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You’ve got the groom, the dress, cake, flowers—you’re set! Wrong. There’s a small detail that comes between all of the magic of planning and getting your friends and family all in one place for the big day. Invitations! It sounds so simple but it was one of the most tedious tasks that I handled during my entire engagement.
Before consulting with a printed products specialist, I went straight to Pinterest and added more than 100 links to my wedding invitations board. If you are unfamiliar with Pinterest, it is a virtual “cork board” of links to everything from cute animals to party planning tips. There I sat with too many options for calligraphy, colors, fonts, glitter… but no firm grasp on reality.
I decided on a few options that included gold foil and letter press. I asked around to those who work closely with printers and the general consensus was how impossible satisfying these two elements would be with my champagne taste and beer budget. I ignored the advice of my peers and sent a few quote requests for 175 invitations, including the flat invitation, RSVP card, reception information, and three sets of envelopes. Wait, we need three sets of envelopes? When I received emails back, I was confident that paper could never be as much as I was warned it could be. Boy was I wrong! My quotes ended up being more than I paid for my wedding dress!
Back to the drawing board I went. I consulted with my future sister-in-law to help with some graphic design work, and to score some inclusion points. During this process, I also worked with my coworker (who happens to be a printed products specialist!) to discuss why I needed three envelopes (outer, inner and return) and also learned a few things about etiquette. I decided on a nice gold ink, instead of splurging on gold foil which is more expensive than the value of my car.
My favorite part of mastering the art of a printed products order was the end result—a completely custom invitation that didn’t break the bank. My best advice to anyone looking to order stationery, business cards, wedding invitations or anything printed would be to talk to a graphic designer and a printing whiz. Take their advice and soon you too will have the beautiful product you imagined all along.