Are DIY Wedding Invitations Worth It?

Note: This post was originally published in 2014. I no longer sell editable templates or offer customizations, and have closed my membership.

I have been receiving a lot of emails asking if I thought making our own wedding invitations were worth it, or if it would cost the same to custom order the invitations instead. I hope this post helps you determine what is best for you.

Are DIY Wedding Invitations Worth It?

I did a lot of research on invitations to check pricing before deciding to make our own. I knew I wanted something really special and it just wasn’t in our budget to buy exactly what I wanted, which is why I decided to go the DIY route. Not to mention I love playing around with Illustrator and Photoshop when I have the time and enjoy a good challenge. I actually made my sister-in-law’s invitations a couple of years ago and had a lot of fun with it. However, if you are short on time or prefer something more simple without the lace/twine/ribbons/buttons, then it may make sense for you to buy custom invitations, or even buy a digital file to print out on your own. Yes, it will most likely be less expensive to make them yourself, but you have to decide if your time is worth it.

To cut down on time you can even download my FREE Printable Wedding Invitation Template from this post.

Here is a breakdown of what I purchased for our DIY Wedding Invitations:

• 50 Peach Envelopes: $13.99
• 50 Pocketfold Envelopes: $41.99
• 100 sheets of Kraft Cardstock Paper : $16.99
• 250 sheets of 110lb White Cardstock Paper: $15.29 – purchased from Staples (You can purchase 100 sheets for $10 here)
• 40 yards of lace : $26 – purchased from this Etsy shop
• 190 yards of jute twine: $3 – We bought ours from Home Depot
• 3 spools of narrow ribbon – $6 – purchased at JoAnn’s and used coupons
• Craft Corner Punch – $6 – bought with a coupon at Joann’s
• Buttons : $25  – purchased ours from a Pick Your Plum deal

Total: $154.26

I already had the paper trimmer, glue, scissors, printer and ink on hand. I also already had the kraft paper but I included it in the amount above anyway since that may be something you are less likely to already have. We made sure to have enough material for 50 invitations but ended up having a lot of extras. So even if you need to send out 100, 200 or more wedding invites your cost could still be worth it!

In fact, we used cardstock paper for our mason jar drink tags and straw flags. The extra lace and ribbon was used on our DIY wedding wands, jute twine was used for banners and tags and also with leftover buttons for the boutonnieres and my fabric wedding bouquet. The craft punch was used for our DIY S’more Kits, and we still have tons of cardstock paper (and other items) left over! So we definitely got our money’s worth.

Here are a few photos showing some of the products being used on other projects:

I printed out the guest addresses and our return address on each envelope because my handwriting sucks and I wanted them to look pretty, lol. Most companies charge to do this. I did also buy clear round Avery labels to print our monogram on and place on the back of the envelopes. They were $15 for 120 labels and you may or may not want to do this regardless of whether you DIY your invitations or purchase them. There are also other options such as round kraft stickers or personalized labels you can buy at craft stores or at online shops like Etsy, which would probably be less expensive. You could also use washi tape. I just had to go with what was in stock and nearby because I sorta procrastinated and was trying to send out the invites at the last minute, woops.

Here are a couple examples of what it would cost to order invitations from a couple of my favorite invitation shops. I’m going to base these off 50 invitations so you can compare it to what we made:

Minted:
50 Invitations & white envelopes @ $147
50 Enclosure cards @ $102
Total: $249 and this does not include the pocket fold envelope, any embellishments or printing addresses on the envelopes

Love vs. Design:
50 Invitations & white envelopes @ $130
50 Enclosure cards @ $115
Print return address on 50 envelopes: $27
Total: $272 not including printing guest addresses on envelopes, pocket fold envelope, or any embellishments

Magnet Street:
50 Foldover Pocket Invitations @ $300 (it is waaay less expensive the more you buy – $355 for 100 invitations)
50 Enclosure Cards @ $62.50
Print Return Address on 50 Envelopes: $22.50
Total: $385 not including printing guest addresses on envelopes, or any embellishments

Wedding Paper Divas:
50 Invitations @ $139.50
50 Enclosure Cards @ $79.50
Total: $219 not including the pocket fold envelope, any embellishments or printing addresses on the envelopes

You may know of another website that is cheaper but I was finding that just the invitation alone was close to what it would cost me to make our invitations with all the extras. I know that not everyone has the time or patience to DIY their wedding invitations, but if you do then it may be totally worth it. We mostly worked on these at night or during the weekend, and yes even my (now) hubs helped out.

So are DIY Wedding Invitations worth it?

That will depend on your budget, how much time you have, and if you enjoy working on the projects that personalize your wedding. For us it was definitely worth it, I love the way they turned out AND the fact that I get to share them with you!

Please note that the amount of postage will depend on how thick your envelopes are after adding the embellishments, this is regardless of whether you make them yourself or buy them with embellishments.  I believe the invitations cost us about $0.80 each to mail. However, it’s always a good idea to check with your individual post office for rates depending on how thick or uneven the envelopes are.

I hope this helps you decide what is best for you. So, are DIY wedding invitations worth it for you?