Cheap Wedding Cards: Budget Stationery Options

Okay so you want cheap wedding invitations that don’t look cheap

Right off the bat, let me tell you that wedding stationery can absolutely destroy your budget if you’re not careful. I had this couple in spring 2023 who came to me after already blowing like $2,800 on save-the-dates and invitations from one of those fancy boutique printers, and they still needed programs, menus, place cards, and thank you notes. They were panicking because they’d spent nearly 10% of their total wedding budget on paper. PAPER. That really annoyed me because honestly, there are so many ways to do this without going broke.

The biggest secret nobody tells you is that your guests are gonna spend like 30 seconds looking at your invitation before they either toss it or stick it on their fridge. I’m not saying don’t make it nice, but you don’t need to take out a loan for cardstock.

Digital printing is your best friend

Forget letterpress and foil stamping if you’re on a tight budget. Digital printing has come SO far in the last few years. You can get gorgeous invitations printed digitally for literally a fraction of the cost. I’m talking $1-2 per invitation suite instead of $8-15.

Places like Vistaprint, Catprint, and even Costco (yes, Costco!) do wedding invitations now. The quality is actually really good. You can upload your own design or use their templates. My cat knocked over my coffee all over some Vistaprint samples I had sitting on my desk last month and the ink didn’t even smudge, so there’s that.

If you want something that looks more custom, try Minted or Zazzle during their sales. They’re always having 30-40% off promotions. Just wait for a sale and stock up on everything you need at once.

Design it yourself or find cheap designers

Canva has changed the entire game for DIY wedding stationery. They have thousands of wedding invitation templates that you can customize. Some are free, some are like $1. You can change colors, fonts, add your photos, whatever. Then you just download the PDF and take it to a printer.

I know not everyone is design-savvy, but honestly the templates are so good now that you just plug in your information and you’re done. My least design-oriented clients have made beautiful invitations this way.

If you want something more custom but still cheap, Etsy is full of designers who sell templates for like $8-20. You buy the template, edit it yourself in Canva or Templett (another easy editing platform), and then print. I’ve seen some stunning designs for under $15.

Or you can hire Etsy designers to do fully custom work for way less than traditional stationery designers charge. I’m talking $50-150 for a custom design versus $500+ elsewhere. Just make sure you read their reviews carefully.

Print at home if you’re brave

This one’s kinda hit or miss depending on your printer and your patience level. If you have a decent inkjet or laser printer at home, you can absolutely print your own invitations. You’ll need good cardstock though – the cheap stuff from the drugstore is gonna look cheap.

Order cardstock from Paper Source, Cards & Pockets, or even Amazon. Look for 80lb or 100lb cover weight. That’s thick enough to feel substantial but not so thick your printer will jam every five seconds.

The thing about printing at home is… it takes forever and you WILL mess up a bunch of sheets. Buy extra. Like if you need 100 invitations, buy enough paper for 130. Trust me on this.

Also your printer will probably run out of ink halfway through and you’ll be making emergency runs to Office Depot at 9pm. But you’ll save a ton of money if you can deal with the hassle.

Skip the stuff you don’t actually need

Here’s what you actually need: an invitation with the important information on it. That’s it. Everything else is optional.

You don’t need belly bands, you don’t need ribbon, you don’t need wax seals (even though they’re gorgeous and I love them), you don’t need vellum overlays, you don’t need envelope liners. All that stuff adds up so fast.

RSVP cards are kinda outdated now anyway. Just set up a wedding website (free on sites like The Knot or Withjoy) and have people RSVP online. You’ll save on printing RSVP cards AND you won’t have to pay for those little return envelopes with stamps on them. Do you know how much it costs to stamp 150 return envelopes? Too much.

Detail cards can usually be condensed. Most people put ceremony location, reception location, hotel info, dress code, and registry info on separate cards. Just put the ceremony and reception info on the main invitation and direct people to your website for everything else.

Postcard style invitations are underrated

I don’t know why more people don’t do this. A postcard invitation is literally one piece of cardstock with all your info on it. No envelope needed for the actual invitation (you still mail it IN an envelope obviously, but there’s no inner envelope or multiple pieces).

You can design a beautiful 5×7 postcard with all your wedding details. Print them for super cheap. Done. I had a couple do this in summer 2021 and their total printing cost for 200 invitations was like $180. They looked modern and clean.

Buy envelopes separately and strategically

If you’re doing any kind of DIY printing, buy your envelopes separate from your cardstock. You can get plain envelopes in bulk SO cheap from places like Envelopes.com or LCI Paper. We’re talking like $20 for 100 envelopes.

White envelopes are cheapest. Colored envelopes cost more but can make your whole suite look fancier. A nice invitation in a sage green or dusty blue envelope looks expensive even if it wasn’t.

You can also get free envelope addressing from some print shops if you’re printing with them, or you can print addresses at home on clear labels. The fancy calligraphy addressing that everyone wants? That costs like $2-5 PER envelope from a professional. For 150 invitations that’s $300-750 just for someone to write addresses. Nah.

Get a nice font, print on clear labels, stick them on. Or if your handwriting is decent, just hand-write them yourself while watching TV. It’s time-consuming but free.

All-in-one invitations are genius

These are invitations that fold and become their own envelope. You print one piece of paper that has the invitation on the inside, fold it up, seal it, and mail it. No separate envelope needed.

They’re called seal-and-send invitations and places like Cards & Pockets and Ann’s Bridal Bargains sell them. You save money on envelopes and you save on postage because they’re lighter. The format is a little different but some of them are really elegant looking.

Timing your orders around sales

Almost every online print shop has major sales around holidays. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, even random summer sales. If you’re not in a huge rush, wait for a sale.

I always tell my clients to order samples first (most places let you order one invitation as a sample for a few dollars), wait for a sale, then order everything at once. You can easily save 40-50% this way.

Also consider ordering your save-the-dates and invitations at the same time if there’s a good sale, even if you won’t mail the invitations for months. As long as you’re sure about your details, bulk ordering during a sale saves money.

The stuff that’s okay to splurge on (if you have ANY budget left)

If you’re gonna spend a little extra money anywhere, spend it on making sure your invitation is well-designed and readable. A simple, well-designed invitation on cheap cardstock looks better than a cluttered, poorly designed invitation on expensive paper.

Also, decent envelopes are worth it. Your invitation could be printed at home on regular cardstock, but if it arrives in a nice thick envelope, people assume the whole thing is fancy.

And honestly? Good paper for things people will keep makes sense. Your actual invitation can be basic, but if you’re doing programs that people might save, or menus that will be on tables in photos, spending a bit more on nicer paper for those can be worth it… or wait, actually you can probably skip programs entirely and just have your officiant explain what’s happening.

Day-of stationery can be even cheaper

Programs, menus, place cards, table numbers, signs – all of this can be done SO cheap.

Print programs at home on regular printer paper or light cardstock. Literally nobody expects thick fancy programs. Or skip them entirely.

Menus can be printed on cardstock at home or at a print shop for pennies each. Or do one menu per table instead of one per person. Or just don’t do menus if your venue is serving plated meals and people already selected their entree.

Place cards from a print shop are like 50 cents to $1 each, which adds up fast for a big wedding. Instead, buy blank place cards from Amazon (100 for like $12) and either print on them at home or hand-write them. Get a nice pen and your handwriting looks personal and intentional.

Table numbers can be printed on regular cardstock and stuck in cheap frames from the dollar store or IKEA. Nobody is inspecting your table numbers closely.

Thank you cards are the last thing to think about

Don’t order thank you cards at the same time as your invitations unless there’s an amazing bundle deal. You might end up with leftover invitations you can cut up and repurpose, or you might change your mind about what you want.

Also you can find thank you cards on sale after your wedding just as easily. Or order them from Amazon for like $15 for 50 cards. They don’t need to match your invitations. Some of my couples just get simple cards that say “thank you” with a photo from their wedding.

Stuff I’ve seen work really well

I had a couple who designed everything in Canva using a free template, printed at Catprint during a 40% off sale, bought colored envelopes in bulk, and printed address labels at home. Their total cost for 175 invitation suites was $210. They looked like they could’ve cost $1,000 easy.

Another couple did postcard save-the-dates (printed at Vistaprint) and seal-and-send invitations (from Cards & Pockets). Super modern, super clean, and their stationery budget was under $300 for everything including day-of stuff.

The main thing is that you gotta be willing to put in some time. The cheaper you go, the more DIY is involved. But if you’re crafty at all or you have friends who like that stuff, you can make beautiful stationery for a fraction of what you’d pay a traditional stationer.

Oh and one more thing – don’t forget to factor in postage. Invitations that are square or oversized or too thick cost more to mail. Stick to standard sizes (5×7 is perfect) and keep them under a quarter inch thick and you’ll pay regular stamp prices. Wedding invitations can easily cost 70-90 cents each to mail if they’re bulky or weird-sized, and that adds up when you’re mailing 150 of them.