Opinion on Cost and suggestions?

Albanesepartyof2 · March 2010

I fell in love with the whole pocket-fold idea of an invite with the 4 cards in the pocket: Reception, RSVP, Accommodate/Website, and Directions. Originally I was going to attempt to DIY this project, but I am feeling a little awkward with Photoshop and then I found these that I fell in love with: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36356229 The designer will print the 130 qty I need and i can still do the pocket style envelope and order the envelopes and stuff on my own that I wanted from www.cardsandpockets.com.

I am estimate that the following is the grand total:

$455.00 for all the printed invitations and matching inserts.
$115.00 for postage
$142.00 for the pocketfold envelopes
$61.50 for belly bands
$40.00 for monogram stickers
= $813.50 for 130 invites out the door.

Is this really what people are paying? Is it better to just visit a stationary store? I guess I just envisioned my invites being 50% of these costs, but I have no idea?

I would be willing to get advice from anyone since this seems to be my weak area in the wedding planning process. Thanks!

TurtlesAllTheWayDown · March 2010

It's best to work it out by cost per invitation. My invites are not costing $800 but I have just over half what you do.

So yours work out to $6.25 each. Certainly not the cheapest (I've seen girls who DIY invitations for $2 or $3 each), but not terrible, especially since that includes postage. If you can afford it, it is certainly not a rip off.

Albanesepartyof2 · March 2010

Yes, and i just noticed this "Re: AW your invites - PIP please!" post. I think most people are averaging half the cost. I guess the trick would be trying to acheive that scrolly look on my own if i give DIY one more try? hmmmm?

I did cost in $900 total for thank you, save the dates, and invites, but was hoping to see some cost savings in this area. I need to keep brainstorming...

MyNameIsNot · March 2010

Pocketfolds are expensive. I DIYed ours for about $3 each, but I just printed the cards with no design.

It's really about where your budget and your priorities are. If you can afford it and you're willing to trade this for what else you could do with that money, go for it. If doing this means cutting out something you really want, don't.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown · March 2010

Just a tip - I'm having my invitations printed for me, probably from Mygatsby.com. I don't trust myself to DIY. I can afford it. But I'll be saving money on TY cards, programs and menus by ordering them through vistaprint, since those things aren't as important to me as the invitations. You can also get cheap TY cards at Target or Michael's. They don't have to match your invitations. Good luck!

jenn.daniel · March 2010

That sounds expensive to me, but I'm not very familiar with the cost for pocketfolds.

janedoe1113a · March 2010

Could you talk to the designer and have her give you the PDF and then you print and cut them yourself? That would save some money.

Albanesepartyof2 · March 2010

I did try to ask for the electronic file when I first wrote the designer and he said he no longer does that because of some issues. That was my very first idea of getting those invites into a lower price range. Hmmm...I am going to show to a few friends to see if someone better at Photoshop can draw up a similiar design. I think going through this guy is putting me way over budget.

Albanesepartyof2 · March 2010

Nicole, this is your mom. Just get them. I agree invites are more important than the TY's. Love, Mom

Albanesepartyof2 · March 2010

How can you be on my screenname, mother dearest? Maybe getting your own log-in might be fun?!

Qston · March 2010

Have you tried Alchemy on Etsy to find a designer that would just give you the files of something really similar? (you say what you want, and people essentially give you bids for what they will do it for?) That price seems pretty high for just invites, and rsvp card design + some envelopes. I'd keep looking, but don't give up on getting just what you want!

http://www.etsy.com/alchemy/

janedoe1113a · March 2010

Try sending the design to Double Trouble Designs and see if they can recreate something like that. They recreated mine and I think they came out amazing.

Knats_Manushak · March 2010

So i've been stuck in invitation "heck" not really hell but not fun. So i ordered proofs from an online store. Just to see what the samples are and such. My budget is tiny. only about 1/4 of what your inviations are costing you. I priced it out so came out to about $2 an invite. Thats the MAX i can afford. Got the proofs and they are flimsy card stock. Not very happy about it. So I showed it to my MOH who is also having her wedding 2 months before me. She ordered the $6+ invitations (totally $900). She then showed me a DIY beautiful inviation that her friend did. Cost $2 per!! The friend got all the supplies from Paper Source. So my MOH and I went there today. Found clearance items. (50% off) on DIY inviations. Pocket fold invites in the colors that I wanted. They also had discounted inserts and full sheets and half sheets. So i bought full sheets as well as envelopes and such. My total cost for invites per invite is gonna be $1.60. With postage its gonna be $2 per. Now the thing with the clearance paper is that you might not find the colors that you want. But there are things there that you can work with.
http://www.paper-source.com/

Plus I will have enough materials left over to make TY cards. I'd check out the online store and see if its something you wanna do on your own. If you have the money then it might not be for you. But for someone like me on a tight budget i'll be getting elegant expensive looking invites for fraction of the cost. BTW i have to print my invites in two languages so this makes sense for me. Happy hunting.

squirrly · March 2010

I, personally, think that's a bit much to pay for invitations. However, that's not going to be the easiest design to recreate. It can be done, but will take time and patience.

I DIY'd ours for just under $3 each, not including postage.

Albanesepartyof2 · March 2010

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I am going to start my research....

Theresa626 · March 2010

Perhaps you can find another seller on etsy who can create a similar design and just give you the pdf of it? I know other people on here have done that. cardsandpockets.com will print and cut any pdf you send them and it certainly won't cost you 455 dollars.

pennyduncan11 · March 2010

Oh i have seen people pay wayyy more, that cost is pretty reasonable, since everything is hand made! You can do it for less, but it will most certainly reflect that. I had a friend pay $7k for her invites, so as you can see, you are definitely not out of line. I would say the average price for a nice invitation from a good company with good service would be between $7-10 per invitation ensemble. We are paying around $9 each for ours and they include some nice touches, but I feel as though we are getting a great deal. The service has been extraordinary and the process has been smooth, awesome and actually a lot of fun! My fiance even agrees and he had NO interest in the paper products! we are using Earmark Invitations. http://earmarkinvitations.com

Good Luck!

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