What goes into your custom invitations?
A question we hear a lot is ‘why is this so expensive?!’ I totally get it. It can seem like once you get married, everyone wants you to pay top dollar just because it’s your wedding, and it can add up quickly. I hear a lot of comments about how if you mention the word ‘wedding’ it automatically doubles your bill, which is absolutely not the case with us, or with many of the vendors we work with. In fact, I think it’s often the opposite problem - we love our clients, and we know this is an exciting time for them. We want them to have exactly what they want, and we certainly don’t want anyone to feel that they have to go into debt or pay more than they are comfortable with. So, we’re always happy to re work the estimate, and find something that works for everyone. Being a stationer brings me so much joy, I’d do it for free if I could, but unfortunately I have bills to pay, so it’s a balancing act of finding that sweet spot where the price is good for the client and for us.
With all that in mind, I know it can be frustrating on both sides to experience the sticker shock of ‘they want us to pay HOW MUCH for WHAT?’, so I’m going to dive in and break down the cost of what goes into making these invitations.
But first, let’s take a look at what is out there in the ready made market.
This pack of 6 gold foil thank you notes with envelopes goes for $24.00 - that’s $4/card.
This foil stamped birthday card is $4.50
These are cards that have not been personalized at all, and are just a single card, on regular cardstock, that the manufacturers are able to order at very large quantities. If you wanted to send everyone a birthday card as a wedding invitation, and you needed to send out 100 sets, you’d still be paying around $450.
Now that we have a little context established, what actually goes into an invitation set? For our purposes, an invitation suite will be an invitation, a reply card, two envelopes, and a secondary card (accommodations, directions, reception card - pick one!) I won’t be providing our exact pricing breakdown, but I will be providing general pricing, so you can get an idea of what the associated costs are.
photo by Mikkel Paige, calligraphy by Little Well Paper Co
Paper
We use the highest quality paper we can find. One of our favorite papers to use is Crane’s Lettra - a 100% cotton, very pillowy paper that works exceptionally well with letterpress. Lettra is a high end paper, and it shows. The feel of the paper is often one of the first things our clients comment on - it’s just a lovely experience. A package of Crane retails around $50 for 125 sheets of 8.5 x 11. If you’re printing three cards, you’d need at least 1 or 2 packs of paper, depending on the size of your cards.
Envelopes
We are a little obsessed with envelopes - it’s a fun way to add a pop of color to your suite, and it lets your guests know that a treat is in store the minute they open their mailbox. We special order envelopes for almost every client - since we encourage our clients to pick any color that speaks to them. We use high quality envelopes, because quality is very important to us. Since many One + Only Paper brides opt for calligraphy, it’s important to source envelopes that make addressing easy - there’s nothing worse than envelopes that let your ink bleed all over the place, or take forever to dry! The envelopes we use retail for between $5-$6 for 10 - so if you need 100 you’d be paying between $50 and $60 for the invitation envelope, and $40 - $50 for the reply card envelope.
Printing
Printing is set up in such a way that quantity is king. If you want to order 1000 pieces, your price per piece is super low - the cost comes in the set up, and once that’s completed, it costs very little to actually print the piece. However, most people are not sending out 1000 invitations, and those setup costs don’t change regardless of the quantity. Factor in the highly customized nature of invitations, and it creates a high startup cost. For letterpress and foil, there is a special plate that’s made specifically for your invitation. For one card, it can be between $150 - $600 to have 100 specialty printed (depending on what processes you want), and when you need multiple cards, that price multiplies, since the printer has to go through the same setup process. For digital printing, that price comes down quite a bit, since digital is set up for smaller runs, but you still may end up spending $100 - $300 (again, depending on what you’d like to order).
photo by Mikkel Paige, Calligraphy by Quietude Co
Man Hours
There is quite a bit that goes into getting your invitations made. One + Only Paper is a small company, which means we pride ourselves on giving our clients a highly personalized experience. This means a lot of time spent making sure everything is exactly right for our clients! Custom designs take many hours to create, as we have multiple meetings to discuss the project, and spend a lot of time creating artwork, and perfecting the design. Since we’re making something just for you, we need to take the time to learn as much about your style and event as possible, via in person meetings, visual brainstorming, and trial and error.
We often work with clients for the majority of their engagements, but generally it’s at least a 12 week commitment. Of course, every client is different, and has different needs, but generally speaking we spend at least 50 - 60 hours on our custom clients. I’m not going to disclose the exact pricing, but to get an idea of the average, the going hourly rate for graphic designers is between $50-$100/hour.
So there you have it - what goes into your bill. I hope that this breakdown has helped you realize what actually goes into producing your invitations. Please don’t hesitate to leave any questions in the comments - I’m happy to dive in deeper with you!
