How much does it cost to make your own wedding invitations?

Short answer

Making your own invitations costs mainly your time, plus materials like card, envelopes, ink and any embellishments. You can keep it very low, but quality paper and printing supplies still add up. It is often cheaper than professional printing, but not free.

If you already have a printer, scissors, glue and basic craft tools, you can make simple invitations for the cost of card stock and envelopes. A pack of good quality A5 card and matching envelopes is not expensive, and you can print text at home or write by hand. For a more polished look, buy blank cards from a craft shop or online, then add your own design using a home printer or even a calligraphy pen.

Costs rise if you want special finishes. Foil pens, wax seals, ribbon, vellum wraps or custom stamps all add up, especially if you have many guests. You also need to factor in test prints, wasted paper and new ink cartridges. And your time is worth something: cutting, folding, addressing and assembling each invite can take hours.

A good middle ground is to print the main card professionally and do the assembly yourself, like tying ribbon or adding a wax seal. That gives you a professional look without paying for full assembly. Just order extra supplies so you can practise and fix mistakes. And be realistic about how many evenings you want to spend on this before the wedding.