total favorite. I went up to my Mom and Dad's this past weekend and we started cutting the guest list down (Oh My GOsh!!!! That's a whole 'nother post!!!!!)

My Mom realized my desire to create something, but (like myself) is worried about time and my sanity. Well, that night I showed her some of the online designs, but I just wasn't happy. We decided to sleep on it and in the morning, she still liked everything and I told her I dreamed that we ordered them and I didn't like them and had to add paper and a decorative stamp to the front. =) Well, she finally drags out of me that there is this ONE invitation that I'm in love with and it's simple, yet elegant, yet expensive and I just couldn't justify getting it. My mom was like, "There's an invitation you absolutely love, could send out just as it is, but you don't want to?!?" Well, when you put it like that......I ordered a sample and it should come in this week. I know it's going to meet my every desire and I will be happy. I'm going to use my creative outlets for the STDS, rehearsal dinner, hostess gifts, etc.

When the sample comes in, I"ll post a pic!

PS. We haven't set a date but we should be able to in less than a month!!!!! I'm sooooooo excited!!!!

[*Diane*]

Oh, I can't wait to see it!!

[Winter_Bride]

:word: Sounds exciting! I'm glad you found something you LOVE!!

[Mel]

:yeah:

[*Diane*]

Can you give us a preview of what it looks like? :) Yeah, it is killing me here... :yesyes: