Wedding Expenses: DIY Invitations

When Ashley and I first got engaged, we spent some time quickly working out a general budget. We looked at how much things could cost, should cost, and would cost. One of the larger inital expenses was going to be the invitations. The cost for designing, printing, and mailing the invitations was definitely going to add up.

Thankfully, our maid of honor’s mother owns a scrapbooking studio, so for her wedding gift to us, she was willing to help create our own invitations in her home store using her supplies – for free! So last weekend, Ashley headed on over to the island and spent an entire weekend crafting our wedding invitations. She did a phenomenal job, and I couldn’t be more proud to send out the invitations. However, the weekend ended up being a long stressful one for her. Was it worth the savings?

Lessons We Learned

Saving Money Is Time Consuming

When you pay to get your invitations made for you, you pay for the materials and the time it takes to create them. While it may only take a business a few hours to go from start to finish on your invitations, creating your own takes a lot more time. You have to consider the time it takes to design them:

• looking at examples
• determining what you like
• deciding if it fits in the wedding’s theme

You have to consider the time it takes to word the invitations:

• what do you include
• what don’t you include
• the punctuation and grammar

DIY Means Added Stress

Ashley spent an entire weekend trying to rush to finish the invitations. She had to travel to the island, and only had a certain amount of time there. She had to get them done during that time, or else she would have to make another trip. When you’re working under time limitations, stress adds up quickly.

DIY Means More Mistakes

When you’re making your own invitations, there is nobody there to make sure that you’re spelling and grammar is correct. If you make a mistake on the map, for example (sorry!!), and you print out the incorrect address, you have to toss your mistakes and start again. That means wasted paper, wasted time, and wasted energy. If you’re stressed, under time constraints, and flying by the seat of your pants, you’re going to make more mistakes than a professional.

DIY Means Customization

While making your own invitations may mean added stress, it means that you’re going to get the exact invitations that you want. If you want something ornate and complex, then you are only limited by the skills of your hands. If you want something simple, you can choose to do that. You can choose your exact format, paper, wording, and envelope without having to worry about whether or not the shop will have the correct supplies. You don’t have to worry about communicating your desires to another person – you just make it yourself.

Should You Make Your Own Invitations?

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do I have the time to make my own invitations?
• How much will I save making my own invitations?
• Am I okay with the added stress of DIY invitations?
• How important are the invitations to me?

If you have lots of money, but little time, and you’re not too concerned with the invitations, then by all means, get someone else to make them for you. We all know weddings are stressful enough, so elminate and outsource anything that you can. If your budget doesn’t allow for the invitations you want, you’re willing to spend a weekend working hard to get the invitations you want, then go for it. Just budget for your mistakes, make sure you set lots of time aside, and have fun!

Crafting your own invitations alongside your bridesmaids is an iconic moment in the wedding planning process – one that I am glad I could sit out!

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