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I feel like budget invites are a good compromise between the expensive ones and the diy ones.
You'd save some money and I'm sure they'd turn out great.
I like both invites...but seeing that I bought a box of $40 DIY invites from Michaels arts and craft store...and seeing that you got laid off I think the ones from 123print are a great way to go if you dont want the DIY kind. Myself...I just think $325 is way too much for something people might throw away after your wedding...esp if they arent close family members. Your mom and such relatives might save them...but would anyone else?
I completely agree that people other than my family probably won't keep them - I wish I could just order just one of the nice one to frame! (I have samples of both of course, it's just they don't have our info of course). I will probably never toss a wedding invite again knowing what they cost now - I've gotten some elaborate ones in the past that I've tossed b/c I wasn't really close to the person sending (mainly FH's friends), now I wish I'd kept them!
I would go the etsy route. Then you could get the look of the more expensive ones but nicer than the cheapest ones. I wouldn't want you to strain yourself financially for something so trivial as the invites. What does your FH think?
whenever weddings are over, I throw away the invites. I just cleaned out a drawer of last year's invites...
go with budget...the green design on the side is cute.
Hmmm...I'm torn b/c I do think the 123print invite looks good, but still feel the more expensive one provides more oomph...I do prefer them. To me, invites are not all that important, though, so I might opt for the cheaper option if it were an issue. But it sounds like they are pretty important to you. I think it's probably worth examining your overall budget. If you have to revise due to your job change, do so overall (not just item by item) and then see what fits into it. Maybe you can cut somewhere else instead on something less important to you. B/c I also think that it's important you be happy with what you decide. And I'm getting the impression you will not feel happy with the cheaper ones.
Thanks everyone! I have to admit, I thought more people would encourage me to splurge :)
My fiance doesn't care what they look like as long as I like them, but he would prefer they be as inexpensive as possible. If I hadn't seen the samples I probably would have already ordered the 123print invite, it's just that once I saw the quality of the two it makes it hard to "settle" for the 123 invite one.
I think this is one of those areas where you ask yourself what kind of wedding you are having. Is it a more fancy affair (not just formal, but highly detailed), then try etsy or go with the dream invite. If it is more casual, the less expensive one is fine. I say this because a fancier invite will set the tone well, for a cost that isn't that great compared to the flowers, for example. I know I would be a little surprised to get a fancy invite for a simple punch and cake wedding, and vice versa. This isn't a value judgment on the two poles of weddings. Frankly, the happiest, best feeling one I ever went to was a simple church ceremony with punch and cake afterwards. It would have been weird getting a fancy invite for that, though. Conversely, the fancy pocket invitation set I got for a fancier wedding a month ago set the mood perfectly.
We did DIY and I've been pleasantly suprised at how easy it has been so far (we're in the printing and assembly phase). The best part is that we could buy whatever awesome card stock we wanted. We love our invites!
Wow. I have been having THIS VERY SAME dilemma!!! I just got my sample invites in the mail from TGK and 123print this week. I took them to my sister today and she said to go with the 123print ones to save some money.
http://www.tgkdesigns.com/product/gallery/358
http://www.123print.com/Wedding-Invitations_Dark-Citron-Swirl_Design-BABBEGAF
The ones from TGK really are beautiful, but the ones from 123 will do just fine. The #100 paper was my favorite out of the three options. The only thing that I really really don't like about the 123print invites are the envelopes. You only get one instead of the traditional two and they are pretty flimsy.
Good luck :)
You could do some sort of DIY blend. If you got the 123 invites, considering one of the aspects your really liked of the tgk ones, you could add a backing yourself. I am not a very crafty person, but I'm currently not working, so I figured with my time I would DIY my invites. If I can do it, I feel like most people can. You could buy a nice paper at papersouce and then zyron it to the 123s or something along that line.
@monitajb - that's a really good point I hadn't thought of! I have not been to many weddings, so I'm not sure if ours would be considered fancy enough to have the nicer invitations. We're having both the ceremony and reception here: www.flinthill.com - but we went with March for cost savings, and we'll be going with the basic buffet dinner vs. anything formal and sit down. Would love to know if people think the 123 invite is appropriate for that.
@mollie2383 - I totally understand what you are going through! I agree that with 123 the nicer paper will be worth it. I was shocked at how flimsy the "standard" paper will be. I agree the envelope is flimsy but I'm not too bothered by that as I assume people will throw it away.
I have thought about getting the 123 invite and attaching to a brown backing to get closer to the look I want - my concern is that it won't fit into the envelope 123 provides - I was planning on having them pre-print my return address on it, and I hate to get "free" envelopes only to have to buy bigger envelopes for a semi-DIY option.
THe_Dress.jpg (45.2 KB, 25 downloads) 1 year old 
I love Etsy and one of my top 2 choices for invitations is from an Etsy designer. Impeccable quality for the price. Thus, I pick etsy.
You could always find a backing at paper source and DIY that too. Good idea. And maybe get some upgraded envelopes too. But take a look at the cost to do that vs. hiring a pro from Etsy.
order the invites then do a DIY trifold or envelope decor if you still feel like it, but at least the basics will be done at that point
IMG_1211.JPG (1310.5 KB, 24 downloads) 1 year old 
This is hard because I really like the more expensive one's. That really is not a bad price depending on how many you get. I spent that much on mine and they were do it yourself. We bought the paper for the invite, rsvp, reception, and accommodations, and the pocket-folds and envelopes for the outer and rsvp cards for 130 invitations all together and it costs about that much. The printing was cheap at Kinko's like less than $60 for all the cards. You have to do what you feel best with. The reason why we went this route is because we wanted people to know this is not a cheap wedding by any means and we wanted to show the classiness that we are going for.
Several etsy sellers will send you a sample, Invitations are really an area you should save in my opinion if you can. Some will use paper you pick out, too.
DSCF4128.jpg (118.5 KB, 39 downloads) 1 year old 
You said it yourself, you just got laid off and if I were you I would go with the cheaper invite because you might need the extra money for something else. And think about it, except for one you might keep as a keepsake, the rest are getting trashed.
jasmine_bridal_24121.jpg (36.2 KB, 82 downloads) 1 year old jasmine_bridal_2312.jpg (32.7 KB, 72 downloads) 1 year old
I really appreciate all the advice and votes! I have decided to go with the cheapest option, the 123 invites. For $4 extra (that's total, not each), I can have it printed on better paper so it is not as flimsy as the standard stock it comes on. It matches our wedding colors and the design we incorporated from our wedding website, and our website shows a picture of the venue, so hopefully people will realize it's not a completely casual event.
Even if I hadn't been laid off I probably would have ended up going this route - I am big on saving money or at the very least not wasting it.
I did consider etsy and even got some samples- but the work wasn't quite what I was looking for and the prices were still going to be higher than 123. I know there are etsy vendors who would have worked with me but I really didn't want to put someone through that just b/c I am picky.
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Hi Everyone -
I'm torn on my invitations. I know I technically have plenty of time, but my "dream invite" says to give 4 to 6 months to have them done. Assuming I go with their partial DIY option (I'd have to layer my own invites, and I am not good with adhesive) they will run about $325 including shipping. This is for a pocket invite, enclosure card, RSVP postcard, envelope. It can be seen here: http://www.tgkdesigns.com/product/view/floral-decor-claire-pocket
The cost is somewhat high to me, so I started searching for something else. I can do just an invite and envelope from 123print.com that is close to the design- but without the backing, etc. for about $90 (includes extra charges for printing on envelopes, etc that are "included" with the more expensive invite). It can be seen here: http://www.123print.com/Wedding-Invitations_Dark-Citron-Swirl_Design-BABBEGAF
I really really want the nicer invite - I work in advertising and am used to printing marketing materials on really nice paper, and I think that's carrying over to my being an invite snob. I've tried the alchemy feature on etsy and have a few people willing to consider making something similar, for around $150, but I'm scared that even if I see samples, that I'll pay for the custom version of what I like, but once I get them wish that I'd just spent the extra money on the expensive invites.
Technically I can afford the more expensive invite - but as some of you know, I was laid off last week, and feel that I should be saving money wherever possible. (We live off my FH's income, but I know times are tough and now that we are down to one income I worry).
Would love peoples opinions on what I should do. This has been eating at me for a while!