Category — Wedding Invitations & Programs

Photo by Charlie Dave

If you want to save money on the wedding of your dreams, you’ve got to BUCK THE TREND.  Get creative.  Dare to be different.

Why?

Because traditional “wedding” products and services have a markup of over 30-300%.  Plus, there’s a HUGE demand for the traditional stuff…Big Demand + Wedding = Big Price Tag.

So if you want to save and still have the wedding of your dreams…it’s time to get CREATIVE.

I list tons of great creative, money saving ideas for an affordable wedding in my eBook, How To Save $2500 on Your Dream Wedding.  But here’s one of my favorite ideas…

Make your wedding invitations cheap by using a postcard.

Get this: the average couple spends $659 on wedding invitations and reply cards according to the Bridal Association of America.  Prices range from $1.50 each for cheap do it yourself invitation kits to $9 for the high end ones.  But you’re not finished there…you’ve gotta add in the postage.  And it’s often MORE than 42 cents if your invites are over-sized or heavy stock.

But let’s keep it simple for math’s sake.  I found this Floral Flurry wedding invitation at Wedding Paper Divas.

It costs $238.50 for 150 invites, plus $154.50 for the response cards and envelopes (without a printed return address)…a total of $393.

Now, if you include a POSTCARD instead of the traditional response card and envelope, you can get 250 postcard invitations for only $19.99 from Vistaprint.  That saves you $134.51.

But the savings doesn’t stop there.  Postage on 150 of the traditional response cards is $63.  But postage on postcard responses is only $40.50…a savings of $22.50.

By using response postcards instead of typical response cards with envelopes you’ll save $157.01.  These are relatively cheap invitations; the more expensive your chosen invitations the more you’ll save.

And that’s just the beginning…

What if you dared to request RSVPs by telephone or email?  What if you sent your invitations through email with a service like Evite.com?

You could reduce your invitation expenses (using this example) down to only $154.50…and if you use Evite you could drop your invitation costs down to ZERO.

The point is don’t send a wedding invitation just because it’s “traditional” and it’s what you’re “supposed” to do.  Be creative!  Be that smart, savvy bride I know you are and save your $$’s to spend where it’s important to you.

Find any creative ways to make your wedding invitations cheap?  Leave me a comment.

Photo by impious at flickr.com

Looking for a cool, easy do it yourself invitation or save the date idea?

Try a photo booth to show off your unique personality with a quirky cool invite.

Don’t think you can pull it off?  This couple did it here on the cheap using 4 photo booth pictures and snapfish.com.  Total cost: $30 for 150 professionally printed save the dates, including shipping.

And you can, too!

You can also use your save-the-dates to advertise your wedding website and registry information.

The works great for a customized, inexpensive wedding invitation, too…especially if off-beat suits your style.  Remember: there are no rules in weddings, unless you make them.  And the more flexible you can be, the more you SAVE.

Got a super saver diy wedding idea?  Leave me a comment.

P.S. This website, Cheap Ways To… is full of freebies and savings ideas for all topics, a source of savings inspiration.