Everybody’s about saving money these days, and weddings are no exception.  There have been many parts of weddings that have been discussed and they surely are great money-saving tips.  Now we go to another important part of weddings:  Wedding stationery.

The term wedding stationery refers to wedding invitations, save-the-date cards, reception cards, and any other paper product that the couple sends out to the people they are going to invite to their wedding.  It can incur one of the biggest costs in the wedding budget.  Thankfully there are ways and techniques to cut down on wedding stationery costs.  Here are some tips:

• See that guest list?  Make some cuts – the guest list is a very important aspect of a wedding; do not take it likely.  That guest list will affect all areas of your wedding so if you want to start saving, it’s one of the first places you look.  The more people on your guest list, the more invitations and cards you have to send out (imagine the postage – it’s not much but it can add up).  And you have to admit that you don’t really like everyone in your guest list at this point, so it would really make sense to cut some people out of the list.
• Printing techniques and other embellishments– the printing technique used in the printed materials for your wedding can help drive costs up.  Certain techniques such as engraving and letterpress printing can be a bit more expensive compared to, say, laser printing.  Study various printing techniques and pick one that works best for your budget.  Another way to save money is to keep the embellishments to a minimum.  It also helps if you keep the colors to a minimum, which is not to say that you should have plain invitations and cards.  This is to say that you use design and color wisely in order to save money.
• Be mindful of the size – The US Post Office puts a $0.13 surcharge on envelopes if the following apply :
  • It is a square letter
  • It contains very rigid items such as wood or metal
  • It has clasps, string, buttons, or similar closure devices
  • It has an address parallel to the shorter dimension of the letter
  • It contains items such as pens that cause the surface to be uneven
  • The length divided by height is less than 1.3 or more than 2.5
• Go the online route – weddings usually have a bunch more celebrations surrounding them, so instead of sending out invitations to guests every time there is a celebration, why not put up a wedding website and tell your friends and family about it so they can get updated on which celebrations they should go to.  You could also use the online website to its full extent, linking to your registry, having people RSVP online, or even send out save-the-dates to your friends and family via e-mail.