I’m not going to lie… I am going to try to get the cheapest wedding invites that I can find. I am a firm believer that that there are far more important things to spend money on and wedding invitations are not one of them. And if people have a problem with that… I kinda don’t care. lol. Atleast people will not feel guilty about throwing my invitation in the trash once the wedding is over with and they no longer need the reminder (as opposed to feeling guilty about throwing away a carved wooden box … but feeling weird about keeping it since it has someone elses name on it and they are not even your family members). And I know that those that care about me and luv me, will probably treasure and save my wedding invite regardless of how “cheap” it is and they are not going to care about that either. So its a win win situation in my opinion
Awe. I feel so not alone with my own thoughts and wishes! I told my mom I didn’t want a mehndi. My family is cool with this. And if my fiance’s family isn’t… well they can have their own separate mehndi for my fiance. I don’t care and neither does my fam I will probably have a glorified dholki that takes place in my own house, where only women and girls are invited and I get to wear my peela dress. that suits me just fine an makes me feel less guilty of wedding karchay. People will probably talk about us since I am going to be the first child my parents are wedding off…think we are conjuice/cheapos/lame/paindoo/etc. But eh. Whatever. If my parents are cool with it and its my own idea… then really no sweat off my back.
My friend made mehndi invites for me.....it was so cost effective and novel.
She used plain yellow, plain green and plain red fabric squares that were trimmed on the four edges with gota......just like handkerchiefs. With marker and glitter she handwrote the details and delivered them.
Our wedding invites were pretty simple.......just plain cards with a flower on them in a lined envelope. Nothing OTT.
Pakistani weddings have become huge productions where it appears that they are competing with recent dramas and bollywood.
Everyone wants to be a star!
i guess i'm in the minority here. i feel like invitations are much more important than most desi people consider. we budgeted for them when we were initially planning and we spent close to $800. they were beautifully letterpressed and they were very well received by our guests. my feeling is that they're your first ever calling card for your wedding and they set the tone for the event and give your guests a hint into what is to come- it was unthinkable for us to have a beautiful wedding but not to have nice invitations announcing it. its a full package- from invitations to the rukhsati to the valima, imho.
plus for me, its always a little disappointing, personally, to receive an invitation and its just something unimpressive and unoriginal and its like, oh, ok, you're getting married. i guess i shouldn't expect anything out of the ordinary at your event then- just another wedding. but when you receive something beautiful in the mail, its something to get excited about and look forward to. and i'm not speaking about a "near and dear" wedding here- of course for that you'd be excited even if you got an invite markered on a friggin' banana!
at the very least, they should be creative. and i'm in the business, so i know that they don't have to cost money- they can be well designed and creative and affordable too. you just need to put some effort into them to make them more than just ordinary.
like muzna's friend did for her mehendi- thats a heck of a lot of work and they were memorable because of the personal touches and the effort that went into them. and i'm sure cost-wise, they were very reasonable!
SGC, $800 is a big budget but not a huge budget. Even if you invited 100 families, that is only 640 rupees per family. I can understand that in USA. but 1500 rupees is more than double that amount
you know the only reason we got ours for $800 was because we got industry discounts. usually letterpress invitations for a wedding with 300-350 guests will be around $1500-$2000-- so it all depends on how much importance you attach to details like invitations and other wedding stationery in your overall budget.
Have you guys seen the silk box invitations with embelishments? They are too die for!
I can see both sides. It's nice to have a lavish or creative wedding invitation after all it is going to be the first time you and your spouse have your name together on paper!
But I can also see the simplicity as some people find more joy in keeping things simple.
One person's trash is another person's treasure. :)
^ yeah, they don't seem to expensive. but remember- shipping them might cost a lot more because of their special size/dimensions...unless you were planning on hand delivering them.
I'm creating my own invites. I'm designing it myself and will get them printed professionally. No letterpress, no embossing, mines will simply be printed flat.
However I'm unsure what sort of cardstock to use? They are weighted in different sizes, its so confusing! Which do I use? I want to use good quality card, not the flimsy thin papery kind, since I won't be backing it up against a thicker card! Most importantly, it should be printable.
Can anyone help, or even comprehend what I'm going on about? I confuse myself sometimes.
xx
Desi, you need to visit your local office supplies store to look at the different grade of papers and printable cards. You need to touch and feel what you want.
I suppose that makes sense. I was hell bent on buying them online. But I see where your coming from. However I found out that some types of card are not printable. I figured it had something to do the weight of the card? Like the heavier it is, the harder it is to print? Or am I just entirely wrong?
When you say they are not printable, are you talking about printing them off your home laser printer? In that case, answer is yes. If you are in north america, go to your local Kinkos. They can help you in what cards are printable and all.
To my knowledge a home office supply store like Home Depot or Kinkos will not have the paper weight appropriate for printing invites. You want a 100 lb or a 130 lb Double Thick Cover paper ideally. If you are going with a professional printer, then they will be able to show you paper samples and provide you with the right paper. Most paper companies don’t deal retail at all unless you look online. Strathmore is a good brand for invitation paper as is Classic Crest. Also yes you are right- the heavier the paper, the thicker it is, so it will not run through your home printer but since you are going to a professional printer, this should not be an issue. If you still want to buy them online, check out www.minted.com - they have lots of invitation options and they’re not super pricey, but again, it depends on your budget.
Also for flat printing- you have two options- you can print digitally which means it prints on a specific weight of paper, like a postcard, and can be glossy or matte in finish. You can use as many colours in a digital design as you like and your files can be created in Photoshop or Illustrator and sent to the printer as a high quality jpeg. Digital printing is basically accomplished with a glorified colour copier and its ridiculously cheap but it may not be suitable for a formal occasion like a wedding.
Offset printing is your other option- for this you would have to find a commercial printer. Offset costs more but you get a better result as you can also choose your paper. Offset is usually limited to 1, 2, 3 or 4-colour printing. The fewer colours you use, the less the cost. This is where you would be able to use 100 lb, 130 lb Double Thick, or even thicker paper if you so wished it. Keep in mind, the heavier the paper, the higher the cost. In offset printing, you can also use metallic ink which is a nice touch- its not super glossy but more subtle and you’d need to get your hands on a Pantone Metallic Swatch Book to see your colour options. Offset designs need to be created in Illustrator or InDesign and output as high quality print pdf’s using vector graphics.
Where are you located? If you’re in Toronto, I can likely show you all these things from what I have and recommend a printer to you.
^ yeah, they don't seem to expensive. but remember- shipping them might cost a lot more because of their special size/dimensions...unless you were planning on hand delivering them.
Thank you so much for your input! It's helped me understand this printing business a whole lot more.
From your description, digital printing fits the bill perfectly. I was going to design it on Photoshop and then send it off to the printers, however, what if I decided to print the invitations at home using the good old laser printer? What type of card could run through the printers? I'm not necessarily looking for the thickest card ever. Just something that is rigid and holds up itself. Maybe postcard-y types, that don't look tacky? And also how do you mean when you say this maybe not be suitable for formal weddings? Is there a major difference between the two presentation wise?
I'm going for silver ink on white paper/card, with pretty damask patterns. Can you even buy silver ink for home laser printers? Also when you mention metallic ink, is that the same as foil printing?
Now I'm confused as to whether I should print them at home or professionally.
I am from the UK :( Are you in the invitation business?
If my parents are cool with it and its my own idea… then really no sweat off my back.
