Getting Your Invitations Printed - When you have your invitations printed, you can choose between Thermography (raised ink) or Engraving. Raised Ink has that nice touch me - feel me look. Engraving is a special process that produces the highest quality but is VERY expensive.

Where to get them Printed - Almost every "around the corner" print shop has wedding albums filled with beautiful invitation samples. Most of these print shops do not do the printing but instead use major printing companies that specialize in wedding and social invitations thus assuring you of top-notch quality. Even so, some of the better print shops have the necessary equipment to do either raised-ink or engraving.

In addition, many wedding professionals also have those wedding albums. The advantage there is that they can also provide expert advice on wordings help you budget you choice of accessory papers.

There is also a wide selection of "mail order" printing companies. They usually offer better pricing but often cannot provide you with advice you may need for your wording. If you KNOW all about your paper choices and how to create your wording, mail order may be a good choice.

Envelopes - Responds - Place Cards - Thank Yous - Your Invitations will come with "outer" envelopes. For a small fee, your return address will be printed on the flap side. Other accessory cards are also available usually in a style that matches the design of the Invitation. However, note that the outer and inner envelopes will still need your handwritten names and addresses. This is also true for Responds and Place Cards. Check out Calligraphers if you do have good handwriting OR if you want an extra special look.

PERSONALIZATION or Computer Printing - There is nothing wrong with printing your own or using the services of those who might specialize in computer printing. While you will not get raised ink or engraving, you may find that there is a significant cost savings as long as you still have a broad choice in the paper stock. One MAJOR advantage of computerized printing is that you or a specialist can "embed" the guests' name into the invitation wording . . . for truly personalized invitations. Some wedding professionals offer this along with envelope addressing.