The WHY behind custom wedding invitation pricing

A custom wedding invitation involves a lot of time, labour, materials and creativity  for the designer to plan and create every detail in a unique and beautiful manner to create your dream wedding invite. It is an important investment as it sets the tone for the entire wedding.

A glimpse into the materials and processes behind the scenes to create a beautiful custom invitation suite:

1.     The most apparent material is your imported invitation papers which include vellum, heavy card stock in pearlescent sheen or flat matte, handmade or deckle-edge paper. The cost of various paper sizes, thickness and shapes differ and require custom envelopes.

2.     Calligraphy addressing is a beautiful traditional addition and is a huge time consuming project mostly based on the quantity. Modern wedding planners often suggest calligraphy on wedding stationery and invitation suites

3.     Decorative elements like wax seals, belly bands, twine raps, ribbons, paper, ink, nibs, etc. are included to tie the whole suite together and bring the couple’s vision to life.

4.     Save the date announcements and inserts for RSVPs, illustrated maps, etc. are also created to add to the comprehensive package.

5.     Shipping and postage play a major role in the planning process. Shipping costs depend on the weight of the invitation suite and postage costs (including RSVP cards) as per the standard.

6.     An important cost factor often over looked is the printing process. These include Digital printing (flat) and Offset printing or Thermography (raised look). The labour intensive printing processes include engraving, letterpress and hot foil which require made to order plates to produce each design and impression.

7.     One time Set up costs and layering up printing effects also add to the costs.

8.     Some design accents like debossing, embossing, edging, bevel cut, etc. are used to enhance the overall look of the invitation.

Customization elements like hand drawn illustrations like maps , custom monograms and the like also require approvals and a lot of back and forth before the couple and designer are both happy with the final product. The consultation, conceptualising custom artwork, digitizing hand drawn calligraphy and artwork, coordinating with printing and shipping and small details that get your invitation to your guests are all the million things going on behind the scenes.

At VS Invitations, we go above and beyond to create expansion in our client’s life. If you’d like to have your dream invitations designed by us, get in touch sooner rather than later!