If you’re looking for ways to save money and stay on budget while planning your wedding, you can start with your wedding stationery. The cost of stationery can slowly creep up, but if you play your cards right, you can still have beautiful wedding stationery without going over budget. Here are a few ways to save money on your wedding stationery.
Don’t Procrastinate
If you put off choosing your stationery for too long, you’ll end up spending more for quick turnaround printing and rush shipping. Choose your stationery ASAP to avoid these costs. Starting early will also give you the time to do a bit more research and find the most cost-effective wedding stationers.
Minimize the Number of Orders
If possible, try to bundle together some (or all!) of your stationery orders – such as buying your thank you cards along with your invitations. You may get a discount for a bulk order, and will likely save on shipping.
Keep it Simple
Custom colors, lined envelopes, engraving, or letterpress printing may be tempting, but these features will add up. Rather than going for all of the upgrades possible, keep your design simple. It is still possible to create gorgeous and elegant wedding stationery without the upgrades. You should follow this rule for the envelopes as well. No matter how gorgeous they are, envelopes will inevitably just be tossed out by guests, so fight the urge to spend money on envelope upgrades.
Don’t Get Weighed Down
Heavy envelopes need more postage, which, of course, means more money. Stick with lighter stationery that won’t add too much weight to the envelope.
Go Digital
You can cut down on your printing needs by using a wedding website platform. Many couples choose to do a digital save-the-date that leads to their wedding website. You could even forgo the RSVP card and envelope in your wedding invitation, and have guests RSVP online instead. These adjustments will make major changes in your final wedding stationery costs.
Print Per Household, Not Per Person
You’ll end up needing way more invitations and envelopes if you give an invitation to every guest. Figure out which couples or families live together in order to cut down on stationery costs.
Opt for Signs When Possible
Printed menus, place cards, and ceremony programs will add dramatically to your budget. Instead, use decorative signs to communicate necessary information at the reception and ceremony, like a chalkboard or vintage mirror that you can write on.
Have Multiple People Proofread
You definitely won’t want to deal with the cost of reprinting your invitations or save-the-dates because of a misspelled word or incorrect date. Be sure to read through every detail multiple times, and have a friend or two look over everything as well.
Print Extras
If you end up needing more invites or save-the-dates than you initially thought, you’ll likely need to spend more than anticipated for small batch printing and rush shipping. Order extras just in case some get lost in the mail, or if you decide to add a few more people to the guest list. It’s a bit more money now, but it may save you a lot down the line.
If you are in the process of planning your wedding, come to the next Georgia Bridal Show near you. You will have the chance to meet with professional wedding vendors of all talents who can help bring your vision to life!
Georgia wedding vendors, as well as other wedding professionals across the Southeast, can contact us about opportunities for exhibition and online marketing with Georgia Bridal Show.