Bride-to-be- Blogger Jennifer: Do Invitations Have to Break the Bank?

I honestly thought that invitations would be the easy part of this wedding puzzle. And searching for invites online, which Anthony and I are now doing, proves that there are tons of choices available — if they sky is the limit, in terms of your budget.

There are some really gorgeous ones out there, but I can’t justify spending so much money on paper that, likely, only Anthony and I and our immediate families will save past April 9, 2011. If any of our guests are like us, the invitations and accompanying directions will be stashed under the car seat or in the side panel of the door until they find it months later during a car cleanout. And now that I can theoretically assign a dollar amount to a piece of paper like that, I am having a hard time not envisioning clumps of money under the car seat and in the door. It just seems like you should be able to find or create something simple and elegant without breaking the bank.

My sister and I are pretty crafty, so I thought we would save some cash and make the invitations ourselves, jazzing up a “boxed” invitation set from one of the craft stores in the area. Problem is, no one carries the wine color we’ve selected in any invitation. David’s Bridal — where we found the color for the bridesmaid dresses — does not even carry wine-accented invitations. I thought this would be simple; I thought the wine/burgundy family was a popular choice.

So, we are back at square one. But before I decide to throw in the towel and send an Evite (okay, just kidding): Where did you find your wedding invitations? What advice do you have for purchasing or making invitations on a budget? I’d love any tips or advice!

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