4 sneaky ways to save on VistaPrint wedding invitations

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Sneaky Ways to Save on Vistaprint wedding invitations alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

So I'm kind of a Vista Print pro. Long before I was making my own Vista Print wedding invitations, I'd been using their printing services for years, and I've had great experiences getting decent quality stuff on the cheap.

It's really quite astounding how much you can get, for how little money, as compared to other print shops. Granted, you don't have as much flexibility… but the price for full-color AND to upload your own designs? Vista Print kinda can't be beat!

I wanted to share a couple of things I've learned over the years ordering stuff for myself, stuff for work, and now stuff for my wedding. Vista Print wedding invitations are already affordable, and here are the kinda sneak tricks I learned to save even more…

vistaprint wedding invitations
These save the dates were designed by an Offbeat Bride reader, and then printed with Vista Print using this page for Vista Print codes.

1. To make the most of your budget for Vista Print wedding invitations, print everything as POSTCARDS

This tip comes from Offbeat Wed reader Lyndsey, who made these Vista Print wedding invitations:

vistaprint wedding invitations
Lyndsey designed these invitations herself, and had them printed with Vista Print. If you're not a designer, you can also just customize the cute templates for Vista Print wedding invitations!

She told us:

I used Vista Print for a bunch of my wedding-related items after a fellow engaged friend told me about them. She suggested printing everything as postcards!

I chose 5×7 postcards. I did front-and-back printing for the Vista Print wedding invitations and thank you cards, and then front-only printing for my save the dates.

The postcards were significantly cheaper and can be ordered in batches of 50, which worked best for an odd amount like I had, with 126 people invited. I was glad to have an extra amount just in case.

Because I had a little graphic design experience, I knew how to design everything… but they also offer design and illustratoin services with a quick turn-around! The whole process was super easy and explained well, and the reproduction is top-notch.

vistaprint wedding invitation tips and tricks on offbeat wed 2 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Lyndsey's specific budget for her Vista print wedding invitations included the following:

  • Save the dates: 5×7 postcards, 2 orders of 50 each @ $34.20 = $68.40 total
  • Custom address labels: 140 count starting at $18.70
  • Wedding invitations and thank you cards: 5×7 postcards, 1 order of 50 each @ $55.80 for each order

Want to see how Lyndsey's wedding turned out?

2. Friends don't let friends shop Vista print wedding invitations without a coupon code (or several)

The key with Vista print is there is ALWAYS a coupon. There is ALWAYS a sale. You can check this page for Vista Print codes.

Once you have Vista Print promotional codes, you’ll be able to use it after you’ve designed your products and added them to your basket. In your personalized My Basket, they'll ask if you have a code to enter. Just type it in and press “Apply” – Vista Print takes care of the rest.

vistaprint wedding invitation tips and tricks on offbeat wed 2 1 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

3. The free envelopes may not be what you're looking for

Not knowing any better, having never ordered cards with envelopes from Vista Print before, I went with the envelopes they include for free. On the one hand, they are fine. They did their job, which was to be a surface on which I could write addresses, and get the Save the Date cards from point A to point B.

On the other hand, they were really thin and the stationery geek in me was a little sad. Especially in contrast to the beautiful heavy cardstock of the Save the Date cards.

(Note: we did pay for the upgraded, thicker cardstock. it was around $10-15 for 80 cards, and I think it was well worth it. We got the “Premium, 100lb. White Matte Stock” and I was really happy with it.) For the invites, we'll be ordering envelopes separately from another company.

How can you figure out if the free envelopes are what you want? Order VistaPrint's free wedding invitation sample kit and see for yourself.

4. Personalized goodies are fun… but don't pay full price!

Vista Print loooooves to offer you last-minute impulse purchases. I swear, it's worse than the candy and magazines at the grocery store checkout counter. If you decide you want one, remember to go back and check your emails for the best deal.

When we were ordering our Save the Dates, the upsell/impulse purchase page suggested I get a mug with our Save the Date image on it. I decided that would actually delight me… but instead of clicking on it there and then, I canceled my checkout process, went and found an email with a “50% off mug” deal… and manually added it. Bam!

An adorable mug that makes me happy every day at work and I only paid like $7.99.

Well, fellow Vista Print-users, that's some of what I've learned. What tips and tricks for Vistaprint wedding invitations can you add to the knowledge banks?

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