All things paper! need help

joannaem83

I have began looking at wedding menus, programs and placecard ideas and am having sticker shock at how much some of these things can cost. Can you share with me where you got your things printed and ideas? I am thinking the route to go would be to make them myself and bring to kinkos for printing. Has anyone done this? If anyone has templates to share as well, I would greatly appreciate it. (I need a catholic mass template) Thanks

SuMmErKuTiE

For the reasons you mentioned above I decided to make my own invites. I made pocketfold invites because I didn't really like what I saw online or at the staioner shops. I felt everything looked mass produced and the prices were definitely too high for what you get.

I never thought I'd make my own, but some of the other CT knotties had used Cards & Pockets around the same time, so I decided to check them out. I designed the invitation itself and the inserts that would go inside (RSVP, Directions, and Accomodations cards) and sent my files to Cards & Pockets. They did all my printing and sent me pocketfold kits. (You can choose not to get the kits and do all the cutting and folding yourself, but the kits made everything so much easier). All I had to do was assemble everything and they were ready to go.

I highly suggest ordering samples before completing your whole order so that you can make changes and make sure everything looks how you want. I did 2 samples before completing my order and everything came out perfect. They have great customer service and great prices and I know several other knotties on this board would highly recommend them.

http://www.cardsandpockets.com/

Pics in my planning bio of how it all came out under the DIY tab. HTH! :0)

akulaji

I essentially did the same thing as Kate.  The difference for me is that they actually helped me with my layout and design along with printing. (I chose a similar invite design that they had on their design blog.  Since it had already been set up and printed, they only charged me a layout fee and no design fee.... def check out their design blog to see if you see any designs you like.)   I did all the assembly.  It was soooooo much more ecomonical, and the quality of printing was way better than anything that I could have done on a printer at home.  The people at C&P are soooo helpful too.  They will walk you through every step of the process if you need guidance. 

starrbuk13

i also made my own, but i used a completely DIY kit that i got at Joanne Fabrics.  i did all my own printing, cutting, folding, etc.  it was a process, but i only had about 30 invites to make, so it wasn't so bad.  it cost me about $40 for 50 invites (i got two kits of 25 invites apiece)...enough to have testers & screw ups.  

i'm pretty sure they also sell the matching kits for the menus, programs, etc.  i would think those would be far easier to make, too.  it's definitely something you can DIY if you have the time and creativity!

wrdgirl

I made my own because I enjoy DIY and because I wanted a booklet style invite, which is usually pretty costly compared to traditional pocket invites.

With booklet style I only needed to print one double-sided light cardstock paper for each invite and just added a meetallic paper as cover.

I ended up spending just a about a dollar for each invite since I already had a lot crafting material before making my invites.

I only need to make about 60 something invites and each costs just 44 cents to mail domestically.

joannaem83

thank you everyone for your suggestion!