The invitation hunt!

Choosing our wedding invitations was a really difficult task. I wanted something that was eco-friendly, simple and affordable. For me eco-friendly meant an invitation that was made of recycled or tree-free paper, used soy ink and was produced by a small business (or some combination of the three).

Here are some beautiful, earth friendly invites:

Sylvan by Bella Figura

Invitation + Envelope = $570 for 50
Reply Postcard = $330 for 50

Total: $900 ($18 each)

"Bella Figura is a passionate artisan letterpress shop based in Central New York. We print the old-fashioned way, using antique cast-iron letterpresses, the best paper, time, patience, perfection, and a whole lot of love. Because we want to make the world a better place, we're a wind-powered, carbon neutral print shop, and we donate 1% of sales to environmental causes. We print only on 100% cotton (tree-free) paper that's made exclusively for us in a historic European paper mill."

Alcazar by Earthly Affairs

Invite w/envelope: $2.48

Response Card w/envelope: $1.78

$213 for 50 ($4.26 each)

Click here to read more about Earthly Affairs environmental commitment.

Botanical Paperworks

Monogram Seed Wedding Invitations: $4.65 each each
Monogram Reply Cards: $1.45 each
Total: $305 for 50 ($6.10 each)

"The base fiber is cotton or 100% post-consumer waste. And the paper is made with pure North American wildflower seeds by skilled papermakers paid a living wage in Winnipeg, Manitoba."

I found many beautiful eco-friendly invitations and I found a lot of affordable invitations but it was more difficult to find both eco-friendly and affordable invites.

I had designated a very small portion of our budget to invitations and stationary because I wanted to spend more money on day-of elements like the food and flowers. Solution - DIY! Neither I nor Mr. Olive are very creative or artsy so we needed to stick to something simple.

Then I discovered Invitesite! This California based company uses tree-free papers and 100% post consumer papers. They have a large selection of save-the-dates, invitations, programs and thank you cards. The best part about Invitesite is that you can print and assemble your own invitations and save a bunch of money (or you can pay them to do it for you)!

We narrowed down the choices to two options:

Orla

50 - 99 invitation sets: $3 each
Add $0.50 for RSVP set

- OR -

Angelica

50 - 99 invitation sets: $2.25 each

Add $0.50 for RSVP set

Tomorrow I will reveal which invitation we choose!

Did you use eco-friendly products in any of your wedding stationary?