In today’s post, I want to demystify how much wedding invitations cost. There are so many variables, especially when it comes to custom design, so I’m going to break down what goes into the pricing and how much is recommended to spend.

But before we get to all of that, I want to remind you that all of this is personal. Do not let social media or anyone other than you and your partner influence your decisions.

To help you figure out your wedding invitation budget, it is usually suggested to allocate 6-8% of your entire wedding budget towards your wedding stationery. This will obviously vary from couple to couple. Stationery may not be a top priority for you, or you’d rather prioritize your invitations over having a separate reception dress. It’s all about you as a couple and what you feel comfortable spending.

For some examples of numbers, the average wedding in Boston costs $44,700. This will depend a lot from county to state to country so check your area.

Now, let’s say you allocate 6% of that budget for your wedding stationery, which is on the lower end, you would spend around $2,682. If you’re planning on having 200 people, you’re looking at about 125 save the dates and invitations (remember, you’ll be sending these to each household, not each person). Let’s say on average you spend $3.00 each on Save the Dates and $6.00 each on invitations, you just spent about $1,125 leaving you approximately $1,557 for your day-of pieces.

Below is a breakdown of what an 8% stationery budget looks like with a few different budgets:

25k = $2,000

50k = $4,000

75k = $6,000

100k = $8,000

One thing to keep in mind, aside from your wedding photos, invitations are the only thing you can keep FOREVER. Food gets eaten, flowers die, and apparently it’s frowned upon by society if you wear your wedding gown while grocery shopping. WHATEVER Judgy McJudgersons! All this to say that, it’s super personal what you want to spend your money on.

BREAKDOWN

Alrighty, enough blabbing, let’s break down the factors making up the cost of a wedding invitation.

1-INVITATION DESIGN TYPES

The biggest factor in determining cost will be the design type. The cost of wedding invitations, especially custom, can vary a lot. There are a ton of different ways to get your invites.

DIY $, $$ - You can DIY if you’re up for it, and there are many resources online for that (check out Design by Laney on YouTube. She has AMAZING content!) Even within the DIYing realm, there are levels to how much you may want to DIY. You could do it all yourself, have a friend or bridesmaid help, or choose to only DIY part of the invite.
Semi-custom $, $$ - There are semi-custom invitations where you can change color, font type, etc. But even within this design type, there are limitations. The level of customization will depend from template to template, and website to website. On some, you may be able to change the font type, others you may be able to change the color of the design elements. It all depends on the creator of the template.
Custom $$$, $$$$ - Then we have the big daddy of them all: custom. This is where you can customize EVERYTHING. You can create a family crest with your favorite flowers and your pets, you can have a calligrapher (aka ME!) write and digitize your invitation, anything you can think of can be accomplished with custom wedding invitations.

The more custom something is, the more you’ll pay for it.

Custom wedding crest printed on vellum belly band — This is a watercolor crest created with the couple’s interests in mind. The border has florals that match their wedding invitation.

2 EXTRA CARDS

Other than your invitation and RSVP card, you may also choose to include extra cards. This can be a reception card, a details card, or even a card with a map on it. Aside from the cost of the actual paper and ink, there could also be an additional cost for the design.

wedding invitation map — A custom map featuring the wedding venue as well as surrounding places of interest

3 ASSEMBLY AND MAILING

If you are not into assembling your invitations, you could pay your stationer to assemble them for you. This includes putting together the belly bands or vellum wraps, gluing the envelope liner, tying bows, and creating wax seals. You can also have them mail your invitations out for you. This would most likely also include a fee for gathering postage and placing them on the envelopes.

4 PAPER TYPE

Different paper types and thickness will cost different amounts. The most common are:

Smooth Paper $ -Smooth cardstock is the most common and usually the least expensive.
Eggshell Paper $$ - This refers to the texture and not the color.
Cotton Paper $$$ - Cotton paper is gorgeous. It’s fluffy yet smooth. It’s SO nice. It is more eco-friendly than some of the other options. Cotton paper can be a nice alternative to handmade paper if you want that deckled edge look but don’t want to pay for handmade paper.
Handmade Paper $$$, $$$$ - A lot of work and love go into handmade paper which explains the price tag. The people who make handmade paper are true artisans and each one is a work of art.

5 PRINTING TYPE

There are 3 main printing types:

Digital $ - This is similar to what you would see on your home printer, but the printers used for invitations are much higher quality.
Foil printing $$, $$$ - You have 2 options with foil. You can have it printed on which will be a bit cheaper or it can be pressed on which requires a plate.
Letterpress $$$ - This is the priciest and nicest option (isn’t that true of all things? SIGH). If you haven’t seen a letterpress printer in action, you should look them up. They are antique machines that are maintained by their caretakers (this is how I choose to look at them lol). They also require a metal plate/die to be created to then press the information onto the paper.