25 Free Wedding Invitations

Link: http://www.weddinginvitations.be

Budget concerns are at an all-time high in today's tough economy, especially when planning an event as large as a wedding, but being economical requires that one make educated decisions.

I read an article in the local paper this week about how to cut corners to reduce wedding expenses. In it, a wedding coordinator was quoted as saying that she recommends couples make their own wedding invitations to save money; obviously assuming that the biggest costs lie in the printing. She couldn't have been more wrong!

If you do your homework, you'll discover that making your own invitations is almost always more expensive, not to mention infinitely more time-consuming and frustrating. The bottom line is that the paper, not the printing, is the most expensive component when invitations are purchased from a retail dealer. However, the biggest cost factor for a bride (consumer) in making an invitation is in the printing, not the paper. The primary reason for that is that a printer has already invested in commercial printing equipment and supplies; while the bride is forced to use home equipment that hasn't been designed for this purpose. Home computer printers require more ink, have a greater tendency to mis-feed thick card stock and are unable to easily accommodate various paper sizes.

Math is a simple way to stay on budget, and here is a cost breakdown for wedding invitations. Sold in box sets with envelopes, a plain invitation with very little in the way of color or texture will cost $30-$40 for 50 with single outer envelopes, so for 100 invitations it would be $60-$80 for the paper. Ink cartridges (if using single color cartridges, not the printers that make you buy magenta, cyan, yellow and black separately) will cost at least $25-$30 each plus another $20-$30 for black. It takes at a minimum of one starter set and one replacement to print 100 invitations (I tried it) for two reasons: the first is that thick card stock will absorb more ink than regular paper; the second that the color cartridge has to be changed before it's completely empty to keep the colors consistent. Therefore, the ink required for 100 invitations will cost at least $100 - $120. The cost for a really plain invitation has now become $160 - $200; while the cost for a comparable plain invitation (with two envelopes, not one) from Be Our Guest 25-Free Wedding Invitations is $67 - $85 with the discount and regular ground shipping.

The bottom line is that printed invitations are about half the price of doing it yourself and 150% easier, with the added bonus of saving gas and having an outside person proof the order. I think I'll send a copy of this information to that wedding planner ... hopefully she'll share it with her brides!