Save the date... but don't break the bank

Anyone planning a wedding knows that save the dates wedding stationary is expensive!  Some of the websites I have looked at are trying to sell invitations for $6 a piece!!!  Crazy people.  The high cost of professional stationary encouraged me to get crafty, and be the DIY bride I know I can be.  I approached my amazing friend Laura to design all of the stationary for our wedding and she graciously agreed to help us out!  She really is amazing, and has been able to take my ideas and make them a reality.

First up of the necessary wedding stationary is the save the dates.  I wanted to send out save the dates, because our initial wedding plans have changed (which may confuse some) and I have a lot of family coming from out of town to our wedding in Joplin.  Magnet save the dates are my favorite because they are functional to the recipient, super cute, and they end up on the fridge instead of in the garbage! (that is a large bonus!)

I researched on line how to make my own magnet save the dates, and found out that stores sell printer paper with magnets on the back, which are safe for running through inkjet printers!  I know... I was shocked to!  This is what the package of magnet paper looked like that I picked up:

Laura designed the initial image, and then we figured out that we could fit 10 of the images on a page of paper if we made them business card size.

Once it came out of the printer, I took an exacto knife and carefully cut around edge of each save the date.  The process is a little time consuming, but well worth the money saved!

After cutting all of them out I plan on putting them into an envelope with a card letting guests know where we are registered, and our wedding website where they can stay up to date on all things wedding :)  

I am really happy with how they turned out and it saved us a lot of money to do it ourselves. (P.S. did you notice the mason jars?!  Get excited for them to continue to show up!)  A package of three pieces of magnet paper cost $5.97, and a pack of 50 invitation envelopes was $4.27.  The most expensive part of this project is going to be the postage!  I encourage anyone going through the planning process right now to research how to do some of the projects on your own, because the money saved can be amazing :)  Happy DIYing!