Expensive Wedding Invites

Weddings are expensive and so are wedding invites! As anyone who’s ever made it to the alter can tell you, paying for the dress, catering, flowers, and renting out the ceremony and reception sites can cost tens of thousands of dollars — all for just one special day. Is it worth it? Almost all will say yes!

But would the soon-to-be Mr. and Mrs. love to save a few dollars without sacrificing quality and that “dream list” the bride has had since she was 5 years old? Absolutely! A local print shop, like Center City Print can help to reduce the expense without sacrificing the expectations.

Going into the planning process most of us know our wedding is going to be a stretch of the wallet, but many first-time brides are still unprepared for the cost of certain expenses, like the save the dates and wedding invitations. Here’s to demystifying why invites cost so much (and hopefully save you the stomach churning feeling when you get that quote from the stationery store).

Costly Choices

A $5,000 quote for wedding invites may make you mad enough to toss your tiara, but it’s important to remember that a lot more goes into these cards than the “Happy Birthday” notes found at your local drugstore.

When you choose to have your invites designed you have many more options that contribute to the cost, like quality of the materials, paper grades, and special finishes or cuts. Here’s a quick overview of the basics.

Of course, when you purchase high-quality wedding invitations you’re paying for more than just the paper. Specialized printers are used to create embossed (raised) text and images, or an etched metal plate engraves the content onto the invitations. A letter press (a 500-year-old printing method that employs a raised-ink press to transfer an image — similar to a stamp) can also be used, but is usually more expensive.

Printing addresses on your envelopes raise costs as well, though the expense will pay for itself in saved time (especially if you were thinking about hiring a calligrapher) and preventing hand cramps for any bridal party with a sizable guest list.

Are you looking to save on
price while not wavering on Quality or Design?

Chat with our Graphic Design team to create the perfect invites for your Special Day!

How Invitations should be worded?

Once you are in the planning process, you’ll learn that the details can become cumbersome! The wording on the invitations can be quite difficult, especially when you feel like each word will cost you more and more when printed. Today, I find that the traditional verbiage “Together with their families” and “the parents off” phrases are becoming obsolete. I often find couples using “Join us in celebrating” or “John and Jane invite you to celebrate in the joy of their marriage”. Whichever phrase you choose, be sure that it speaks to you individually. A nod to tradition is always welcomed but after all, it’s your day, not anyone else’s!

Name-brand Budget Shortfall

After choosing your paper and your printing option, you have to pay someone to put it all together. You’ve got plenty of options here, too. If you’re trying to keep costs down and don’t care about having a unique, one-of-a-kind card or custom imaging, you can find thousands of pre-made invitations. Many of these cards are from big-name designers and are often much more affordable than custom invites. You might pay between $4 and $12 per card, for example, for Vera Wang invitations, but custom-designed photo invites from an established, respected graphic designer might cost as much as $7 to $25 each. Of course, prices vary, and less experienced designers offer more competitive rates, but if you’re on a strict budget and simply must have top-of-the-line wedding invitations, there’s nothing wrong with selecting ready-made cards.

Center City Print

Here at Center City Print, we totally remove the mystery behind expensive wedding invites. We make sure through careful planning and suggestions, that you will have the most beautiful wedding invitations money can buy at 1/3 the price. What is the typical cost per invitation? Well the average wedding Suite with save the date card, Invitation card, rsvp card, reply envelope, and mailing envelope is around $3 each! Now that is serious savings!

Why you ask? Because we treat ever job as important as a wedding and for us, all paper is special, no matter what is on it. Whether in person, or on the phone, we can easily make your vision a reality!