All of the bridal websites and Etsy and Pinterest and all other like sites have the loveliest stationary– for all kinds of prices.
For 75 invitations, along with RSVP cards, I saw designs ranging from $115 to $470 on just basic invitation and response cards alone. Gloss finish or scalloped edges? Added extra. Not to mention the save the date cards, the calligraphy, or custom printed envelopes, and the postage for the whole load. If you factor in all of those potential costs, you could be facing anywhere from a $300- $700 dollar bill just for a very disposable part of your wedding.
As I discussed in my post Venue & Invitations, I went simple & environmentally friendly by opting to only send out cards that functioned as both the save the date and the invitations, and requesting that people email me to RSVP and to receive further detail.
My handwriting is nothing special, especially compared with the gorgeous script you can purchase on Etsy. But, some of those handwritten addresses can run you up to $4 a pop! That would be an additional $300 for a wedding with 75 invitees. Since most people do not linger over the penmanship of their mail, I chose not to worry too much about how the invites looked. At the same time, I wanted them to look neat and pretty.
After a lot of doodling, and a lot of Pinterest & Google Image searches for font inspiration, I set up a template and got to work. 
After wasting at least 8 of the real envelopes in mess-ups, I realized I had well over four dozen to do, so I stopped focusing on making everything precise and perfect and instead worked on making it legible, as uniform as possible, and level on the envelope.
Ultimately I ended up going without this guiding template because I got into a groove, but this helped me keep things in line and tidy when I started out.
For postage I chose the Fern series of the Forever stamps. It looked nice against the ‘burlap’ & lace invites, and fit well with the venue and theme. As you can see below, the end result had a nice flourish design, a heart to punctuate, and neat printing and cursive. The return addresses went in the triangle of the back flap to the envelope, using the same formula: cursive names, printed address, cursive city & state.
When I finished, I was satisified that all envelopes looked (mostly) uniform and visually pleasing. I did the addresses over the course of a week or so, and am so glad that I did not a) obsess over perfectionism, or b) shell out big bucks to have someone do this professionally.
(BTW: Mr. & Mrs. Jones are fictional, as is their address).
thriftycraftyhome 