Invitations & RSVPs: The Shocking Quote That Led to Our Best Money-Saving Hack
About this Series: The Summit & Ivy Wedding Journey
Planning a wedding in Toronto is a big deal—we get it. To bring our professional advice to life, we're inviting you to follow along with "Jessica's Journey."
In this special series, we'll be sharing the story of Jessica and Mark—a fictional Toronto couple who are a composite of the many amazing clients we've worked with. Their mission is to create a dream wedding for 100 guests on a $35,000 budget.
As we guide them through every decision, from the venue hunt to the final toast, we’ll be sharing our pro tips, planning tools, and honest advice that you can steal for your own wedding. Let's get them to the altar!
From Jessica's Journal November 15, 2025
With our venue and photographer booked, I finally let myself dive into the pretty, detail-oriented parts of planning. First up: invitations. I fell down a rabbit hole of thick cardstock, elegant fonts, and beautiful letterpress designs. I found a custom stationer on Instagram whose work was stunning and sent an inquiry.
The quote for a full suite—save-the-dates, invitations, details cards, and RSVP cards with postage—came back at over $2,000. I actually gasped. While the designs were gorgeous, spending that much on paper just wasn't one of our priorities.
Mark and I went back to our "Top 3 Priorities" list we made during our budget talk. "A great party" was on both our lists; "fancy paper" was on neither. That made our next decision easy. We needed a modern solution.
First, I explored the DIY route, designing a beautiful suite on Canva. The cost to get them professionally printed was much cheaper, around $700, but that didn't include the time it would take to address, stuff, and stamp 100 envelopes.
Then, Mark suggested we look at wedding websites with integrated digital RSVPs. This was our "aha!" moment.
We decided on a hybrid approach that gives us the best of both worlds. We designed and printed simple, beautiful Save-the-Date postcards (postcards save money on postage!) that direct everyone to our stylish new wedding website. The website has all the details—maps, hotel blocks, our registry—and, most importantly, a seamless online RSVP system. No chasing down mail, no paying for return stamps.
Total cost for the postcards and the website? Under $400. This is easily our biggest and best money-saving hack so far!
Summit & Ivy Planner's Note: Stationery is a place where costs can spiral, but it's also ripe for smart savings! Jessica and Mark's hybrid approach is brilliant and very popular. Here’s a breakdown of your options:
The Splurge (Custom Stationer): Best for couples who deeply value unique, high-end paper goods as a top priority. Delivers a truly bespoke product.
The Middle Ground (DIY Design & Print): Use a tool like Canva or Minted to design your own suite and have it printed. This offers personalization at a much lower cost than custom work.
The Budget-Savvy Hack (Digital RSVPs): Use a robust wedding website (like Zola, The Knot, or WithJoy) to handle all your RSVPs online. You can go fully digital or just send a single, simple invitation or save-the-date card with the website URL, saving a fortune on paper and postage.
Your Top Invitation Questions, Answered
Q: When should we send out save-the-dates and invitations? A: Send save-the-dates 6-8 months before the wedding (8-12 months for a destination wedding). Send invitations 8-12 weeks before the wedding, with an RSVP deadline of 3-4 weeks before the big day.
Q: How do we word the invitation to specify exactly who is invited? A: The envelope is your best tool. Address it only to the people who are invited. For example, "Mr. John and Mrs. Jane Smith" implies just the couple, while "The Smith Family" implies they can bring their children.
Q: How do we politely say "no kids" at our wedding? A: In addition to addressing the envelope correctly, you can add a polite line on your wedding website's FAQ page. Something like: "While we love your little ones, our wedding will be an adults-only celebration. We hope you can still join us for a relaxing evening!"
Need help with wording, timelines, and tracking your guest list? Our Ultimate Wedding Planner on Etsy has detailed timelines, wording templates, and a guest list tracker to keep you organized. The link to the planner is below.
With our guests officially "saved-the-date," my Pinterest board has gone into overdrive. It's time to figure out how to make our brewery venue look beautiful.
Next up: We dive into the world of wedding flowers and decor, and I consider a major DIY project.
How are you handling your wedding invitations? Share your creative ideas and money-saving hacks in the comments!
Cheers,
Please check out my Etsy page for more amazing wedding tips and journals
