I have used Vistaprint for many years, ever since I needed my first business cards as a grad student. In a nutshell, I like them because I get what I want for way cheaper than anywhere else. Their customer service is excellent and they have always been great about fixing any issues. They also do wedding signage, which is sometimes hard to find.
We designed almost all of the items we purchased ourselves, using a design software (InDesign). However, any design software would work. If you're not design-savvy or don't feel like it, I would recommend purchasing designs off of Etsy and then printing the items on Vistaprint yourself.
Here are all the different things I ordered for our wedding, including items that aren't often billed as wedding products…
Save-the-dates
We got full color on the front, black and white text on the back, and a glossy front, like a real postcard.
- Vistaprint item name: Postcard (4 x 6 size is important to allow us to use postcard-price stamps)
- Cost: $42.10 for 250 with 21-day shipping, which I think was our fastest option for some reason.
- Tip: We realized afterwards we could've gotten way fewer because the number of guests does not equal the number of households. (Oh well!)
Invitations
Ours are linen finish, with color on the front, and black and white text on the back. We also got plain envelopes, because the price was about the same price as anywhere else.
- Vistaprint item name: Horizontal flat invitation (5 x 7)
- Cost: $42.47 for 100 + $21.47 for 40 + 14-day shipping = $63.94 — this includes the envelopes. (The quantities were such that we had to order this way.) Full price would've been $76.67 more.
Ketubah (wedding contract)
We wrote the ketubah text ourselves and I'm super happy with this. We ordered a custom 11 x 17 poster, and a regular Sharpie worked perfectly for signing. (Not a Sharpie pen! Has to be a regular Sharpie!)
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- Vistaprint item name: Small poster
- Cost: $12.99 for 1 with 14-day shipping. Full price would've been $6.50 more.
Programs
These were another favorite item of ours. I used a built-in design/background that allowed me to add in my own text. So very easy! They're glossy on the front, and black and white on the back.
- Vistaprint item name: Rack cards
- Cost: $38.90 for 250 with 14-day shipping. Full price would've been $30 more.
In-lieu-of-donation cards
We decided to do donations to local nonprofits instead of favors for our guests.
- Vistaprint item name: Free business cards — you can't upload your own design if you're doing this, but we found a nice template that we liked, and we had freedom to choose any wording we wanted.
- Cost: $11.08 for 250. This included 14-day shipping costs and the $3.99 for Vistaprint not to print “free business cards by Vistaprint” on the back.
Summary:
In total, we spent about $170 bucks to get:
- 250 save-the-date postcards
- 140 invitations + envelopes
- A poster-sized ketubah
- 250 programs
- 250 in-lieu-of-donation cards.
I'm sure we could've saved more if we'd grouped things for shipping, but overall, I'm very happy with Vistaprint! It was also great to have a few extras of everything for scrapbooks/albums/etc.
Offbeat Wed Vendor
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We also did our Save-the-Dates through VistaPrint! We went the Etsy route for a design, uploaded it, and got them printed on regular postcards. We also did our Thank You cards this way; uploaded a wedding picture we liked onto postcards and viola!
We used Vistaprint for our *Save the Dates* too! We got a $10 for $50 using Groupon, so we got 100 including envelopes for a really good price.
We did STDs, invites, programs, RSVP cards and change-of-address cards (as business cards) with Vistaprint. Their delivery was incredibly fast for 21-day processing.
I did my invitations with Vistaprint, too! It is such an easy way to save money. I love the poster idea and am totally stealing it!
We have used vista print so far for our save the dates, invites and programs! We also saved loads using the various groupon codes of 10 dollars for 70 dollars worth of merch!!!
I too scored some awesome Save Dates and a poster to use as our guestbook, via Vistaprint/Groupon ($17 for $70). Sadly, I’ve not seen the promotion in a couple weeks. Does anyone know if there’s a current Groupon or other coupon out there? Invites are impending!
There is definitely another $17 for $70 groupon going on right now, I bought one yesterday!
http://www.groupon.com/deals/vista-print-weddings?c=all&p=16
$100 Vistaprint for $25
Keep an eye out on different cities for the Groupon promotion. I just got one a couple weeks ago out of Ohio? but I live in Vermont (where sadly there is actually no Groupon.
Love it! That’s what we’re planning on doing, too. They have Groupons fairly often (usually $17 for $70) so that makes it even cheaper!
I love the In-lieu-of-donation cards! Such a good idea that I hope to steal! 🙂
Staples now has the majority of the same designs as Vistaprint. Faster shipping, (I’ve never seen anything take longer that 3 to 5 business days unless it’s a complicated/special order) and if you’re a Staples Rewards member (which is completely free) they’re technically cheaper. You’ll just get 10% of the money back to use at the store or website.
They also both have promotions where you can get discounts, so keep that in mind.
It always pays to shop around!
We also got our invitations, RSVP cards and matching Thank You cards from Vista Print! So easy to do and way inexpensive!
I mentioned your post in my blog here:
http://theengagementdiaries.blogspot.com/2013/01/vistaprint-dilemma.html
I am super excited to get great deals through them!
I used Zazzle for our invitations, but I plan to use Vistaprint for the programs, also with Rack Cards!
Beyond happy to have found this article. I recently found a deal on Groupon for Vista Print (I believe it was $17 for $75 voucher). Not sure if the Groupon is still available, but it’s worth a shot to search around for it! HUGE money saver for us!
Ha! I had completely forgotten about the number of guests is not the same as the number of households. You just saved me so many dollars. That’s the kind of stupid mistake I would have beaten myself up for years for. Thanks!
Same here! I’ve been budgeting per person, not household. Derp. Super happy I saw this now, or I would have been kicking my own butt later! I’m also planning on using Vistaprint for the invites and RSVPs. My fiance’s mother uses it for her business cards all the time and recommended it to us.
They are great and prices. I also did my invitations 45 for $70, return address labels, rehershal invites, wedding uard sign, wedding tshirt, photo thank you cardsetc for free plus shipping. I signed up at a business account and they sent me many deals.
Sadly, Vistaprint (and Staples, etc) great prices are putting many smaller, independently or family owned print shops out of business. Just a thought for the buy-local crowd.
…Which is exactly why most of the invitation designers we bring on as sponsors are small independently-owned businesses: http://vendors.offbeatwed.com/category/invitations 🙂
Thank you so much for this post ( and all the comments). I’ve been checking out DIY printable designs on Etsy but wasn’t sure where to start to get an idea on printing prices
We have just ordered our Save The Dates from Vistaprint – I designed them business card sized and used Vistaprint’s magnetic business card option so the guests can stick it on their fridge or whatever! Hopefully they’ll turn out ok 🙂
There is a Living Social deal going on right now for Vistaprint! $30 for $60 worth of goodies, the deal ends in 4 days! Here’s the link : https://t.livingsocial.com/deals/1237278?ref=email-jp&rpi=170796942&rui=58174765
I only wonder if the quality is that great? My fiance and I are photographers and plan on taking our own, high quality photo to feature on our Save the Date. Has anyone tried to use a full resolution photo on these and been successful?
I have also used Vistaprint since then that I am creating different print cards. There are a lot of designs to choose from plus it is easy to use. I so like the programs design and possibly I can create a lovely design as that one for our next event!