Reception only DIY invites

that is a cute and unique idea. we have some talented women on this site

That is a cute and unique idea Akitten! Go girl!

Wow, very creative. I really like those.

Cute Kitten!!!!!!!!!! and very different and unique!

great job ... theyr nice and unique !

I like the uniqueness of the invites. Way to go Akitten!!!

Great Idea!!:) and Great Job:)

Nice DIY invites are always smart. I didn't want to spend a lot on ordering invites, but unfortunately I couldn't find any inexpensive, nice paper so that I could do them myself. The cost for the only DIY invite paper that I liked was over $300 by itself. That, on top of ink for the printer, and the time it takes for me to do the work, I decided to go ahead and order them.

Very nice Akitten!

Wow, keithsbride, you should've said something earlier. I ordered my paper stocks and everything from Anchor paper and I saved a lot. Being a Wedding Coordinator/Planner, I have lot of invitation wedding books for my clients to choose from. However, even with my discount, my invitations were going to cost me $627.59. So, guess what DIY sister and I will be saving $439.60!!!

i know thats right keiths bride i said the same thing i saw some nice ones on ebay by wilton but by the time u get ink and do all the printing that is required i would have been drained i have four children by the time i get off work cook go over homework get the kids ready for the next day it isvery tiresome so i ordered mine from the american wedding for 252.40 complete they arrived last week tues all i had to do is fold them and add stampsand put them in envelopes

Oh and the paper & cardstocks I've ordered will give me 150 pocketfolds for the invitations, 150 invitations, 150 Accommodations & Directions cards, 150 Reception inserts, 150 RSVP. Wait!!! That's not all. Since I asked them to send me all the scraps from the paper that they cut for me. I will have enough to make invitations and RSVP cards for my rehearsal dinner, Invitations and RSVP for my Post-Wedding Brunch, 125 Layered Wedding Programs, 125 Menu Cards, 125 Place cards, 150 Monograms to seal my pocketfolds and lots of other things that I'm coming up with.

Keithsbride, I hope that you at least didn't spend too much ordering your invitations. Now that you're a member of our sisterhood, "ask", if we can save you a buck, trust me, we will.

Wow thanks Ginoue, that is fabulous!!! I've never heard of anything like that...lol! I'm ordering 200 chocolate and pink invites from "Exclusively Weddings" for about $700. Yep, for some paper that most people will probably throw away anyway! So, if anybody knows how I can possibly save anything on invites, place cards, table numbers, programs, etc. PLEASE, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!

Oh, Ginoue, you mentioned sending out rehearsal dinner invites. I've been wondering if I'm supposed to do that and also who all gets one? What's the deal with that??? Help please.

Hello there Keithsbride, my FH is from the Miami area and I grew up in West Palm Beach myself (well, all over Florida really, my step dad was in the army so we went all over the place).

First Question. Have you ordered your invitations already? If so, there's not much I could do there because the deed is already done. However, Place cards, table numbers and programs, you can make yourself. Check this out, for about $20, you can make 200 DIY Layered Wedding Programs. We've all done them and some of us are still in the process of doing them for our upcoming wedding. The scraps that you'll have left over from the cardstock that you'd use for the backing of your programs, you could make Place Cards and Table Numbers out of. See all that you've created for that same $20?

As far as the Rehearsal Dinner is concerned, unless hosted by the parents or your MOH, is customarily given by the bride and groom. You could join us and DIY your invitations and RSVP cards. Your rehearsal and rehearsal dinner invitations should me mailed out a month prior to your wedding, with information about location, time, attire included. Now all the members of your wedding party should each get their individual invitations to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Also, both sets of Parents should get one, grandparents (if still living) should also get one. You may choose to invite your pastor to the rehearsal dinner. It's not required, but it's a very nice gesture. The parents of your flower girls and ring bearers should also be invited as a thank you for allowing their children to participate in your wedding. That's about it really. You don't want the guest list to be too big. It's not a reception you know.

Also, during your rehearsal dinner is the time that you and your FH would present your bridal party with the gifts that you bought for them as a thank you.

Should you have any other questions regarding anything, please don't hesitate to ask. By the way, when and where is the wedding?

THANKs!!! The wedding is July 12 of this year in Miami. And no, I haven't ordered the invites. I have until the end of this week to do so. They take 7 days to come in the mail, and then I think we're mailing them out memorial day weekend. I think I'm procrastinating because I really don't wanna come up off that much money for some doggone paper...lol.

Are the DIY programs really that easy to make? I saw the directions in another forum, but I'm really not "crafty" AT ALL!!!

But I'll check out ANCHOR paper IMMEDIATELY to see what they can offer me!!!

[quote="Ginoue"] Check this out, for about $20, you can make 200 DIY Layered Wedding Programs. We've all done them and some of us are still in the process of doing them for our upcoming wedding. The scraps that you'll have left over from the cardstock that you'd use for the backing of your programs, you could make Place Cards and Table Numbers out of. See all that you've created for that same $20?

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Gin have you actually made these yet? If you have, PLEASE tell me how you did it for only $20. IF you print yourself on a home printer you will definetly need at least one refill on your print cartridge which will cost more than $20 also. When I made them, I spent more than $20 on the ribbon alone. Doing this project yourself is cheaper than having professionally done but by no means is this considered a cheap project to do.

Mine didn't cost $20 either, I lost count on the ribbon since I had 3 different colors ...but I do know my ribbon alone was more than $20, my backing was about $50 or more (can't really remember the exact amount, and I was making 100 programs) ..a pack of vellum, a pack of color paper, the cutter, the hole puncher, and ink ...my goodness. You should also have access to a stapler ....

So like Pam said they are not cheap to do ...but it is worth doing them yourself.

Who ladies, I'll explain. I actually made this Program for a client. Normally, this project alone would cost $ 77.81

Now, the way I arrived at $20 was how much I spent on the Ribbons and Bone Corer to make the Program. See, since I was making her invitations, Place Cards, Table Numbers, etc... I'd originally ordered a lot of Paper and Cardstocks. After I made the Pocketfold for her invitations, the invitations and all the inclosures, I had a lot of cardstocks left over to make a lot of things and all that I had to buy was the ribbons and the corer.

That's how I arrived at the Price because I actually spent $19.51 total

You guys, this is what I do. I'm really good at what I do. I'm an extremely experienced Coordinator with a lot of contacts.

Now, I will break down the $77.81 for you all.

DIY Layered Wedding Program Supplies:

Overlay: 100 sheets 8.5 x 11 $16.99 at paperandmore.com

For Pages 1,2,3 and 4, I would normally order from anchorpaper.com, and would order "Classic Linen" 8.5 x 11 #24 $22.30 for 500 sheets (well, you really need about 400 sheets, which will give you the 800 that you'd need)

For the Backing: Still with anchorpaper.com, I would order "Stardreams Metallic Paper" 12 x 12 #105 Cover $38.52 for 100 sheets.

I ususally don't factor in the ribbons as I have started to buy them in greater quantity as they're cheaper with my supplier that way. You know, you do one of these and everyone wants them. They're a huge hit with my clients. There's the breakdown.

Oh and I have a great contact on ink for my printers. I have a Color Laser Printer and like I say, I buy in bulk. But I figure that for someone using an inkjet or deskjet, it may be costly as well, but there's this ink company name Printpal. As long as you don't have a Lexmark printer, you can buy really cheap ink for your printer there. Prior to purchasing my color laser printer, I had and still have an epson printer. The ink for it use to cost me $5.99 for the black cartridge and $9.99 for the color cartridge. The trick is to buy generic. They're just as good.

Now for my laser the cartridge is $64.95, since I have a Dell and I get a lot of mileage out of that one cause I'm always printing and use a lot of color. Investing in the Laser Printer for my business was an investment that I never regreted.

Oh and ladies, for ribbons, check out papermart.com, they have all types of ribbons inexpensively too and in a variety of colors. I recently had this client that wanted a weird color Mauve and my supplier would've taken too long for the ribbons. I went cruising the internet and stumbled on papermart.com and ordered the Double-faced ribbons there. From 1/4" to 7/8" you could pay $2.98 to $7.98 per roll for 100 yards single faced. Now, double-faced ribbons ar more expensive everywhere you go, so keep that in mind. But a 50 yards 1 1/2" double-faced is $10.95. The double-faced may be worth it for some as it's shiny on both sides. Truly magnificent.

To those of you who are doing this as a side business, never give a client a price until you've examined how much it would cost you to make these. Now, I've been in business for a longer period and have most of those things on hand and I still charge a nice fee for that service. So, don't short change yourselves. And if you're making these for yourselves, well, now, you'll know how much this could run you. I always believe in buying more than you need because you never know and it would certainly never go to waste. Trust me.

WOW!!! Ginoue, you are full of knowledge. LOL.
It's very helpful. I may need to bother you with how-to questions when I get started this weekend. Hope you dont mind.

Once you factor in all related expenses, The DIY layered programs will cost you anywhere from $1 to $1.75 each to make depending on quality of materials you choose.

[quote="Ginoue"]If so, there's not much I could do there because the deed is already done. However, Place cards, table numbers and programs, you can make yourself. Check this out, for about $20, you can make 200 DIY Layered Wedding Programs. We've all done them and some of us are still in the process of doing them for our upcoming wedding. The scraps that you'll have left over from the cardstock that you'd use for the backing of your programs, you could make Place Cards and Table Numbers out of. See all that you've created for that same $20?
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We just don't won't anyone thinking that Layered Programs are a $20 project to begin with ...Now if you have "scraps" from other projects the programs can really be no cost at all. And alot if not all (I didn't order anything) can be brought at a local store to cut shipping cost.

CMT, fire away. I'll be more than happy to help in any way that I can.

[quote="AKitten"]After brainstorming for a couple of days I crafted my one of a kind invite. I have tons of ribbon I plan on using on my bouquet so I decided to use that. If the pics aren't crystal clear I apologize, had to use camera phone because I can't find my stinking cable to sync my camera to my laptop! LOL But on the left side is a wedding dress and the right is a suit. On the inside is the invite and in the "man's breast pocket" is the reply card. I'm in the process of creating the envelope for the reply card to attach to the back on the card, so I'll post another photo of that when done. I took my time and did this over a couple of days and didn't really measure (never do-some what of a natural ability to measure I guess...lol) But if anyone is interested in recreating this for their wedding I'll be happy to take measurements and post directions. I thought it would be nice for those people I didn't invite to the ceremony (since it's family only) that they would appreciate a handcrafted invite just for them and it shows I thought about them.

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That is Super Cute...
You were very creative
How many of those did you have to make?

Kitten, those are really cute. Great idea