Stationery budgets?????

Hiya

Your budget will really depend on what you want. I can make invitations from 80p up to £5.00 each so its really up to you what you want.

I would allow at least £2.50 (average price) for your invitations, Order of Service and Menus, £50 for a table plan and £5 each for your table names.And Place names £1.

I offer a full, no obligation design service where I work closely with the bride and groom to design their stationery sets to their budget, theme and colour scheme so that they get exactly what they want!

I can certainly help you if you would like me to. Even if we sort out a design now and then order it later on. Atleast you can have a better idea of how much you need to save then.

If I can help in anyway, please dont hesitate to get in touch.

Nat

Maybe you could try making your own? I found a desgn online that i liked and ordered:

200 gatefold ivory cards with envelopes,

A roll of satin red ribbon

Pack of 300 sticky-back diamantes

2 packs of "wedding invitation" and "evening invitation" stickers in silver.. All at a cost of £22

All i did was tie the ribbon round the card and closed it with a bow put the stickers on the top of the card and a diamante either side..

then printed off the wording of the invitation in script font and stuck it inside..

Everone said how nice they were and i actually found a similr design to buy online for £90 for 50 day and 150 night.. and they dont look any different! x

Hi,

remember that for 100 guests you'd only need one invitation per household...and for the Order Service one per couple

so for 100 guest approx 50 invitations and the same for the order of service

if it helps, I offer invitations from £1.00 and order of the day from £1.50

jayne

Thank you very much for your replies.

I has forgotten menus!

It seems there is a big price gap between DIY and ordering from somewhere - I shall have to think about whether I have the time and inclincation to make it all myself!

Hi - there definitely can be a big difference between DIY and stationery done by a company for you. I think the differences are found in the stock quality - a stationer will have access to top notch quality materials, but normally at trade prices so can pass the 'saving' on to the customer through not over pricing the goods. My most popular design (a pocketfold) starts at £3.75, and can increase in price depending on the embellishments a client requires...

you are paying mostly for a stationers time. my most popular invitation from start to finish can take up to 15mins per invitation to make - and then add on the printing time, and setting the printed item into the invitations. there is also the time spent on sourcing the materials in the first place (colour/texture/size etc) especially if its a one off design or a difficult colour theme!

If you are a truly creative person with an eye for perfection then DIY can be the way fwd - but your invitations are the first taste your guests will have of what your day is going to be like, and I think perfection has to be there from the very start. I have seen some terrible DIY invitations - mainly where brides have had a go themselves, hated what they've done and come to me and said 'I want something like this....' it comes down to whether you have the eye and patience to create hundreds of items (when all is said and done) all at the same high standard.

As for prices - if you're wanted pocketfolds (which it sounds like you are) then you will pay a bit more - specially for DIY pocketfolds - they are expensive, be warned! So you may find a company will overall get you a better deal. As I said, my pocketfolds start at £3.75.

Ideas of my other prices can be found here...

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/carnegielivettdesigns/CarnegieLivettDesigns

Good luck!

We're intending to make our own and for that reason have gone for a simple design. We're prepared to spend decent money on the raw materials and have allowed ourselves lots of time to practice and then make the real things.

I have seen some awful DIY efforts and I wouldn't want to send out anything that looks 'that' DIY but that's just personal preference. If I wasn't confident in my efforts I'd definitely be outsourcing and where better to start than our very own HIBs!

Just as an aside, our vicar prefers you to have an order of service per person, rather than per couple. We're going to do a large print version for the oldies in our party too.

this is a good point - some vicars/ministers have a very tight rein on what goes on with the OOS, and some do say one each, which can up the cost/prep etc considerably! And a large print version is also a great thing to offer!!

If you want any good supplier recommendations CB, let me know ... i might even be able to get you a trade discount...

Thanks, Mrs SP, that's so nice of you, I appreciate it! I really want to work with this sort of colour palette. Simple but rustic.

I've budgeted £200 for our stationery.

About £50 of this will go on stamps, about £25 for samples/ tests and the rest is the materials. I got a lot of inspiration from here http://www.weddingclipart.com/ and thought - i could do that!

From this I will be able to make:

STDS - 50

Day pocketfold invitations with inserts and RSVPs - 50

Evening pocketfold invitations with inserts and RSVPs - 50

Menus - 20

A1 Table plan - 1

Table numbers - 10

Placecards - 90

Thank you cards - 80

Order of the Day - 50

Guestbook (going tomake this myself) with about 150 A4 pages

Hiya, our pocketfolds start at £3.00 each which is our most expensive design but definitely the most popular. As MrsSP says you will pay a bit more for pocketfolds. We do have lots of other designs including budget ones starting at just £1.00 each.

Andrea

http://www.lilypondcards.com/envelopments.htm

Hi

I'm thinking a mixture of DIY and ordering is the way to go.

I am thinking of ordering my invites/ order of service from http://www.cheapweddinginvitations4u.co.uk/The cards are quite plain, but Im going to jazz them up with some gold ribbon, maybe personalised ribbon going round the side and Im going to do the same for the order of service and use the same ribbon to tie the serviettes at our reception meal so it will be a reoccuring theme.

Confetti did do printable place cards, I didnt order any in time but I think ebay also does some so as long as you have a decent printer already they should look fairly good.

Hobbycraft have some really big thick card sheets (I think for £5) which would make an excellent back for the table plan.

I am trying to budget about £300 for stationary (not inc stamps). I'm having about 140 guests which is cutting the stationary budget quite tight, but personally, for me there are more important things to splurge on! xx

Hiya,

You should probably budget for about £2.00-£5 for your invitations depending on the style you want and always shop around, ask companies if they are able to supply you with what you want for the price you want, you never know they might say yes, it doesnt hurt to ask

table plans start from around £30 depending on size and finish

place settings can be found really cheaply, depemds on if you want them printed/hand written/deisgn or no design

order of the days, you can have individual cards, individual booklet type or you could just have one large one (like a table plan)

do shop around, a lot of companies will offer bespoke service and if you have something in mind but you cannot see it on their site just ask, they will probably work with you to create what you want.

I do make invitations and co-ordinating stationery so if i can be of any assistance please do not hesitate to get in touch.

www.poesh.co.uk

Hi VickyJay, The key to making your own is to keep it simple yet add something personal that ties in with your theme. Yes it does take time and effort but rope some crafty type friends in. Go to your local craft shop and ask for some ideas. They will be happy to help. Go and have a play....? Primrose x

The most recent ones I have received where DIY....

One was a letter on recyled paper and a butterfly theme...

One was an pearlised envelope card with satin ribbon tied on it...

One had a picture of the couple from a photobooth...

One was a card that opened in the middle to show a photocard (which turned out to be the RSVP and overlayed was like tracing paper with themain invite details on it, and behind the photocard was a little booklet they had made with lots of information in it.

Overall all quite different but lots of fun and lovely to look at...

Thanks everyone - these replies have really helped me out.

I love this idea about having one big order of the day - would save money too.

I think i've decided to buy the day and evening invites and the order of the day. And then have a go at making my own table plan, menus, place settings and table names.

Will flash when I've done!

Thanks again,

X