The wedding invitation is the first thing your guests will receive. The invitation dictates more than you may realize. Not only does it share factual information such as when and where, but it also conveys the look and feel of the day. This is portrayed through the aesthetics of the invitation: color, fonts, style, etc. With first impressions being everything, it is important to send an invitation that truly represents your wedding. Fortunately, there are many ways of obtaining and designing wedding invitations. Perhaps you are hands-on and want to go to a store; maybe you prefer to order online and keep things easy; or perhaps you’re a DIY kind of girl and wish to print or craft from home. All of these methods have their advantages and disadvantages and I’m here to break it down for you!

In Store Invitation

Living in an internet-consumed world, we often avoid going into stores to shop. However, physically going in and choosing your invitation has its perks. An appointment is set up for you to sit down with a professional to go over styles, content, and pricing. In store you are able to go through examples and actually feel the cardstock and see the invitation in person rather than guessing from behind a computer screen. The invitation specialists will help you choose the proper wording and give you expert advice. They will provide you with a proof and ensure your invitation is perfect. While this process is often more trouble-free and aesthetically pleasing, it can be quite expensive. Invitations made this way can cost you upwards of $900 without postage. The in-store option allows your invitations to be professional seamless; however this comes at a high price.

Online Invitation

It is safe to say that wedding invitations from stores such as Paper Source are truly elegant, however, some of us do not have the time or the budget. There are many websites such as “Wedding Paper Divas” and “Minted” that allow you to peruse and personalize hundreds of different types of invitations. This method can be very beneficial for those with less time because you can easily search by style, color, etc. Lets not forget about sales! Online invitation companies often run promos, which can help seriously cut down costs. Another perk is that you can easily be linked to matching stationary that you will eventually need such as table numbers, thank you cards, etc. Bottom line, ordering online allows you to choose from home with ease. While this sounds amazing, it is important to know it comes with some disadvantages as well. Unfortunately, you will not be able to physically see or feel the invite in person, nor will you have the professional guidance that you would in-store.

Digital / Paperless Invitation

With today’s amazing technology it is no wonder we are now able to send wedding invites digitally. This is a huge cost cutter as we completely cut out then need for supplies. Companies such as “Green Envelope” and “Paperless Post” are encouraging you to save money, time, and even the environment. This method still allows you to choose a design as well as colors and wording—just without a physical copy. The advantages are that you will save a lot of time and money; however this method may still be too modern for some of our elders. Weddings are meant to bring family and friends together and, while some of us are tech savvy, others are not and we would never want an invitation to not be received.

DIY Invitation

The DIY invitation is not the most common choice, however, if done correctly, it can really portray your style and wedding theme as a couple. There are many different ways of going about a DIY invitation. You may used mixed media or even handwrite! Doing it yourself allows the invitation to be exactly as you would like it. There are, unfortunately, more disadvantages than advantages in this scenario. ‘Doing it yourself’ can be very time consuming. Whether you are printing, cutting, painting, etc., it all takes a great deal of time and effort. You are also more likely to leave room for error. As much as we like to give ourselves credit, we are not robots, and this can result in costly slip-ups. Fortunately, there is another way of “DIY” that prevents many errors and saves a lot of time. Printing from home! Craft and paper stores often times sell blank invitations. What is neat about these is that you bring them home, log onto a website, choose a template and wording, and print! This spares you the expensive printing costs and saves the time of getting super crafty. The downfall to this method is the lack of expert advice, but fortunately it has more pros than cons.

There are MANY different avenues that you can choose from when preparing wedding invitations. The beauty is that certain routes are more advantageous to some than others. Determine a vision, set a budget, and establish a timeline. Once you have that completed, you will know which invitation method best suits you.