Finding a bargain is not a new concept in my business. I see it as my job to find the best use of the money in any wedding budget. When we want to spend more in one area, we naturally cut back in another. The first place I trim is in the Invitations and Stationery. Certainly, this is the one place you can really scrimp on without anyone (well maybe Aunt Gertie will notice, but did you ever really like her anyway???) being able to tell the difference.You may think the first step is to go out and buy the invitations from the craft or discount store and print them up yourself. I would STRONGLY caution you against this unless you are doing less than 50 invitations altogether (don’t forget your Dad’s crazy uncle’s side of the family in your numbers). It is neither cost nor time effective. I do, however, buy some of this type of 
stationery when it is on clearance and use it for print-necessary items such as table and place cards.
My first step is to bring my client to one of those upscale establishments and find the invitation of her dreams. Or, if she is too busy, I carry all my invitation books to her location (I do it all for my brides, they do not have to lift a finger if they do not want to). Check out www.CarlsonCraft.com or www.ForeverDreams.net for ideas.
Once we have selected her dream invitation that has all kinds of embellishments, I then find a plain one that looks similar but that fits into the “budget” category. These still have many bells and whistles (i.e. raised printing, double envelopes, printed return address, etc.), they just tend to be on different papers or have less embellishment. They also generally fit in a regular mailing envelope (which can be a problem with the more expensive invitations…the postage alone can run over $1 per invitation).
We take these “plain” invitations and add the embellishments to them. With a very careful eye we add just a touch of whimsy or bling, whatever the client had fallen in love with on the expensive invite. This same idea can be used with the Save The Date cards (which I truly believe in). See that item in another blog.
Happy Planning
stationery when it is on clearance and use it for print-necessary items such as table and place cards.My first step is to bring my client to one of those upscale establishments and find the invitation of her dreams. Or, if she is too busy, I carry all my invitation books to her location (I do it all for my brides, they do not have to lift a finger if they do not want to). Check out www.CarlsonCraft.com or www.ForeverDreams.net for ideas.
Once we have selected her dream invitation that has all kinds of embellishments, I then find a plain one that looks similar but that fits into the “budget” category. These still have many bells and whistles (i.e. raised printing, double envelopes, printed return address, etc.), they just tend to be on different papers or have less embellishment. They also generally fit in a regular mailing envelope (which can be a problem with the more expensive invitations…the postage alone can run over $1 per invitation).
We take these “plain” invitations and add the embellishments to them. With a very careful eye we add just a touch of whimsy or bling, whatever the client had fallen in love with on the expensive invite. This same idea can be used with the Save The Date cards (which I truly believe in). See that item in another blog.Happy Planning
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