Inexpensive Wedding Invitations: Budget Under $100 Guide

Okay so you want wedding invitations for under $100 total

Look, I’m gonna be straight with you because I’ve helped couples do this at least twenty times in the past three years and it’s totally doable but you gotta know what corners to cut and where to actually spend those precious dollars. Most people think cheap invitations automatically mean ugly and that’s just not true anymore.

First thing – figure out your actual guest count because that’s gonna determine everything. If you’re inviting 50 people you need about 35-40 invitations (couples and families share one). If you’re doing 100 guests that’s more like 65-75 invitations. This math matters SO much for your budget.

Digital printing is your best friend here

Forget letterpress, forget foil stamping, forget anything that sounds fancy. Digital printing has come such a long way and honestly most guests cannot tell the difference when they’re holding it in their hands. I had this bride in spring 2023 who was absolutely convinced she needed letterpress and I showed her digital samples next to letterpress samples and she picked the digital one as her favorite without knowing which was which. She was so annoyed when I told her but also relieved because it saved her like $400.

Here’s where to actually order:

Vistaprint for the super budget route

I know, I know, you’re thinking Vistaprint sounds cheap but hear me out. Their wedding invitation quality has gotten really good. You can get 100 invitations for around $30-50 if you catch a sale and they have sales basically every week. The paper quality is decent – it’s not gonna wow anyone but it’s not embarassing either. Plus they have templates you can customize which saves you from hiring a designer.

The annoying thing about Vistaprint though is that their envelopes are kinda basic and you’ll probably want to upgrade those separately which I’ll get to in a minute.

Canva for DIY printing

Okay so Canva Pro costs like $13/month but you can do the free trial, design your invitations, and cancel before you’re charged. They have thousands of wedding invitation templates and you can customize literally everything. Then you download as a PDF and print at:

• Staples or FedEx Office – usually around $0.50-1.00 per invitation depending on paper quality
• Catprint.com – bulk printing that’s cheaper, around $0.30-0.60 per invite
• Your home printer if you have a decent one and you’re doing under 50 invitations

I did this for my cousin’s wedding in summer 2021 and we printed 60 invitations at FedEx Office on their premium cardstock for about $45 total. They looked amazing and three people asked her who her designer was.

Etsy templates

You can buy invitation templates on Etsy for like $8-25 and then edit them yourself in Canva or Templett (another easy editing platform). The quality of templates varies wildly so read the reviews carefully. Look for sellers who have at least 500+ sales and 5-star reviews. Once you buy and customize the template you print it the same ways I mentioned above.

The envelope situation because you can’t forget those

So here’s what nobody tells you – envelopes can actually cost more than the invitations themselves if you’re not careful. You need the outer envelope at minimum, and traditionally there’s also an inner envelope but nah, skip that for budget purposes.

Buy envelopes in bulk from:

• LCIPaper.com – A7 envelopes (that’s the standard 5×7 invitation size) run about $25-35 per 100
• Cards & Pockets – similar pricing, nice quality
• Amazon – you can find packs of 50-100 for $15-30 but quality is hit or miss

I usually tell people to get white or ivory envelopes because colored ones cost more and you’re already trying to save money. But if you want a pop of color, envelope liners are cheaper than buying colored envelopes and they look more intentional anyway.

Envelope liners on a budget

You can make your own envelope liners for practically nothing. Buy a template on Etsy for like $3, print on regular paper or slightly thicker paper, cut them out, and glue them in with a glue stick. It takes time but if you’ve got a free weekend and maybe a friend who’ll help (bribe them with wine and pizza), you can line 100 envelopes in a few hours. My cat kept sitting on the envelopes when I was doing this for my cousin which was cute but also really annoying because she’d shift them all around.

What to actually include in your invitation suite

This is where you can save serious money – by not including stuff you don’t actually need. The traditional wedding invitation suite has like six pieces and that’s just excessive for most weddings. Here’s what you actually need:

• The invitation itself (obviously)
• RSVP method (but this doesn’t have to be a physical card anymore)
• Details card IF you have multiple events or complex logistics

That’s it. You don’t need:

• Reception cards if your ceremony and reception are at the same place
• Direction cards because everyone has GPS now
• Accommodation cards because you can put that info on your wedding website
• Those weird tissue paper overlays that serve no actual purpose

The RSVP hack that saves you $20-40

Okay this is gonna sound obvious but so many people don’t think of it – use online RSVPs instead of physical RSVP cards. Set up a free wedding website on The Knot, Zola, or Minted and have people RSVP there. On your invitation just include a line like “Please RSVP by June 1st at ourweddingwebsite.com” or whatever your URL is.

This saves you money on:

• RSVP card printing
• Response envelopes
• Return postage stamps (which you’re supposed to include and people forget about)

That’s easily $30-50 saved right there. Plus you get responses faster because people can RSVP from their phone immediately instead of having to find a stamp and… let’s be honest, most people under 40 don’t have stamps just lying around their house anymore.

The one exception is if you have a lot of older guests who aren’t comfortable with technology. In that case maybe print like 10-15 RSVP cards just for them and include a note on everyone else’s invitations about the website.

Postage costs because those add up fast

Stamps are currently $0.68 for a regular letter but wedding invitations are often too heavy for one stamp. If your invitation is over 1 ounce (which happens if you include multiple cards or thick cardstock), you need additional postage. Take one fully assembled invitation to the post office and have them weigh it before you buy all your stamps.

Ways to save on postage:

• Keep your invitation suite simple and light (one card instead of multiple)
• Use lighter weight paper – 80lb cardstock instead of 110lb
• Skip embellishments like ribbons, wax seals, or anything dimensional

Also you can buy pretty stamps that match your wedding colors for the same price as regular stamps so you might as well make them cute. The USPS website has tons of options.

Sample timeline and budget breakdown

Let’s say you’re inviting 100 guests which means you need about 65 invitations. Here’s what I’d do:

Option 1: The Vistaprint Route (around $85 total)

• 65 invitations from Vistaprint: $35 (with sale)
• 65 envelopes from LCIPaper: $20
• Postage for 65 invitations: $44

Total: About $100 but you might go slightly over

Option 2: The DIY Print Route (around $95 total)

• Etsy template: $15
• Printing at Catprint: $30
• Envelopes: $20
• Postage: $44

Total: $109 so slightly over but you have more design control

Option 3: The Smaller Wedding Route (around $65 total)

If you’re doing like 50 guests (35 invitations):

• Canva template (free) + FedEx printing: $25
• Envelopes: $15
• Postage: $24

Total: $64 and you’re well under budget

Things that seem cheap but aren’t worth it

I’ve seen people try to save money in ways that actually backfire. Don’t do these things:

Printing on regular printer paper – It looks bad, it feels bad, and people will notice. At minimum use 80lb cardstock.

Using weird envelope sizes – Non-standard sizes cost more to mail and that adds up quick. Stick with A7 (5×7) or A6 (4.5×6.25) invitations.

Complicated DIY projects you saw on Pinterest – That invitation with the laser-cut overlay and hand-tied ribbon and wax seal looks gorgeous but it’s gonna take you 47 hours to make 65 of them and you’ll want to die halfway through. Ask me how I know this… actually a client insisted on doing this herself in 2022 and she called me crying at 2am three days before her mail date because she’d only finished 30 invitations and her hands hurt. We ended up ordering simple printed ones rush delivery.

Ordering from sketchy websites with prices that seem too good to be true – They usually are too good to be true. The invitations arrive pixelated or on tissue-thin paper or they don’t arrive at all.

Design tips so your cheap invitations don’t look cheap

The secret to making budget invitations look expensive is good design and that doesn’t cost extra money. Here’s what works:

• Stick to 1-2 fonts maximum, make sure they’re readable
• Use plenty of white space, don’t cram everything together
• Choose a simple color palette, like 2-3 colors max
• If you’re not confident in your design skills, use a template exactly as-is instead of trying to modify it heavily
• Good typography matters more than fancy graphics or illustrations

Classic and simple always looks more expensive than busy and complicated. Think about luxury brands – their invitations are usually pretty minimal with lots of space and clean fonts.

The timing thing that people mess up

Order or print your invitations at least 8 weeks before your wedding date because you need to mail them 6-8 weeks out. But honestly I’d give yourself 10 weeks of buffer time because something always goes wrong – you’ll misspell someone’s name, or realize you forgot to include important info, or your printer will jam, or… you get the idea.

Also if you’re ordering printed invitations, add at least 10 extra to your order for last-minute additions or mistakes. They’re cheap enough that the extra few dollars is worth not having to place a whole new order because you spilled coffee on one.

Addressing the envelopes without paying for calligraphy

Professional calligraphy costs like $2-5 per envelope which would blow your entire budget just on addressing. Instead:

• Print addresses directly on envelopes using your home printer (test this first, some printers don’t feed envelopes well)
• Buy printable envelope labels and use a pretty font
• Hand-write them yourself in your neatest handwriting – people appreciate the personal touch
• Ask a friend with nice handwriting to help in exchange for dinner

Honestly the whole calligraphy thing is kinda overrated unless you’re having a super formal wedding. Most people glance at the envelope, open it, and toss it anyway.

What about save the dates

If you’re on a $100 budget for invitations I’d probably skip physical save the dates entirely and just send a digital one through email or your wedding website. Or do a Facebook event. I know that sounds informal but like… people need the information, they don’t necessarily need another piece of paper to file away and forget about.

If you really want physical save the dates, postcard style ones are cheapest because they need less postage. Vistaprint does 50 save the date postcards for around $15-20.

Last random tips I thought of

Join wedding planning Facebook groups and search for invitation recommendations – people share discount codes all the time. I’ve seen 40% off codes for various printing sites that people just give away.

Order your invitations right after major holidays because printing companies often have sales to boost post-holiday business. Like the week after Christmas or after Valentine’s Day.

If you have a Costco membership they do printing services that are pretty affordable though I haven’t personally used them for wedding invitations so I can’t vouch for the quality.

Consider doing postcard invitations instead of traditional folded cards – they’re cheaper to print and mail, though they’re definitely more casual so it depends on your wedding vibe.

Check if your local print shop does wedding invitations because sometimes they’re cheaper than online options and you can see paper samples in person which is really helpful when you’re trying to make sure the quality is decent.

And honestly? At the end of the day your guests care way more about celebrating with you than they do about what your invitation looked like. I’ve been to weddings with $10 per invitation custom letterpress suites and weddings with $0.50 Vistaprint invitations and the wedding itself mattered so much more than the paper goods. So don’t stress too much about making them perfect, just make them clear and get them sent out on time.