Why Are Wedding Invitations So Expensive?

And we get it. Weddings are expensive, especially modern day weddings where there is so much pressure on couples. There can sometimes be a lot of noise online about trends, ‘must-haves’ and what a wedding should look like. That pressure can make planning — and budgeting — feel overwhelming. 

You might think, as wedding industry professionals, that we’d welcome all of this. But when we started Elle Bee Design, we wanted to offer couples stationery that felt gorgeous, but also simple and stress-free. Sometimes the information that’s shared online about pricing and timelines doesn’t reflect the reality of how stationery is actually made — which can understandably lead to confusion for couples and extra pressure for stationers.

So.... you're engaged! And the first job you need to do is set a budget. But how? Prices vary wildly, everything seems to cost a fortune, you are hearing whispers that if you say the word "Wedding" suppliers bump the price up, and with so much content online — not all of it accurate — it can be difficult to know what’s reliable.

Budget pressure is very, very real. And it is probably the biggest headache of planning a wedding. That and the table plan, but we will get to that...

And Wedding Invitations and Stationery? It's just paper, right? It's the one place you can save money on. And after speaking to other suppliers, maybe a wedding planner or two, this theme seems to be a thing; stationery is where you can shave off costs - brilliant!

Eh - Maybe. On the surface, yes Stationery is "just" paper (and I put "just" in little air bunnies because I absolutely loathe that word.) But dig a bit deeper? Wedding Stationery is just paper at first glance.

So, let's run with that statement; "at first glance". I've got your interest - what more could there be to creating Wedding Invitations? From the outside, it can look as simple as clicking print. But the reality is a little more involved — and that’s where the true value lies. Let me explain...

The Real Cost of Wedding Invitations

Wedding Stationery can be broken down into 6 key elements that all couples are subject to when they work with a professional Stationer

1. Design Time:  This includes both the time to create the design in the first place, as well as time spent creating the design for a couple. 
2. Proofing: Checking and double checking all information is correct and accurate takes a lot of time, and most couples will check their proofs three or more times per edit. We will also check and point out errors if we spot them. 
3. Materials: Ordering all materials cut to the exact size needed, as well as making sure they are stored correctly to make sure the print is as accurate as possible. Good quality paper is also expensive. We use one of the finest coloured cardstocks as our standard card for invitations and stationery, and as a result it comes with a higher price tag. Other cardstock such as our 450gsm and 600gsm cotton are classed as fine art papers, and are designed for a very small subset of printing methods. Due to this, they too are classed as a premium paper. 
4. Test Prints: Multiple test prints are conducted on every order to make sure the printers are working properly, everything is aligned as it should be and there are no print errors with certain fonts or print margins. 
5. Expertise: How to use design software (we don't use Canva), how to fix errors in fonts, how to use machinery safely and correctly to get the best out of the machine, knowing sizing and compatibility by heart to make sure everything runs smoothly, fine tuning every machine and process throughout a job to make sure nothing is out of place and fine tuning all our processes to make sure we operate as easily and as efficiently for our couples as we can. This is something Ian and I amend and change on a frequent basis to make sure we are providing the best service.
6. Waste: Misprints, alignment issues, impression depth, roller height, dwell time, registration, density adjustment for certain colours and texts - all of these are checked and materials wasted doing so to make sure everything is printing as it should. 
7. Production Time: Any method of printing is time consuming. Digital printing (with our commercial printers) requires a lot of testing, adjustments and the patience of a saint (believe me). Foiling and letterpress take even longer, are far more complicated and yet are my most favoured print methods. But they take a lot of skill to get right, and even more to do well. And these two methods of printing I will go into more details below, as they are the most expensive print methods. 

But there are also 6 key elements that couples don't see

1. Admin/emails/consult planning: This is where a lot of time is taken up that couples don't necessarily equate to the cost of having a professional stationer. You can spend weeks going back and forth, multiple hours in consults, making and sending samples, and this is usually all before an order is placed. The time-sink stationers have prior to any order being placed is staggering. And sometimes the order never comes, so this time is given for free. 
2. When things go wrong with machines: Honestly, the biggest stress a stationer has. What if one of the machines goes wrong. Now I can usually be found at some point during a week with my hands inside our very expensive machines fixing some minor issue. But the bigger issues? The machine is shut down and cannot be used until it's fixed. In these situations we have two choices, outsource, which is a huge cost to us (and clients never foot the bill for), or beg the contractor to fix the machine within a couple of days. And thankfully for our couples I am not above begging and pleading on my knees with our machine contractors. 
3. Stock issues, delays and shortages: Occasionally stock availability becomes… interesting! Paper mills sometimes change formulations or discontinue colours without warning. Thankfully, unless no suitable alternative can be found, we do have multiple sources for our cardstock, so if one can't help, usually another can. 
4. Support and advice when needed: Day or night Ian and I are on the end of email and live chat on our website. And our live chat is manned by just us two, there is no AI bot at the end, it is manned and answered by real people. Sometimes at 10pm at night when I am in my pyjamas trying to find the effort to stand up and cart myself to bed. Couples need support the whole way through their wedding planning, and stationery is absolutely no exception to that. 
5. Commercial licensing costs: For every font we have, every bit of artwork we use we have to purchase a commercial license for. This license gives us the legal right to use said artwork/font for commercial gain i.e we can create items using them for profit. Without these licenses we could not operate legally, and we are legally bound to not distribute; meaning we can't give out fonts/artwork to anyone other than ourselves. 
6. Knowing when a client isn't right for you: This is a really hard one. I am pretty easy to get on with, and Ian is practically horizontal. There is only one thing that will stop me from helping a couple and that is blatant rudeness and disrespect. but that is the obvious one. What about those that are not obvious? Those are the ones that keep me up at night. Doing this job holds a huge responsibility, and you never ever want to let a couple down. But sometimes, after chatting with them you realise that you just aren't a good fit. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that; sometimes you are just not compatible. But it is still a delicate subject to broach, and I am so thankful that in the 13 years we have been doing this, we have parted ways with only a small handful of clients. 

So while invitations may look like ‘just paper’ at first glance, there’s a whole world of design work, production, materials and expertise happening quietly in the background — and that’s what influences the cost.

Letterpress and foil-pressed wedding invitations sit at the very top end of luxury stationery — not just because of the materials, but because of the craft involved.

Both processes are still created using traditional print machinery, and only a relatively small number of stationers in the UK work with them every day. Even fewer become truly expert — because every piece is set up, aligned and pressed by hand.

Setting up a letterpress or foil press can take hours. The rollers, impression depth, registration, ink or foil, heat and pressure all need to be calibrated so the print is perfect — and each paper stock behaves differently. Letterpress also requires additional drying time, as the ink sits within the paper rather than on top of it.

Once everything is ready, every single card is hand-fed into the machine and pressed individually. There is no “print all” button — it is a slow, tactile and skilled process that relies on the experience of the person at the press.

This is where an experienced wedding stationer quietly protects you from mistakes — because we’ve already learned what can go wrong, and how to get it right.

Professional stationery isn't for everyone. Cost is not the only consideration when it comes to stationery, and some couples love to have a hands-on approach to their wedding. This adds more of their own personality, and personal touches that they might not be able to find from a professional. 

However, there are a few considerations to take into account when considering the DIY method, and these impact why DIY wedding Invitations look cheaper at first glance. 

Time

Designing and printing your own wedding invitations and stationery isn't just about printing a few cards. If done correctly, it is a full time project. 

Research time for designs styles, fonts, paper, printing methods or printers and watching tutorials on how to do certain things can take days. Trial and error; in much the same way a professional tests, changes and re-tests, DIY wedding stationery will do to. This will lead to wasted materials, ink as well as taking up more time. Assembly time can include anything from cutting, gluing, ribbon tying, sticking of envelope liners, lining up belly bands, & making wax seals.  And believe it or not there is admin time in making your own stationery as well. Everything from ordering materials, return of items that you either don't use or can't use, supplier delays, and the biggest one is unexpected customs charges when importing anything from overseas. These charges can make DIY stationery cost more than a professional, and the admin to have the goods released from customs can be exhaustive and lead to delays. 

So whilst DIY stationery can absolutely save money —  it usually costs time instead. Designing, sourcing materials and assembling everything can take anywhere from a few evenings to a few months, depending on your plans. A professional designer builds all of this into their service, so what might take you weeks takes them hours — because it’s these experiences and skills that couples rely on to do a good job and do it well. 

And this statement has been backed up by couples we have worked with who have either made their own save the dates and have come to us for invites, or who have started to make their stationery and in both cases have realised how much time is needed and have had to abandon the idea of DIY-ing. 

Stress

All weddings have deadlines, and DIY Wedding Invitations are no exception to this. Printing issues, running out of materials with the possibility of not being able to get more, logistics including guest changes and wording edits all have to be factored in. 

A professional stationer removes much of this stress for you, and even when there is a problem the likelihood that you will ever know about it is pretty much nil. 

DIY can be really rewarding — but it can also add pressure at a time when your to-do list is already overflowing. A professional designer manages timelines, printers and problem-solving behind the scenes, so couples don’t have to.

Skill

There is absolutely no shame in needing practice. Making stationery is a craft, and naturally takes time to produce polished pieces. 

Everything from layout design, typography, colour matching, printer set up (bleeds, margin, export settings) and file formatting are all skills that stationers learn over time; usually years. 

Beautiful stationery looks simple — but behind that simplicity is experience in layout, typography and print-ready file setup. DIY tools make design more accessible, which is wonderful, but achieving a polished, balanced design can still take skill and practice.

Hidden Costs

As with any project, there are always hidden or unexpected costs. Test printing, ink costs, high quality card and envelopes, cutting tools, machines for die cutting or foiling, mistakes and reprints, as well as multiple delivery fees from different suppliers all play a factor in hidden costs. 

DIY can look cheaper at first glance, but extra purchases like specialist card, ink, paper trimmers and test prints can quickly add up — especially if you allow for mistakes or last-minute guest changes.

Finish Quality

We often meet couples who are considering making their stationery themselves — especially if they already enjoy crafting. And yes, while design concepts and even invite or stationery types are all possible from home, professional printers and specialty finishing machines aren’t usually available on the high street, so a designer can achieve results that are difficult to replicate at home — especially when it comes to heavy card, foil, embossing and precise trimming.

Consistency

Cohesion makes stationery feel "luxury". Consistency is one of the biggest differences between DIY and professional stationery. Designers ensure every piece — from save-the-dates to menus — feels like part of the same story. And it is one of the biggest factors our couples consider when opting to work with us; that they want that cohesion throughout their day. 

If you need help with when to send Save the Dates and Invitations, or when you need to look at starting day stationery, our helpful guide can point you in the right direction.

DIY Wedding stationery can be a wonderful addition to any wedding, and is suitable for creative couples on a budget who enjoy crafting and want to add their own spin to their stationery. 

Opting for a professional stationer is best suited for couples who want stress-free polished results and who have the flexibility in their budget to be able to opt for more high-quality wedding invitations. 

Over the last 13 years, we have amassed quite a large number of glowing reviews, and there are two key points almost every couple say; working with us had made wedding invitations so much easier than they realised, and that upon receipt their guests have remarked that they are the best invitations they have ever received. 

Over the Christmas period Ian and I received these three reviews from couples who have all opted to have foil wedding invitations and letterpress wedding invitations handmade by us:

"We’ve received the invites and just wanted to thank you so so much! They’re absolutely incredible, exactly what we envisioned"

"You will be pleased to know that our wedding invitations went down a storm! We've had so many compliments along the lines of "these are the best wedding invitations we've ever seen!", so thanks again for all your hard work on those."

"The wedding invitations we’ve ordered are  great quality, they’re beautiful and just what we wanted. The process was made so easy by Laura and Ian, and they were upfront about the costs of what we initially thought we wanted, and were able to guide us to get a beautiful design within budget. The whole invitation process was one less thing to stress about when wedding planning as they had it all in hand."

Guests do notice beautifully crafted invitations, so never downplay how important luxury wedding invitations and stationery are. The tactile experience of receiving an invitation such as these is real for a lot of guests; they feel the quality, not just see it. There is also an emotional aspect, even subtly, about receiving an invitation that has been made with love and attention - it sends the message that your wedding day is important, and that you want them to share it with you. 

And as a stationer I am not too naive to think invitations don't go in the bin. Even those that are kept as a memento of the day do eventually get recycled. But the impression, experience and feeling from receiving such an invitation? Those last far longer than the invitation itself. 

I have always told our couples that it's their wedding, and they should do it their way, and this extends not just to their stationery, but to every aspect. Weddings are a luxury life event, and most couples are very aware of that. And we completely understand when couples question their stationery budget. 

At the end of the day you are not paying to impress people. You are investing to make sure your day feels like you. And for some, wedding stationery plays a huge part in that, and for others, it doesn't. 

Wedding invitations are worth the investment for couples who want to set the best first impression, who value the tactile nature and story behind handmade wedding invites, who would rather trust a professional than try to juggle everything themselves and who want their wedding day to feel cohesive and luxurious. 

But what about the other side of the story; when are Wedding Invitations not worth the investment? Budget restraints play an overwhelming part in choosing not to, but also there are couples who genuinely enjoy the creative process of designing and making their own stationery, and who have allocated the required amount of time to do it. And the honest truth is that for some couples, stationery just isn’t a priority — and that’s completely okay. A good stationer will always respect that. In fact, a professional stationer can more than likely give great tips on how to keep them to an absolute minimum if they want to allocate more of their budget to say food, or live entertainment. 

But the real truth is, no one but you can decide if wedding invitations are worth it. Personally, I am not a fan of the digital world we live in; I still write to-do lists in a paper notebook rather than on my phone - so I know I am in the right job. The wedding world is made up of all sorts of couples, who all value different things at different levels. My blog here isn't to persuade couples to part with their money, it is to show the other side of stationery, a side that couples don't see. It may not move the needle in terms of the value aspect for many, but for some I hope it has at least been interesting, and you may still decide that professional stationery isn’t right for you — but I hope this has helped show why it means so much to the couples who do choose it.