Monday, February 3, 2014

Buying Invitation Envelopes: The What, Where, When and Why of Saving Money on Invitation Envelopes

No matter the occasion, whether it be a wedding, a school or work event or a birthday party, the right invitation envelopes can help set just the right tone for your shindig. But when it comes time to buy invitation envelopes, they can get expensive! Depending on the size of your party, plus your creative idea for the envelopes, when it's all said and done, your envelopes could run upwards of a few hundred dollars. So where do you start when you're picking out your invitation envelopes? Here's a few questions to ask yourself before you pick out your envelopes.

1. Why Do you Need Invitations? The question of what type of event you're hosting will help dicatate the entire design of your invitation envelope. If you have a theme for your event as well, you can work with the envelope company to create something that matches that tone.
2. What's the size of your invitations? Invitation envelopes come in a few standard sizes, ranging from 4 3/8" x 5 3/4" to 6" x 9 1/2". Ideally, you'll want to use invitations that fit these standard sizes. Although your envelope company may be able to make you a custom size envelope, this is much more expensive than a standard size. Plus custom-size invitation envelopes also require a longer turn around time, plus usually have a minimum quantity of a few thousand. If you absolutely need a custom size it is possible, but you can save a ton of money by going with the standard envelope sizes.
3. When Do you Need the Envelopes? Keep in mind that when you're creating a custom designed envelope, it may take some time to get them done. Some envelope companies will be able to turn the around quickly (sometimes within a week) and some may take longer, especially considering how elaborate your envelope is. There are a few things you can to make sure to avoid any time snafus. First, make sure that you have the envelope design ready to go, and it is available in high resolution vector art. Make sure to always ask what the turnaround time is before you place your order.
4. Where Are you Sending Your Envelopes? Make sure that you send out your envelopes with enough time for all of your recpients to receive them and RSVP. You'll also want to make sure the appropriate postage is attached to each envelope before sending them out.