BRIDES OPINIONS NEEDED!!!! What's a better idea? DIY or Pre -Ordered Invites?

csaville

So Im deciding whether or not I want to spend the extra money to order pre made invites or if I should just purchase the kit from amazon and have them printed at Kinkos. Its less money to do it myself but Im worried that it will take more time since I am a law student and don't have a ton of time to spend on making invitations...HELP!

climbingsingle

If you don't have a ton of time, I think you should order pre-made ones. To me, the extra money was worth the hassle. 

photokitty

I did mine through Vistaprint. I don't want to with printing and they weren't that much more. Used postcards for response cards to save on postage.

manateehugger

Just order the pre-made ones if you're in a time crunch. There are tons of affordable options out there. 

tammym1001

I am making my own, but I definitely wouldn't have even considered that if time was going to be an issue.

CrystaH11

I am making my own, but I time isn't a huge concern for me. If you're short on time, buy them.

doeydo

I would just look around (I suggest VistaPrint, David's Bridal, Wedding Paper Divas, and Invitations by Dawn) and get your invitations made.  DIYing them sounds like a good idea, but it is too much hassle if you ask me and ink is pricey.

CaliMel11

Honestly, I don't really think that DIY ones are THAT much cheaper once you factor in that your own time is money. Pay yourself minimum wage for the hours that it will take to feed them into the printer, buy the ink, buy the paper, make sure that it's lined up correctly, etc etc. Not to mention the cost of the printer ink, the paper, and the supplies.
To me it was just completely worth it to pay someone else to do all that because I have zero interest in it, and I just KNOW I would screw it up somehow. I would print them crooked, mess up a word, or something.

Also, the nice part about ordering online is you can have them pre-address your envelopes for you with a return address. Personally this was well worth the money because again, do you really want to spend hours addressing envelopes? Or sitting there stamping them all? I stamp and address enough envelopes at my job, the last thing I want to do when I'm off from work is do that stuff.

You can get coupon codes on retailmenot that help a ton! We found a 50% off code for VistaPrint and a 25% off one for WeddingPaperDivas.

It sounds like you're really busy, so I would definitely recommend looking into just buying them.

JoanE2012

We ordered them online.  I didn't have the time or patience to try and put the invitations together.  The extra money (if it was even extra....some of the DIY can be pretty fancy!), was well worth it for us.

AddieCake

For me, my time and worry that I will screw something up with them is always a factor. 

oliviaester1991

I bought a DIY kit and instantly regretted it once I realized how much of a pain it will be. You should probably order yours.

Coalette2013

We did a kit that we got at Party City, and for us it worked out great. It really just depends if you're willing to take the time to do it. Like anything else it takes longer than you are expecting it to. Also, if you are considering the DIY route, I suggest calling places about printing if you don't think you'll want to do it at home, before you decide pre-order or DIY. From personal experience I learned that Kinkos (as well as many other known paper/printing stores) won't print anything smaller than 8.5" x 11". They design invitations, so you could get something done and then they will cut it down to size. Good luck!

misscoffeeplease

Depending on how your schedule is. Do you get overwhelmed easily? I'm going through VistaPrint route. Even though I did the math and it would be SO much cheaper to do them myself, I wouldn't have the time. FI suggested I should just go through Vistaprint to save myself the time and stress. While I'm trying to balance the wedding planning, a job, motherhood and a very demanding 3 year old, it would save me the sanity. 

LinsInLove

inkandwater said:

A great option is to have a custom designed rubber stamp made! Get some pretty paper and ink and stamp each invite yourself. It's an easy and affordable DIY solution. Wrap it with a ribbon and you're set!

Check out the Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/inkandwaterdesigns

She lists personalized address stamps (which are SO convenient for addressing your envelopes) but she does custom orders for just about anything!

No vendors...

@KnotPorscha

lluzzi0923

There are some websites where invites can be as low as $40 per 100 for the invitation. My friend recommended: http://idoinvites.mcphersonsprint.com/ but I think like Carlson Craft too has some cheap ones...