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| We have several options we can choose regarding the type of invitation we will be sending and these options are as follows: |
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| We can buy shower invitations at a Hallmark Store and simply fill in the blanks which I can setup to have this done via a computer with a nice font, probably script in any color we choose, therefore, these invitations wouldn't end up looking so cheap. This, I believe, would be our least expensive route to go. Next time I am in Hallmark I will check the prices of their invitations but I believe they are usually around $4 or $5 for eight of them. We would probably need to buy six packs of them. This would bring the cost to approximately $30. |
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| We can purchase very nice card stock and matching envelopes and create our own invitations by printing the actual wording for the invitation via one of our computers. Once again, this can be done in a very nice font and any color we choose. I would think a script font would be best because of its elegance and hint of romance. This is a nice option because we design the wording for the invitation which makes the invitations very personalized. |
| If any of you are scrap bookers like myself, you know there are literally thousands of card stock from which we can select. You can find card stock at craft stores, office supply stores, online scrap booking sites, etc. |
| I happen to have tons of different card stock at my house because I like creating my own birthday cards for family members and also, I was going to create my own Christmas cards this year so no one on my list would end up receiving the same card. However, I ran out of time and will most likely attempt to do this for the Year 2000 Christmas only if I start on my nifty project right away!! |
| Card Stock can be bought in many different colors as well as have simple patterns (such as polka dots, stripes, etc.) to elaborate designs (themes such as bridal, holidays, etc.). The cost for card stock varies starting with colored being the least expensive and going up in price for more elaborate designs. |
| However, even going with an elaborate design, the expense shouldn't be too great and is only slightly higher than purchasing invitations from a Hallmark store. At the online store, Colors By Design, Bridal Shower Card Stock which we can order can be viewed. They have an impressive line and the invitations, which includes decorated envelopes to match the design of the invitation, are $45 for 50 invitations/matching envelopes. |
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Some of my favorites from this page are as follows (they are my favorites because I was trying to find something with a Peachy/Orange Tone to it and also, I thought maybe to make it even more special, punch two holes in the card stock and tie a colored ribbon through the holes to make a pretty bow as well as add a three dimensional effect. One more thought, instead of punching holes with a regular hole punch which makes circles, we can buy a hole puncher at a craft store that punches hearts and string the ribbon through the hearts - the ribbon can either be strung across the top or along the side): |
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| One thing I did like about the invitations on this site is that most had matching note cards. If we can afford it, we can purchase the matching note cards to mail out to the shower participants along with the invitations and ask them to put their words of wisdom or advice to Lorie on these cards. |
| At the Bridal Shower, after the people give Lorie their card, we can either paste the note cards into a scrap book, place them in a photo album or make an advice box to store them in for Lorie to refer back to when she needs a little something to boost her spirits!! The cost for 50 is $33.50. |
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| We can purchase fancy card stock as talked about above as well as have the invitations professionally printed at an online site called the Taylor Card Company. This company has a magnificent assortment of card stock and a huge selection to choose from as well. The cost for 50 invites is $75 which is a bit steep. |
| I would recommend that we consider the previous option before we consider this option due to the cost. Our invites should look exactly like these at this site the only difference is that it would save us time. However, if we make a decision early enough, I would think we would have enough time to print our own invitations!! |
| If you
are worried about the ink quality, rest assured I have top of the line
equipment at home due to my husband being a computer engineer. I
would venture to guess Becky does also since she does this for a living!!
I would be more than happy to send anyone who would like a sample, just
e-mail me. To view Taylor Card Company's bridal shower invitations
, here's the link:
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| We can have the shower invitations professionally printed at a printing company. This would tend to be the most costly of all the choices except for the fact that I work for the CEO of a publishing company in Chicago. The difference between doing them ourselves and having them professionally printed is that when a professional printer prints invites, the wording is engraved which gives the text a raised texture on the card stock and is very classy. |
| Okay, I was able to obtain an extremely large discount from our Graphic Copy Department. They are willing to do 50 invitations for us for $27.25. I choose the most elegant and gorgeous invitation from their book. To describe it, Bridal Shower is written in cursive in the middle of the card, and around these words are raised ribbons in gold and raised roses mainly in peach and a few pink. The card opens at the bottom and inside is the necessary info. If we do decide to go this route, I can see if they will let me take the page out of the book to bring home to show to all of you. Envelopes do come with the invites at no cost but if we wanted to have a return address printed on them, it would cost $10.80 for 50. |
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| There are two ways we can request rsvp's - one is by requesting it on the actual invitation and the other is by enclosing a response card along with the invitation for shower participants to mail back to us. |
| It is
my opinion that an rsvp request on the actual invitation would be sufficient
for two reasons:
1) We can have two ways for individuals to respond to us by listing a phone number as well as an e-mail address on the invitation since nowadays, just about everyone has a computer and most spend more time on it than they do on the telephone. 2) The added expense of response cards is one that I think we can avoid by doing the step above. In addition to the actual expense of the response cards, we also have to pay for postage to have the response cards mailed back to us. |
| So if
we go with having rsvp requests on the actual invitation, we need to determine
the following:
1) Which bridesmaid is going to be listed on the invitation for individuals to call. This person should be one with an answering machine. This individual will need to keep a list by their phone to mark down responses down when people call to RSVP. 2) Which bridesmaid is going to be listed on the invitation for individuals to e-mail. This person should be one who has enough room to save all the e-mails until the shower and it would be wise to create a subdirectory inside your e-mail for rsvp's so you can move the e-mails out of your inbox into this directory to ensure the e-mails don't accidentally get deleted!! This person should also be one who can respond quickly to the e-mail they receive regarding the shower and be able to answer any questions shower participants pose in an expedient manner. This person should also stay in contact with the individual taking phone rsvp's so an accurate list can be keep. Lastly, this person should be someone who has the means of backing up their system so nothing gets lost and someone whose ISP is never down!! 3) RSVP bridesmaid(s) will keep other bridesmaids informed on a continuous basis. 4) We
need to pick the date individuals need to rsvp to us by. The hotel
needs a final guarantee by April 28 so I would cut the rsvp date off several
days before that date only to give us time to call stragglers who haven't
responded. That would move the deadline date to Thursday or Friday,
April 25 or 26th.
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| When Lorie asked me to be a bridesmaid, I was soooo excited I ran out and bought three books about bridal showers!! I consulted all three about when invitations should be mailed and each states four weeks before the shower if you aren't requiring rsvp's and five weeks if you are. |
| The tricky thing is you don't want to send them out too earlier so people lose them inside their homes but you don't want to send them out too late either because you need to give people time to plan their schedule accordingly. Five weeks before the Bridal Shower (if we are having it on May 6) is the week of April 2 which is also daylight savings time!! *LOL* |
| Another cost to us will be the postage costs to mail the invites which is estimated to be around $14.00. If no one has a problem with this, I would like to use the Victorian Love Stamps as the stamp on the invitations which the U.S. Post Offices sells. The Victorian Love Stamps are so pretty and if you haven't seen them yet, I have provided a picture below. I just think everything should be just right and am trying not to miss any tiny little detail. |
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| I am
extremely interested in hearing your comments, so please e-mail me with
your good ideas as well as which Choice Number you like for the Type of
Invitation to send out and let me know if there is any thing you want me
to put on this web page or take off as well!!
Thanks . . .
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