Starting an invitation business is not something that happens overnight, but it does have a fairly low cost of entry. You might need less than you actually think in order to start your invitation business! Today I’ll walk you through everything you *need* and a couple things you might want in order to start your wedding stationery business – as well as breaking down the cost of these items so you know what you need to budget!

Things You NEED to Start a Stationery Company

Computer

This one is pretty much non-negotiable, but luckily you probably have one already! I started my business a decade ago on a Microsoft Surface (not even really a computer!). If you want to upgrade for this purpose, then most designers use a Mac, and I would recommend the highest RAM you can afford because design files and programs can be really big! I personally still use a PC though! 

Cost: I’m going to put this one at $0, but you might want to upgrade down the road.

Separate Bank Account

You need a place for your money to go, but usually you can just set this up from your regular bank so you can manage the account alongside your personal ones. I’d recommend a checking and a savings account.

Cost: $0

Local/State Filings

These will vary a bit, but most designers start filing as a “Sole Proprietorship” which just requires registering with your state and/or county. Literally Google “Start a Sole Prop in *insert your county, state here*” and follow the instructions on the county and/or state website.

Cost: ~$100 usually, or less

Etiquette Knowledge

Emily Post is the queen of etiquette! Her website has all the info you’ll need to make sure your wedding invitations are worded (and spelled) correctly.

Pro Tip: there are 2 c’s and 2 m’s in “accommodations”.

Cost: $0

Design Software – The Adobe Creative Cloud

Yes, you can design in a free program, but I highly, highly recommend learning the Adobe Creative Cloud (specifically, Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop) when first starting an invitation business. It’ll put you lightyears ahead of where you’d be if you started in Canva or something. It’s an investment, but in the scheme of starting a business, it’s really not that costly! 

Cost: Currently around $85/month (if you’re an educator or student, there are reduced rates. You usually will get a reduced rate for your first year if you use my link. You can also pretend to “cancel” every year when your promotion is up and they’ll offer you a discount for a bit). 

Learning to use Adobe Creative Cloud can be free, but if you want to streamline that process, take our Creative Cloud Bundle for only $67 as it will save you a TON of time.

Sample Portfolio

You *will* need to invest in a sample portfolio, so you can show potential clients what you can do. This is also such a helpful learning exercise! You’ll learn a lot about design and printing by practicing. Some of my favorite stationery print shops only have a 10 quantity minimum, so the investment isn’t huge. Also, most print shops will send sample kits for free or low cost, so you can get a feel for different papers, colors, and print methods!

Print samples for letterpress printing, embossing, foil stamping, etc. do cost more if you want them done in your designs. When I started out, I just showed generic samples of these print methods and then ordered extra during my first couple orders to keep as samples in future! 

Cost: $250-300 for a good set of sample kits, color swatches, and a variety of prints in your own designs!

Website

I started with Squarespace, moved to Showit, and also have a Shopify shop and have played with their website builder. All of those are great – I’d honestly recommend starting with Squarespace to most people. If you plan to sell invitations directly (best for templates or semi-custom, not custom) then Shopify might be a good fit! Squarespace is a good plug-and-play option!

Remember, when you start, your website doesn’t need a whole lot. Your home page, portfolio pics, about page, services, and contact page are pretty much all you need to get started. 

Cost: Squarespace Basic is currently $16/month

You’ll also need your custom domain: Usually around $20/year unless you want something competitive

Total Cost of Starting an Invitation Business:

The total cost to start a stationery business is approximately:

One-time fees: 

• $100 licensing
• $250-300 samples
• = $400 total one-time costs
• (Optional: Creative Cloud Class $67!)

Recurring costs:

• $18/mo for website + domain
• $85/mo for Adobe Creative Cloud
• = $103/mo recurring costs 

Things You Might Want when Starting an Invitation Business:

Now, of course, those are just the basics. There are a few other things I’d start to invest in or research as well! Here are the things that will kickstart your stationery business once you have some money coming in.

Good Print Shops / A Printer

I think many of you will be surprised that I didn’t recommend buying a printer to start your business! It’s not nearly as important as you might think. Printing in-house is, in my opinion, really over-rated. There are some good reasons to do it, but it’s often more costly and time-consuming (and frustrating!) than you expect. 

The printers I have in-house are:

• Canon Pixma Pro ~$650
• HP M452DW ~$400

However, I outsource where I can, and highly recommend you try it out as well! Not only is it simpler, but it’s often more cost-effective and there will eventually be some type of printing or finishing that you can’t do in-house. It’s a good idea to form those relationships up front. 

Three of my favorite beginner print shops are: PrintsWell (my #1!), Cards + Pockets, and LCI Paper. 

Client Management System (CMS or CRM) for Invitation Designers

One of the first things I recommend investing in when you start having clients is a good client management system. Top ones for invitation designers are Dubsado, Honeybook, and Vowproof. I teach on all of these systems for stationery designers and have a handy comparison chart to show you the differences. 

What does a Client Management System do?

A client management system keeps track of ALL your client communications and information. It is where I send proposals and invoices, collect payments, get contracts signed, send proofs and get signoff for print, and so much more! It will not only save you a ton of time but also prevent you from making tons of costly mistakes as well when first starting a stationery business. 

My links will also get you around 30% off your first year with these systems.

Cost: ~$50/mo

Invitation Design Class

If you have some graphic design background, then you have a leg up for sure when starting an invitation business! If not, don’t worry – there are tons of self-taught designers (including me!). I do offer some classes that will save you SO MUCH time and energy as well, though, if you want to really feel like a pro a lot faster vs. building up through trial and error. 

One example is our Adobe Creative Cloud Bundle ($67) which teaches you the specific programs – Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop – that you need for invitation design. 

Our larger foundational class for EVERYTHING you need to know about starting a wedding invitation design business is called From Start to Suite ($597) and it’s 10+ hours with 8 modules from starting the business to designing to printing, assembly, and mailing as well as pricing and marketing your work. It includes the Adobe CC Bundle for free too! 

While these classes aren’t necessary, they will very likely help you get started faster and prevent some common mistakes. Printing especially is a topic that I found really tough at the beginning of my design career – I had to take lessons from my local print shop and made lots of pricey mistakes! In the scheme of the certifications and classes required to start other types of businesses, these expenses are truly fairly reasonable and often worth it in the end. 

Small Business Accountant / Quickbooks or other Accounting Software

One final thing you might want to invest in early is an accounting software or a small business accountant. I recommend finding someone local as they will be most familiar with your area’s rules. You may need both – I have an accountant but still use Quickbooks as well! They are the ones logging into it instead of me, but without Quickbooks I’d have to manually provide all my expense and income data to them which would be a nightmare.

Cost: Quickbooks Online starts at $19/mo (you can usually get 50% off your first year with my link)

Accountants: For Bookkeeping I pay $525/quarter and for tax filing I pay about $1,000/year, but this will vary significantly! Having just finished tax season, you probably have a good idea about how important these can be for making things go smoothly in March/April!!

Overall, you truly don’t need much to start a wedding invitation business! My friend invented a product and spent about $40k developing samples, only for it to not quite work out. So I’m grateful that invitation design is a business that doesn’t cost much to start, and that you can grow as you need different things. Definitely start out with Adobe Creative Cloud and some samples of your work, build a simple website, and go from there!

Once you have clients coming in, you can invest in things that will make you grow faster such as a CRM, classes or mentors, and accounting software! I am so excited for you to start your invitation business.