How to design wedding invitations online for your wedding guests

We love celebrating and our weddings are famed all across the globe. Here are some tips that might help in making yours a success.
Has your guest list stretched too far? Are you about to spend more on a particular area than you allotted and want to save some bucks? No one likes a frowned bride, I got you covered.

Planning a wedding is no child play. You have to agonize about the food, the drinks, the decorations, the guest list, the invitations, the outfits, the music and entertainment, the lodgings, the cake and so many other events. Well, I’m not there yet so this is all I know. You’re well aware of the fact that you can’t cut the costs of catering and lodging. Nobody likes settling down for less when it comes to these things. I know you want to save up on your wedding dress but you don’t want to. Totally get it so let’s just strike that option out too. Guest list can’t be cut short even though you really want to avoid some nagging relatives. But guess what? Since you have already enjoyed the food at their kids wedding now, you’re obligated to pay them back. The décor companies won’t melt even if you orate the cutest love story claiming it to be yours. No chance of even saving a penny there. They’re tough guys. So, what’s left now? The Wedding Invitation Cards! Luckily, I can fix that.

WHY AND HOW MUCH DO PEOPLE SPEND ON WEDDING CARDS?

People usually tend to spend thousands of bucks in this particular area. Reason being, these invitation cards are the first glance of your wedding that the guests will get. And ‘First impression is the last impression’ has been on our tongue from as long as I remember. The wedding card as soon as handed over to the guests gives them an immediate idea of how the wedding is going to be. It also raises the expectation bar. Hence, you try to make it count by choosing glamour and glitter.

The amount spent on invitations varies. It depends on the preferences and budget of the couple. In India, wedding cards start vaguely from Rs. 50 and can go up to thousands per card.

The amount you want to spend on your wedding invitation card solely depends on the budget. There is no hard and fast rule which forces you to shed extra bucks if you want a great wedding card. You can keep it minimal and budget friendly or, you can even keep it extravagant and lavish because let’s face it you get married only once (at least in India).

You can even make your own customized wedding invitations! It’s simple and fun. Plus, you get a card that checks all your expectation boxes. Let’s consider a range of budgets that’ll fetch you great invitation cards.

WEDDING CARD TYPES EVERY COUPLE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT WITH THEIR PRICES:

Presenting a brief overview of some relished types of cards in the sequence of their popularity along with their prices that might help you make the perfect choice.

Single Leaf Invitation Card: This type of wedding card is very common in Indian weddings. These cards are low on cost and budget friendly and are usually chosen by couples who don’t prefer spending much on cards.

Pros. Cheap, budget friendly, attractive, available in variety

Cons. A little low quality, highly common, repetitive designs

Range: Rs. 50-Rs.200 per card

Multi Leaf Invitation Card: These types of cards are the most popular ones in India. These cards are usually mid ranged and come in a variety of styles and colors. These cards are affordable and presentable.

Pros. Affordable, presentable, attractive, available in variety, good quality

Cons. Highly common

Range: Rs. 80-Rs.1000 per card

Boxed Wedding Card: This type of wedding invitation arrives in a lavish attractive box which is usually made of cardboard or wood. These cards add a very luxurious touch to the invite and are on the expensive side.

Pros. Unique, presentable, luxurious, superior quality

Cons. Expensive

Range: Rs.100- Rs.2000 per card

Quirky Wedding Card: These cards are not so popular in India, but these are very personalized and unique. These cards have animated characters of the couple, or DVDs in which they depict their stories. These are a little pricey but very unique and cute.

Pros. Unique, presentable, attractive, personalized

Cons. Expensive

Range: Rs. 250-Rs.3000 per card

Digital Cards: These cards are very budget friendly and are coming into notice after the epidemic. These cards include a digital template of the wedding invitation and can be forwarded to all the guests either through social media or email.

Pros. Cheap, compact, budget friendly, no cost of transportation

Cons. Lack of personal touch

Range: Rs. 50-Rs.200

Goodie Box Invite: This is the most rare and expensive kind of wedding invite. This is very Royal and lavish as it has the wedding card as well as some premium goodies such as dried fruits, imported chocolate, incense sticks in it. It is very useful and the box can be reused.

Pros. Premium quality, useful, luxurious, rare

Cons. Highly expensive

Range: Rs.500-Rs.5000+

SOME ALTERNATE BUDGET FRIENDLY OPTIONS TO HELP YOU DITCH THE TYPICAL PAPER CARDS:

Couples are now switching to more budget friendly and green methods of inviting their loved ones. Some of these ideas are very unique and thoughtful.

Poster invites- Similar to the Royal era, where scrolls were handed over to pass on messages, poster invites are a hit. All you gotta do is print your wedding invitation on a good quality handmade paper so that it looks like a colorful poster and roll them up like a scroll. These posters can not be handed over personally to the guests.
Plant the Page- These types of wedding invitations are made on seed paper which can be planted in soil and watered daily. It will eventually grow up to be an herb, or a fruit/vegetable plant.
e-vites- In this tech savvy era, you can save a boatload of money if you design your wedding invitation card on an online template also known as an e-card or e-vote and forward it to all your guests through email.
Video Invitations- The couple can together choose to make a cute, short video requesting the presence of their loved ones and forward it to all their guests. This is a new and catchy concept.

MAKE YOUR OWN WEDDING INVITATION (DIY CARDS):

If you choose to make your own wedding card invitations you can definitely save money as you’ll be cutting all the middlemen and profit margins. This method is considerably cheaper as all you gotta do is design a sample card online for free, download it, then get it printed locally. If you or your spouse is a creative one, you can go for it without giving it a second thought. Or, put your crafty friend to work.

Few things to look out for –

Stick to the wedding theme. Make sure the card you’re designing is in accordance to the theme of your wedding. The tone, the shades, the design everything should synchronize.
Choose your words wisely. You don’t want embarrassing typos or inappropriate words in your wedding invitation; this would just pour mud on all the hard work. Proofread them twice or thrice.
Do not over do it. Do not overcrowd or fill your card with pictures, paragraphs and quotes. Keep it short and simple. Everybody is not a fan of lengthy letters.
Consider the costs. You don’t need to choose the most premium brand or quality of paper. You don’t have to get all the letters embossed. Consider all the costs and work according to your budget.
Order some extra ones. Always keep some extra ones they might come handy just in case you forget one or two family members.

10 BEST APPS TO DESIGN YOUR WEDDING INVITATION CARD USING BUILT IN TEMPLATES-

Canva
Lucidpress
Wedding and birthday invitations by Designer
Smile box
Paperless post
Pang
Purple trail
Invitation Panda
Ivy’s
Minted
Adobe Spark

Because people are less inclined to revert back to an electronic invite and chances are that your mail will get lost in the spam folder, you should consider the old school invites. Also, we should make sure that these traditions that we have been following ever since should not be lost. Although, these new, creative, budget friendly and green methods should be given a try. To have a great wedding ceremony, you don’t need to shed thousands on each and every detail. The events should be considered a hit on the basis of the fun you have not on the basis of the amount of money invested in them. Still to answer the main question I think for a great wedding invitation card the budget should not be more than Rs. 200 per card in any case. This piece of paper will probably never be picked up again once the wedding festivities are over, will be dumped in the dark room and then one fine day disposed of. To make a lasting impression, focus more on the intricate details and stick to the theme. Be it a single page invite or a heavy wooden box. Trust me on this, people will forget the build of the wedding invitation card with time. With the amount you save, buy a gift for your spouse instead *wink*.

I hope this article was of great help and sorted out at least a few of your wedding budget related queries or problems.