Let's talk invites! The first question that comes to the forefront when preparing a guestlist for a wedding is "Are we adding +1" Now that may sound like a duh" question but trust me a lot more goes into this answer, lol. So what’s the rule? In my opinion, married guests and couples are no brainers, but for the single guests, this is where the rhetorical gets not so rhetorical. 🤣

Let's be real guys, weddings are expensive! Any way you slice it, small, medium, large or in-between, they all cost. The number of guests you have determines everything, I mean EVERYTHING for your wedding but today we're only going to focus on the invitations.

If you've been following my wedding planning process you know we're getting married in Italy and that we've chosen an intimate setting. Our guest consists of close friends and immediate family and our theme is countryside elegance.... I came up with that…oooh, I mentioned it before? Lol, what? I'm proud of it. ☺️

So naturally, our invitations had to embody the theme I'm so proud of, lol. Realistically, I veiw invitations as the first glance into your affair. So this was no minor task. In my mind, I knew what I wanted and exactly how I wanted it to look.

I went with Zatorie for our wedding invitations. It was my first choice after researching but let me tell you a quick story. Even though I knew they were the ONE, I decided to go with a cheaper company. I'm talking $400 cheaper, ok. The reviews were great and the product looked nice so I went for it. Y'all when I got my invites I was sooooo disappointed. My design came out beautiful but the quality was not anything near what I wanted. Perhaps the best thing I got out of this experience were the envelopes. I loved the envelopes but everything else fell flat. I trashed them and immediately started the process with my first choice. It was 10:30pm when I placed the order with Zatorie. Just to give you an idea of how displeased I was. 😒

Zatorie was a dream to work with. From the moment I placed my order I felt like a VIP and my invitations were the only invites they were working on, lol. You are given your very own personal designer to work with. My designer emailed me the very next morning. (Remember I placed my order at night, Immediately after experiencing my displeasure with the other invites 🤣.) In the email your designer will explain the process which is fairly easy. Design ➡️ Edit ➡️ Proof.

The edit package you chose when you placed your order will determine how many times you get to edit your invite. I went with the two edits that were included in my package because remember I had the original design I created for the other company which I spent weeks on and still very much loved. So, there was no need for me to upgrade the package. Zatorie also has a number of really good pre-made designs, so you have options to choose from. No need to design from scratch like I did. Insert your information and whala. Done.

Ok, so let's get to the part I know you're waiting for. Price. It varies on the number of invitations, the style, edit package you choose and ad-ons you select.

Are they cheap? No. Are they worth it? YES!

Our invitations arrived in the evening via UPS and I just couldn't contain my excitement. It took about two weeks from the final proof approval to delivery. The invitation measures in at 5" width x 7" height with 1/8th inch thickness. They are also individually wrapped to prevent scratches during transport. I just had to show someone lol, so I posted it to my bride group. ❤️

I love love our invites. The process, attention to detail and overall treatment by Zatorie was first class. The money spent...what money? Getting exactly what you want allows you to forget that. 😄

Moral of this blog post is "Go With Your Gut". Every company is not cut the same and remember most importantly, cheap is not always only just cheap, it’s a disaster (even though they weren't really cheap, lol). I learned the hard way. 😔

Till next time. Later readers. 😊

Ronda