Ladies, think back to when you were a little girl. Did you dream about how you wanted your wedding to be when you “grew up?” Chances are that dream has changed a bit, especially in a time when many people are feeling the economic crunch. Maybe you feel like you have to throw away those dreams of a beautiful, elegant wedding because it is too costly. This is just not true.

Here are some ways to reduce the cost of your wedding invitations:

• Send out RSVP postcards instead of an RSVP card with envelope. You’ll save on the cost of the envelope and it will mail for postcard rate.

• Why pay to line your envelopes, or assemble belly bands? Assembling them yourself is easy and cost effective.

• Instead of having addresses printed on the invitation envelopes, consider hand addressing them yourself, or enlisting the help of others to address them. Which leads to my next tip:

• Have an “addressing party.” Get some girlfriends with good handwriting together and have an afternoon where you address and stamp envelopes. Give each person a list of names and a nice pen, or two. Have snacks and drinks available (just be sure not to spill!), and have a good time. This is a perfect opportunity to spend some quality time with your girlfriends.

• Print only your invitation in two colors and the rest of your set in one color. Printing just one piece in two colors makes it the feature of the set.

I hope that these are ideas that will save you some money, while still allowing you to have the wedding you always dreamed of. You don’t need to spend your (or your parent’s) life savings on your wedding to create a memorable event for your guests.

Written by Nick

Invitations by Ajalon
View our letterpress wedding invitation gallery.

Nothing is more frustrating than seeing your beautifully designed and addressed wedding invitation returned to sender because of an incorrect address or insufficient postage.

Likewise, when assembling the many pieces of your invitation set, mixing maps with RSVP cards or confusing the order in which the many parts should be combined can be a headache.  We at Invitations by Ajalon understand that planning a wedding can be stressful, so I have decided to give a couple quick tips on how to efficiently assemble and address your wedding invitations:

One of the most important parts of the overall invitation is the actual addressing process itself. No matter how beautiful the inside looks, if the outside address is incorrect, that invitation will never be opened and appreciated.

Unless you are 100% certain that none of your guests have moved, it is worthwhile to verify their current addresses through a simple phone call, talking to a family member or mutual friend or using the internet just to double check the accuracy of your address list.

Step 1 – Address the Envelopes

Once the addresses are ready to be transcribed to your envelopes, practice a couple times on a separate piece of paper writing in the style you intend to use. Once you are satisfied with your handwriting, slowly begin, taking care not to make mistakes that are unfixable.

Be sure to give yourself plenty of time so that you can prevent any silly errors and needlessly rushed work.

Step 2 – Assemble Your Invitations

When assembling your letterpress wedding invitations, it is best to start on a cleared and cleaned table (you do not want any cookie crumbs or pizza sauce being sent to aunt Kathy and uncle Mike). Set aside at a good chunk of time when you will not be distracted or feel rushed.

I find that to ward off any anxiety about beginning big projects, it is best to start small. Work in an assembly line fashion, with stacks of exactly 25 of each item. Place all the stacks in the correct order and start inserting.

Don’t seal them until you’ve assembled the 25 sets, so if you have anything left over, you can go back and find which envelope is missing an insert. Once all the envelopes are assembled, then seal and stamp. Be sure to take a sample to the post office before you purchase your stamps to verify the proper postage amount. Square envelopes and envelopes with irregular thickness (for example if you use a ribbon or bow on your invitation) are subject to additional postage costs.

With a little care and consideration, you can easily assemble, address and send your invitations so that they are received with the same love and excitement that you intended.