October 6, 2020
How many wedding invitations should you order? One task clients tend to overlook is how many invitations to order. Is it one invitation per guest or per household? While you don’t want to order too many, you also want to make sure you have enough with a handful to spare. So, how many do you really need? I have a very simple formula to help you determine exactly how many wedding invitations to order!
Count by Number of Households
To get an estimate of how many wedding invitations to order, count by households–not by the number of guests.
You don’t need one wedding invitation for every guest invited. Many brides during consultations tell me that they need 200 invitations, which is the number of guests they’re inviting. I stop them and ask if that’s how many guests they’re inviting, or if they’re having 400 guests. They usually chuckle and tell me that they didn’t think it! In a nutshell, if you invite a total of 200 guests to your wedding, you don’t actually need 200 invitations. You’ll may only need half of that.
The exception to this rule? Guests over the age of 18 who still live with their parents should get their own invitation.
Order 10-20 Extra Invitations
Once you total the number of household invitations, add at least 10 extras. You may even want to consider 20.
While ordering the exact amount of wedding invitations might save you money, it’s expensive to order reprints later.
It’s a lot more expensive to print small quantities of invitations, and most stationers have minimum quantities. It may seem silly to print 10 extra invitations now but it will save you hundreds of dollars in the long run.
You’ll want:
A Few Keepsake Invitations
Wedding invitations are one of the few tangible keepsakes, and are truly an heirloom. They’re part of your love story and are something you’ll want to celebrate forever. I recommend keeping 2-3 copies for yourself. Your mom and grandma may even want their own keepsakes as well!
A Few Copies for your Photographer
Mail or give at least one invitation suite to your photographer to have photographed on your wedding day. Your invitations truly complete your love story so be sure to add it to your shot list. Invitations are the first impression everyone will have on your wedding day, and this is something you’ll want to remember for years to come. Plus, flat flats are so gorgeous.
A Few Copies for Emergencies
Invitations get lost in the mail. Moms add extra people to the guest list at the last minute. Trust me, I know! You’ll want a few back up copies to have on hand for these last minute emergency situations just in case.
Order Extra Envelopes if…
If you’re having a calligrapher address your envelopes, you’ll want 20% extra envelopes. I automatically handle this for you when we work together, so don’t sweat the small stuff! If I’m addressing for you, you won’t need to order extra envelopes.
