Weddingbee boards
I'd say that getting someone to make your invites for you could range anywhere from $2 a piece all the way up to way higher depending on the details, printing, embellishments, label, etc.
I am not sure about DIY at all, but I do know that it could go either way. I know of people who have spent under $100 on all materials for DIY for 200 invitation sets, but I have also heard of people's stories on here where they DIY and ended up spending way over what it would have originally cost them to hire someone to do the invites.
I think part of the DIY attraction is getting a creative vibe on and getting to design a one of a kind invite...not necessarily saving tons of money.
I had a fairly complicated DIY invitation (pocketfold with 3 inserts) that I made entirely. It came out to be about $3 each (for paper, accessories, glue, stamps, ink) whereas it would have cost between $8-10 each if I had them made professionally.
I had a pocketfold with two inserts that I DIY'ed and it was $3.87/invite with postage. I still have some supplies leftover that I will use for programs and stuff as well. I think it was worth it to DIY, and like the previous poster said, it's not just for money, rather, it's for something truly original that reflects you two. :)
I'm getting the paper for my 120 DIY invites for around $120. This doesn't include stamps or ink (but you don't HAVE to have those) or postage. I plan on using left over and scrap paper from the invites to make other things like programs and such. I'm hoping the whole thing will come to about $150 for all of my invites.
I ended up spending around $400 for 100 invites so far.
pocketfolds with three inserts, main body invitation with a backing frame, rsvp card, rsvp envelopes, one main envelope, envelope labels (I printed them on my computer as well) adhesive, sticker seals and paper cutting.
I ordered too much stuff, but I will use the remainders for programs, favor cards, etc.
It came out nicely. I used paperandmore. They have samples you can order. Things come in packs so if you find out you need 102 pockets and the packs are 50 each, order two samples to fill in.
If you're limited in time and still want to DIY (which, unless you're very crafty may turn out to be more stressful and more expensive than having them done) you can get suites at places like Michaels - all you have to do is print the text and assemble. They're quite affordable!
I DIY'd my save-the-dates (very basic - nice paper, envelopes, postage & website cost) - they were $2.26 ea. From having looked at a number of places to have them done you can get a suite (invite, envelopes & RSVP) starting at $2 ea.
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Ours we had to outsource, due to time and me not being patient!
We're having them letterpressed. Actually a whole suite, so STD, thank yous, invites, evelopes etc.
Whole shebang will be 1k.
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We did one of the packages from Michaels (you can also get them from Target, Wal-Mart, Staples, Office Max, etc...). We also bought some little confetti flowers to glue onto the invitation to personalize it. The sets were $25 for 30 invites (including ceremony and reception invitations, envelopes, response cards and response envelopes, envelope seals, and ribbon). I think we bought one tub of confetti flowers for about $3, so all together, we spent $53 for 60 invites, or about $0.88/piece not including postage. And we've gotten a lot of compliments about how beautiful and original they look. :)
Also, we bought matching thank you cards, table numbers, and escort cards for another $25. The DIY was really easy, too. It took about 3 hours total for us to print and assemble all of the invitations.
Added note: We wanted to design and create the invitations ourselves, but when we priced out supplies, it would've cost about $3.75/piece and 10-15 hours to complete.
Ours are over $1,000, but we're doing custom designed letterpress -- a tri-fold invitation and an insert about the welcome barbecue the night before the wedding. This is one of our big ticket items. I know many people think it's silly to spend much on invitations, but this aspect of our wedding is really important to me.
We got kits from Michael's for the 100 invitations that we needed. We paid $24 per box of 30 and needed 4 boxes, so that was $96 total, or $.96 per. The kits included pocketfolds and we made extra inserts using paper that we bought for $10, or $.10 per. The printing was free, done at the laser printer at our office after hours. The pends for writing names and addresses were $4, or $.04 per. Postage was about $.58 for each invite, plus another $.42 for each reception card. So:
.96 + .1 + .04 +.58 + .42 = about $2.10 for each invitation, including postage, inserts, and accessories.
Not bad, considering that what I loved at weddingpaperdivas would have cost at least twice that.
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I did 30 invitations for $25.00! Michael's has these ~amazing~ invitation kits my BRIDES magazine. They are normally $35.00 for the 30, but you can find 40% off coupons in their sunday advertisements. You can also check the website for coupons. The kit includes
pocket envelopes
paper for the invitations
paper for RSVP
envelopes for RSVP
ribbon to go around the invite
cute little stickers to 'seal' the envelope
also labels to print the address on
Inside the kit it has a website that you can go to that has free templates for the invites, rsvp and address labels. Just make sure you have good printer, or that a friend does and you are set! It took me about 20 minutes to get them setup and printed. Longest part was tying the ribbons!
Also, personally, I didn't want the pocket envelopes to go through the mail, so I did spend another $10.00 for enevlopes that would fit them at Office Max.
Also, here is the link about the kits. They come in several different colors.
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/displayProductPage?productNum=wd0216&channelid=
I used the same kit sc did! I forgot to add that we did have to buy some outer envelopes for them; we sent a "tester" through the mail and the seal didn't hold, and some of the edges got torn. So add another $.02 to our per invite total!
I spent quite a bit for a letterpress custom design, but truly it was as much for me as it was for the benefit of the guests. Prior to getting engaged I never really noticed an invitation, so if your budget is small don't sweat it! People will pay more attention to other things such as food, music and how in love you are! 
Oh hey, SusanY, I should have mentioned that making our own invites, although we loved them in the end, was really a giant hassle. Between the printing, the layout of additional inserts, the 10 hours it took to hand-address them, the 4 hours it took to put them all together, and the countless trips to different Michael's stores to pick which ones we wanted, we probably could have spent twice as much and been much happier because of all the time we saved. So if you're pressed for time and you don't have a lot of help with this, I'd really recommend ordering them from somewhere that will do all of that for you, and write the expense off as time saved.
we spent about $1K because we had to make a set of invitations in french and a set in english. we couldn't write both on one card nicely. the upshot is that we will have 2 lovely sets of cards to have as keepsakes.
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Thank you bees.
I think I will leave it to the pros (if I met a designer who fits my budget) since DIY-ing 1000 invitations will surely kill me... Thank you all !
By the way, if I change Rupiah (Indonesia) currency to US %, I'm totally amazed that with $1 only, you could get a quite luxurious invitation here ! Really! The common invites(without boxes, no hard cover), screen printing process on local paper costs max 0,5$ !
Really!
I'm DIYing mine. they cost me under $1 each when all is said and done (obviously not including postage). They are folder invites with 3 invites with embossing. I'm excited to start making them.
Wait, did you just say 1000?! That's a lot of invitations!
i recently changed my mind on invites. we were going with the whole letterpress, with pocketfolds, etc. etc...it was going to be about $850 for the whole enchilada but after a couple weeks of thinking about it, i realized...i didn't even keep invites from the nice weddings i went to! i don't think i can truly care about the invitations i've received, when i didn't even keep them...this is me, whose kept strange things from weddings! (i've kept a lot of ugly favors, pressed some flowers from bridesmaid bouqets, and even kept some of my bm dresses) so i slashed my budget in half and i'm going to go with someone from Etsy (trying to decide between two sellers). I think food, favors and entertainment are more important to me, thats what my guests will remember more.
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I didn't want to spend more than $200 for my invitations...INCLUDING postage. I did it with about $30 to spare.
I think they're lovely pieces of artwork, but in the long run, I wanted to spend my money elsewhere. Plus, my invites turned out great, everyone is commenting on how great they look and "who designed 'em?" Uhhh, this kid 
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I wasn't sure what to expect when I started shopping around for invitations - so I didn't set a budget, just felt determined to be reasonable.
First, I went to a stationer and found some really simple invitations that I liked from Carlson Craft.
Then, we registered for tuxes with Savvi Formalwear and I just so happened to notice that Savvi had Carlson Craft books. We got them for 50% off!!! For 125 invites, envelopes, inner envelopes, reception card and RSVP cards we spent just under $170.
I could've DIYed it, but didn't want to deal with getting ink. And did I mention I'm not terribly crafty? :-)
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Yes, invites are cheaper in other countries!!! My Indian friend said they are definitely having Indian Invitations b/c they are SOOOOO much cheaper (and way nicer) than American invites. THey do scrolls and neat little things like that!
i did the STDs DIY and they cost about $60 for 55 including postage - but I fell in love with a letterpress design from Cheree Berry Paper that is costing $1700 for 75 invites with response and reception cards. I have a crafty mind, but no crafting experience so I decided to bite the bullet on the invites (and we were pressed for time) - and I absolutely love our invite design. Ps. if you want to spend the money - Cheree Berry is great.
Don't forget to add the cost of a therapist after you're done :) As a professional calligrapher for many many years, I often get a last minute emergency project from a bride who tried to create her own invitations. If you have time.. excellent, be sure to get LOTS of extra stock for mistakes. and at least 20% more envelopes for errors and changes, or hire someone who does this for a living.
My friend got hers from another country as well. She got it cheaper with quality materials. They even done everything including assembly so she was happy she didn't need to worry about anything. She got it from www.CraftMasterInvitations.com
I just did reeeeally cheap invites from rexcraft.com Well, they aren't really cheap but as far as invitations go they were. Initially I wanted to get nicer ones, but I eventually just threw my hands up and said "screw it" because people aren't going to be keeping the invitations most likely, except for maybe my mom or my grandma. I didn't want to waste a ton of money on something that would be trashed. I know it's supposed to set the mood for the wedding, but in all honesty, I just didn't have that money to blow even though I WANTED something nicer and fancier. I just sucked it up. It was my intention to get the cheapest ones on there (they did still look nice, imo, just very plain) but I gave my fiance the choice between two that were decent and cheap and he chose the other (of course). I'm satisfied enough with them. I was going to DIY, but it was just a huge PIA. I designed something that looked really nice on the computer but when I printed it out, it just looked HORRIBLE (it was pixelated). No way I could mail something like that, even on nice paper. Finding all the correct paper sizes and colors for what I wanted was no easy task either. Luckily I hadn't ordered any of it yet.
I am glad I read this post today... we're going to look at some invitations (just looking!) today and I KNOW I am going to fall in love with some beautiful letterpress design that's going to cost a small fortune. Seeing other people's budgets will help me keep things in check. I hope!
Hello bees, I've decided.
I've designed my own invitation, then I asked my fiancee's brother to print it. (He owns a design firm)
That way I can have my invitation at a very good price !
Thank you for all of your advices and experiences. It helps me!
Thank you bees !
PS : I'll post the invitation after it's finished. This is the result of printing in Indonesia.
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Hello everyone,
is this a hard topic or not ?
I'm wondering, for each of you, how much was your budget for your invitation ?
I've been looking some vendors and I think they're crazy with their prices !
I'm thinking to DIY my invitation, but I'm limited by time.
So, I want to know your experience.
If you DIY-ed your invitation, how much does it cost for 1 invitation ?
And if you asked someone to do it for you, how much is it too ?