If you’re wondering what wedding invitations should cost – you’re in the right place! I’ve been a stationery designer for 10 years, so I’ll walk you through what you should expect to pay and most importantly, what you can get for your money!

This article covers:

• How much should wedding invitations be?
• What makes wedding invitations more expensive?
• Should I spend money on wedding invitations? 
• How can you save money on wedding invitations?
• How much should I budget for postage on my wedding invites?

Average Wedding Invitation Costs & Price Factors

While The Knot says “most couples should expect to spend around $530 on their invitations,” I think they’re full of crap. The truth is, wedding invitations can cost a lot of different amounts, depending on what you want to do, how big your wedding is, and how much you value invitations.

You can send out a PDF via email completely free. And then I like to say the sky is the upper limit for wedding invites. If you want gold-plated invitations delivered by shirtless men on horseback, then we can make that happen. 

Most people are going to spend around 10% of their wedding budget on stationery, from Save the Dates to invitations to day-of stationery. If this is something that’s important to you, then you might want to spend a little more. If it’s less important (or you have a DIY spirit) then you can spend a little less. 

For reference, fully custom invitations can start at about $5,000 and a lot of semi-custom invitations start around $500. There are also templates that are pre-designed that you can get for $5-50 usually, depending on complexity. You will have to print and mail those yourself though! They are perfect for a DIY couple! 

Overall, stationery can be something that you just get what’s absolutely necessary, or you can think a little further. As an example, a place card that doubles as a wedding favor can serve 2 purposes so it might be worth splurging on something that creates an experience for your guests. Or you may want to stick to strictly what’s required. 

What makes wedding invitations more expensive?

There are a few factors that will affect the cost of your invitations, so let’s discuss those! 

Online vs Mail-In

Online wedding invitations are your cheapest option. They can be as cheap as free (email a PDF to your friends) but you can use services like Paperless Post as well for a more advanced e-experience. They will charge a fee per guest based on how complex the “invitation” is! We obviously love a good physical invitation over here, but we find they also lead to higher response rates from your guests. For an even more lux e-vite experience, you can always hire a designer to create something custom with no printing! 

Mail-in invitations will cost at minimum the cost of printing a postcard + postcard postage. Most mail-in invitations consist of 1-3 cards, 1 envelope, and a stamp. You can also do mail-in RSVP cards or online. Mail-in RSVP cards will cost a little more as they require a card, an envelope, and a stamp. You might pay for address printing as well for these. You can save a little money by doing a postcard RSVP card and forgoing that envelope.

Postage may increase on your wedding invitations if they are:

• Heavier than 1oz
• An unusual shape or measurement (square invitations cost more to mail!)
• Extra thick or rigid
• “Bumpy” – usually with a wax seal or ribbon tie! These will require a “nonmachineable surcharge”
• Going internationally

Design Level: Custom vs. Semi-Custom vs. Template Invitations

Actually, probably the thing that will affect your invitation cost the most is the design level that you want. If you want something very customized, then you will have to pay for someone’s time and expertise in design. If you want something with some customization, but within a basic framework, semi-custom invitations may be a good fit. But if you’d prefer to design and input details yourself, you can find gorgeous invitation templates for much lower prices!

Assembly Level

Assembly level is also a big factor! If you want someone to assemble for you, you will invest in their time and expertise. If you are willing to invest your own time, you can save some money! I will warn you, after doing this for 10 years – some assembly is harder than it seems!!!

Things I would DIY for Your Wedding Invites

• Ribbon tying
• Envelope liners (here’s a video on how to do it!)
• Stuff, stamp + seal
• Hole punching
• Folding a vellum wrap (you can also buy pre-folded)

Things I would NOT DIY for Your Wedding Invites

• Tearing edges (it gets painful!)
• Printing is much harder than it looks if you’re not experienced with it
• Wax seals
• Calligraphy / Addressing Envelopes – your hand will thank me! 

If you want to print your own wedding invites, a few companies I’d check out are Cards and Pockets, LCI Paper, and Prints of Love! The first two also offer paper, envelopes, and other DIY supplies!

Quantity

This is why I find that number from The Knot to be crazy – it doesn’t account for needing 30 invitations or 300! Obviously, more invitations will cost more than fewer invitations. One thing that often surprises people is that the design time from a designer is the same no matter what quantity you have. I charge the same to design for 30 quantity as I do for 300 quantity. So if you want something custom, you will pay less in production costs if you have fewer, but the design fee will still be the same!

Some print methods work this way too – for instance, with gold foil or letterpress printing, you have to create a die and run the cards through the press. The setup for this is the same whether you need 30 or 300, so the cost is often similar. There are some things that are cheaper when you only need a few though – like wax seals, painting edges, ribbon ties, etc. 

Print Methods

Print methods will affect cost too – for lower cost, try digital or flat printing. Letterpress, foil, engraving, or embossing will cost more! I also recommend working with a designer if you’re using these more luxury print methods as they require additional file setup and knowledge. You don’t want to mess something up when you’re paying hundreds for your prints! 

Paper / Materials

All materials will cost different amounts too. For instance, a 4-card suite will cost more than a 2-card suite. Acrylic will cost more than paper. Thicker papers will cost more than thinner usually.

If you want to stick on the lower end of price – smooth paper, single-thick, and print on the front AND back of the cards.

If you want to splurge a little – cotton paper, double-thick, and having more cards per suite is always fun.

You have to find a middle ground that works for you. For instance, our house stock is an Eggshell paper which is a nice blend of texture and price that falls somewhere in the middle. It feels luxurious without breaking the bank.

Should I spend money on wedding invitations? 

Obviously a stationery designer is going to say that wedding invitations and stationery are valuable, but I hope these points help you decide what is right for you! We never judge what people want to do with their stationery – my job is always to help maximize the budget you have and make it look like you spent twice that (no matter if it’s $20 or $20,000!). 

The biggest thing I always tell people is that the invitations are the ONLY piece of information your guests will get before your wedding. You spend about a year making these decisions, planning every detail to perfection, and yet the guests have no idea what to expect! They don’t know if the wedding is formal or casual, in a barn or on the beach, colorful or minimalist – until they get the invitations. 

The invitations are what will tell them how to dress, how to pack, what to bring, whether they need to come in on Thursday or Friday, and so forth. Basically everything they know about the wedding is communicated through the invitations.

And, as a side point, I don’t know if you’ve seen your friends’ fridges lately – but invitations and Save the Dates often last up on the fridge way longer than anything else from the wedding lasts!

So yes, I DO think invitations are valuable, especially in an increasingly-digital age when getting mail can feel special and fun. But overall, it’s about what’s important to you. Some parts of the invitation suite are purely functional and necessary – you have to let people know when and where to show up. But from there, it’s up to you how much fun you want to have with it!

How can you save money on wedding invitations?

There are so many ways to save money on wedding invites! Here are some of my favorites:

• Splurge on the invitation itself, use cheaper paper or printing for the additional inserts
• Print on the back of cards (not necessarily the invites, but the inserts!)
• Don’t pay extra for unnecessary postage by doing square invites, over-sized, or having too many thick cards!
• Postcard Reply cards save money on postage, envelopes, and envelope printing (online RSVPs too!)
• A return address stamp can save money on the printing for that piece too
• Don’t sleep on flat printing – it’s almost all we use in our invitation suites and they are still colorful, fun, and very exciting!
• Try to double-dip! Menu cards that double as place cards, favors that double as a seating chart, etc.

You’re either investing your time or investing your money to pay for someone else’s time. So if you do have a DIY spirit, you can save a lot of money and create something fun and unique. But if time is scarce – then investing that into someone who can do it WELL is actually going to save you money in the long run.

How much should I budget for postage on my wedding invites?

Postage can be confusing! In general, most wedding invitations will require 1 Forever Stamp for the Reply Envelope (if doing mail-in RSVPs), and 1 Forever Stamp for a 1oz invitation envelope. At the time of writing this, that is $0.78 each, so you’ll spend $78 for 100 invitations and $78 for 100 reply cards. If you do online RSVPs, you can remove that second $78. If you do postcard RSVPs, that will be $61 (at the time of writing this post! Subject to change!). 

Pro Tip: stock up on postage you want before prices increase!

You can add more to your postage costs if your envelopes are:

• Extra bulky / rigid (this is the most costly option – it moves you up to Parcel Rates which start at a few $ PER INVITATION)
• Bumpy – if you have a wax seal or ribbon tie that makes a bump, it will require a nonmachineable surcharge (currently $0.46 each)
• Over-sized or square (will require nonmachineable as well)
• More than 1oz – I usually find that 1 card, 1 RSVP card + 1 RSVP envelope is usually fine in the 1oz range, but if your cards are all double-thick or you have additional inserts, you might need additional ounce postage (currently $0.29/ounce).
• International – these will need to be calculated by each country they are going to if they are over 1oz. If they are within 1oz, then they are currently $1.70 each!

In general, wedding invitations come in a variety of prices based on what you need and more importantly – what you want! If stationery is something that you value, it can truly add a beautiful, personalized touch to your overall day and guest experience. From Save the Dates to day-of stationery, there are so many fun options that we designers can play with. If you need help – make sure you reach out! We at Design by Laney offer custom invitations, semi-custom invitations, and invitation templates!