There are various options when it comes to invitations. Many people choose to have them professionally done to avoid spending time and energy on this chore. Of course, whenever you have someone else do something for you, you end up spending money instead of time and energy. These days, with all the new computer and photography technology, lots of couples are choosing the do-it-yourself option. Your decision is based entirely on preference. Do you like the idea of sitting down for an afternoon of invitation preparation, or would you rather leave it to the professionals?

Do It Yourself

If you're having a small destination ceremony and you're wondering why in the world you should spend money on invitations, there's good news for you: With a little computer skill and some creativity, you can make close to 100 of your own overlay invitations (an overlay is a picture printed on vellum laid on top of a printed invitation) for less than $100.

Here's what you'll need:

• Card stock

• Vellum

• Roll of thin ribbon

• Scissors

• Hole punch

• Computer and printer

Creating the invitations requires nothing more than time and patience for trial and error. Give yourself more than an hour to figure out how to set your computer's picture-printing options and to experiment with different elements. You'll be looking for an online picture, for example, and you'll want to find one that doesn't block the text of your invitation.

Here's how to make your own invitations:

• Decide on the wording of your invitations and type it up on your computer, using whichever font suits you best.

• Do an Internet image search of the area you're headed to. Test the print quality of the picture with a regular sheet of paper.

• When you've found a picture that will print well (it's not blurry or cut off at the edges), set your computer to print the correct size and number per page. This may take some trial and error, so practice with plain paper until you've got it right.

• Insert the vellum into the printer and print your pictures.

• Insert your card stock into the printer, and print the word portion of your invitation.

• Lay vellum on top of the cardstock and trim edges as necessary with scissors or a paper cutter.

• Using the hole punch, make two centered holes through both sheets of paper. Insert ribbon through the back of the holes and tie the papers together.

Voilà! Done, and on the cheap. This is really easy stuff as long as your computer is up to the task. If you don't have picture-printing software installed on your computer, now's the time to do it. Also, your invitations will work out best if you have a decent printer.

No Time for Crafts?

All right, so you don't want to be burdened with actually creating your own invitations. When ordering from a local printer, remember: An educated bride is far less likely to spend too much money on invitations. Before you walk into a print shop, here's what you should know:

Engraving is the most expensive form of printing invitations. The paper is “stamped” from the back by metal plates the printer creates, which raises the letters up above the surface of the paper as they're printed. Beautiful, yes, but pricey enough that most brides of average means actually laugh (or cry) when they're given the estimate.

Thermography is a form of printing that mimics engraving, but at about half the price. Chances are you've seen this type of printing on wedding invitations, as it's the most common form of printing done on mass-produced invites.

Calligraphy is a nice touch if you can swing it financially — but hiring someone to pen all those invitations by hand is going to be mucho expensive, and calligraphy is not the type of thing that an amateur (your maid of honor, for example) should attempt. However, as with most things these days, calligraphy can be faked with some decent computer software. Ask whether the printer offers this option.

Online Ordering

If you know all about paper quality, ordering invitations online can be very easy and inexpensive. But before you commit yourself to a couple of hundred invitations from an online retailer, invest a few hours doing research on paper weights, on the company you're considering, and on whether these invitations are standard-size or if they're going to cost you more than you're planning to spend for stamps.

No matter where you're getting your invitations, always, always, always check the envelope size against what the U.S. Postal Service considers “standard.” Oddly shaped envelopes may cost more per letter to mail, even if they aren't over the weight limit. A quick check with your friendly post office is all it takes to prevent the major headache of having all of your invitations returned to you for insufficient postage.

Online retailers usually make the ordering process fairly painless. Most have sample wording, and many have a seemingly endless array of borders and fonts. If possible, get references from friends or friends-of-friends who have used an online stationer.

Order early, and order extras! (Why pay for a rush job two months before your wedding when you can order those invitations four months ahead of time?) Make sure that you have enough extras on hand so that if you make a mistake in addressing the invitations or you remember at the last minute that you haven't invited someone, you won't have to order another, smaller batch, which will be markedly more expensive per card than the initial, larger (bulk) order of invitations.