I'm on a pretty tight budget, so I found some blank ivory colored invitations at the thrift store ($3), along with some similar-sized blank invitations (1/2 price--I paid $5) from the craft store--to fill the remainder of the guest list---and used a program on my computer to assist in designing. I ordered a beautiful floral heart-shaped rubber stamp from an online dealer ($8), and purchased stamp ink ($4), two pieces of textured navy blue scrap book paper ($2) and ribbon ($2) from the local craft store, and hand-embossed the invitations myself! (I already had the embossing powder and heat gun, as well as the specialty edge-cutting scissors from past invitation-making, so that saved me money also.) It takes a little extra time to do the hand-embossing, but I was happy about the way they turned out, and it definitely makes them more personal! I also saved money on return stamps for most of the invitations by adding an insert with information on how to reply via the Wedding Wire website---or via text-message. P. S. If you're inviting "older" generation guests, please keep in mind that they aren't as "tech-savvy" as the younger generation, so you should probably send them self-addressed, stamped RSVP reply cards to send back to you. Another bit of trivial information: if you DO get fancy with additional ribbons and items that protrude from your invitations---beware that our lovely Post Office charges extra for stuff that makes ripples in your envelopes! (So, needless to say, the people who got the invites with ribbons are the ones to whom I could hand-deliver!) The other invitations that were sent out via the mail were just embellished with the embossed heart, hand-cut edges, and the navy blue. Hope you are able to find your perfect invitations at a reasonable price! Good luck and God bless!
Hand-embossed invitation
Close-up of gold embossing
Back of the invitation
