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Wedding Invitations & Paper
FutureMrsBuechler
member
A Little Advice, Please?
I know that I will need "Save the Date" cards, ceremony and reception invitations, "Thank You" cards, and bridal shower invitations. To save money, I'm looking at wedding invitations with room for reception information so I don't have to purchase them separately. Are RSVP cards necessary, or can you list a contact number or a website (like the lovely ones provided by this site) for the guests to RSVP? I am having a formal black tie wedding, if that matters. Thank you, and God bless you all! 
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Re: A Little Advice, Please?
For budget invitations, make friends with http://www.vistaprint.com. They have hundreds of designs and are very inexpensive. We used them for my daughter's invitations, and got lots of compliments on the lovely design.
RSVP cards are not necessary, but nearly everyone does them. We used Vistaprint postcards to save money. They worked well.
Save the Date cards are not necessary, but if you feel you need then, Vistaprint does a great job with their postcards. Postage for a standard postcard is much less than for an invitation in an envelope. They have designs that are made for STDs.
As far as bridal shower invitations, you should not be ordering them. Someone else plans a bridal shower, IF someone offers to do it. My daughter didn't get a shower.
Thank you notes can be bought cheaply in bulk at Hobby Lobby or Michaels. Nobody really cares about the design of Thank you notes, but they do care about how quickly they receive them, and the nice handwritten note inside. Fancier custom ones cost more.
Do not depend on Vistaprint for proper wording of your invitation. Some of their wording advice is just wrong. Post you wording on this board for us to edit and review before you order! So many ladies ask questions AFTER they order, and are upset to find they made mistakes.
Enjoy shopping.
Maybe you could describe you wedding in more detail and we could help you.
I completely forgot to mention the rehearsal dinner reminders (invitations?). Are these customary, as well?
My wedding will take place in a chapel/church, as I am very religious. I will be wearing a floor-length dress with a train (not certain of the length, yet) and a double-layer veil (for the "revealing"). My bridesmaids and matron of honor will all be wearing long, matching dresses, but the matron of honor will be distinguished by wearing a slightly darker color and possibly a slightly different bouquet. I will be having a flower girl and a ring-bearer.
The reception will consist of a sit-down dinner (salmon, filet mignon, chicken). Guests will be encouraged to "dress-up", but they won't be turned away if they are not. So, perhaps, "black tie optional"? I have fairly extravagant plans for the reception space, including flowers, fabric draping, uplighting, favors, and such.
Formal wedding invitations are usually white or ecru with engraved , letterpress, or raised printing. Invitations by Dawn would be a good budget source. Your invitations will reflect the level of formality.
Just last week we had a long post from a bride who put "black tie optional" on her invitations, and she received a lot of criticism. She really didn't understand what a black tie wedding was. She just thought if she spent a lot of money, that made it black tie. No. She was having an early afternoon wedding!