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DIY stationary worth it?

hsundermeyerhsundermeyer
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in Wedding Invitations & Paper
I am trying to figure out some stationary for our wedding and it seems like if I choose from online retailers (like Wedding Paper Divas), though they have beautiful invitations, it will be quite expensive to get save-the-dates, invites, response cards, reception cards, thank you cards, etc. all in the same theme (we'll probably send out 100-115 invitations). I would like to have nice stationary without spending a fortune, since guests will probably throw it out after the wedding.

Also, is it really necessary to include reception cards? Could I just list the reception info on the invite (ceremony and reception are at same place)? What about reception menus- necessary or not? Any other stationary that's necessary and some that I could leave out?

Has anyone tried stationary in the box sets from stores like Michael's or Target, where you can print it at home or at a print place (I think that's how it works but I'm not sure)? Will that save any money? Is it worth it or is it too time consuming?

Any budget-friendly ideas people have used for save-the-dates, invites and other stationary?
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Re: DIY stationary worth it?

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    Sue-n-KevinSue-n-Kevin member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Answer First Comment
    I found our invitations on a sales table at Michael's for $5 per box of 50. Since I knew our guest list would be small, I purchased both boxes. Plus, it was not one of the things I was really picky about.

    Pics of the invitations printed below, at home, assembled, are below. You don't need reception cards, because yes, you can print the info on the invitation. You need an invitation and RSVP card, a direction/map card if you are so inclined (most people use website maps even with these).



    The invitations from the kits I purchased were cream & black toile, a really pretty print. I used my printer/scanner/copier to copy the toile print onto vellum, then folded the vellum in half over an engagement picture of ours, and put ribbon on it to make our save-the-dates.




    Because I had extra invitations, I used the back page as our thank you cards, and put a picture of us from our wedding on it, and wrote thank yous on the back of that.

    No, you don't need menus. Our caterer had signs detailing what each item on the buffet was.

    Most (if not all) of the kits come with printing instructions. If not, you can figure it out with Microsoft Word. If you are not adept at Word, ask someone else who is to help you.

    These invitations/thank you/STDs cost me about $30. If you are handy or crafty at all, you can do something really inexpensively.

    Something else you can do, but is not necessary, is programs. I did them, but really, I did it more to include the names of the wedding party, and to do a personal thank you to our parents & kids than to describe what was happening........

    Good luck.
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    Sydney91Sydney91 member
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    edited October 2012
    I am making my own invites on Microsoft Publisher, which I never used until yesterday when I started buiding invitations. The help search has been a godsend. I started yesterday morning and spent maybe 10 hours on all of my stationery. And it's completely done. They are ready to go to Staples or some other printing place to become a reality. Way ahead of schedule here, but I'm also in my last year of uiversity and essay season is no time to be planning a wedding.

    Also, I am on a tight budget. Entire wedding has to come in under $6000. I have a fairly large sized guest list to accomodate plenty of family and friends, so I have to be fairly economical with how much paper I use. I have 4 invites per letter sized page, 8 map inserts per same page (necessary since it's a rural area), 4 RSVP per page, 4 thank yous per page, and 1 program per page (trifold brochure). DIY is worth it if you organize it well. Everywhere I looked wanted a ridiculous amount for invitations we didn't really like; I am saving a little bit of money (not buckets but some) and have invitations we created using aspects that we liked in the invites we looked at. We are not good at DIY, but so far it's been easy and the look great.
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    Sydney91Sydney91 member
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    To answer your question about the extensive amount of paper: NO all those things are not needed. I am not having a seating plan, just a table reserved for grandparents and great-grandparents. That eliminates the need for placecards, table numbers, and escort cards. The menu is on the program. I didn't do save the dates. We opted not to have favours, so no favour tags. Our reception info is on the back of the invite along with the details of the ceremony. 

    Take a look at THIS LINK and scroll all the way to the bottom for some great articles. I couldn't get the one article that helped me to load because of the scary amount of tabs I have open right now, but it's called Wedding Invitations: The 3 Pieces of Stationery You Really Need and is in that list of articles from the link. I hope I helped!
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    ootmother2ootmother2 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Answer Name Dropper
    IF you are crafty, it's is a good place to save money.  I just received a gorgeous wedding invitation and was amazed when I found out that the couple had made them.

    That said, I've seen some pretty crappy cheap looking ones as well as the traditional Crane's that run about $10+ each.

    It depends on where your talents lie
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