Wedding Invites: Freebies, Perks, And Where To Send Them

Planning a wedding can be stressful and expensive. Luckily, there are plenty of companies that offer free stuff for your big day. From free wedding stationery to beauty samples, there are many ways to save money on your wedding. Here are some ideas on where to send your wedding invites to get free stuff:

1. Chick-fil-A: Send your invite to their corporate address and they might send you coupons for free meals, gift cards, and other treats.

2. Lucasfilm Ltd: If you're a Star Wars fan, send them an invite and they might send you a themed cookbook with stickers.

3. Ben & Jerry's: Write to their customer service address for discount coupons for free ice cream.

4. Dallas Mavericks: Basketball fans could send an invite to this team and score some branded merchandise and a sweet letter.

5. Crumbl Cookies: Send an invite for a sweet, handwritten response and some delicious cookies.

6. Playstation: Gaming enthusiasts might receive gifts and responses from this company.

7. The Body Shop: Write a thank-you letter to this company about your favourite product and they might send you a box of skincare goodies.

8. Two Roads Brewing Co: Beer lovers could invite this company and receive a sweet reply and branded glasses.

9. LaCroix: Send an invite to this sparkling water brand and you might receive stickers, coupons, and other presents.

10. Kate Spade New York: This chic fashion brand is known for sending gifts like personalised cards, tote bags, wallets, or champagne glasses.

11. In-N-Out Burgers: Send your invite to their customer service address and they might send stickers, hats, t-shirts, and gift cards.

12. Nintendo: Write to their Public Relations department and you might receive mini posters.

13. The Walt Disney Company: Send your invite to their Fan Mail Department and you could receive personalised cards, stickers, pins, and other swag, especially if you're having a Disney-themed wedding.

14. Coca-Cola: Send your invite and you might get coupons for free products, personalised bottles, or even mini fridges.

15. Southwest Airlines: Gently remind them of your upcoming honeymoon and they might send vouchers for your trip.

16. Starbucks: Write to their Customer Relations department and you could receive gift cards, mugs, or coffee blends.

Free wedding stationery

Planning a wedding can be stressful and expensive. Luckily, there are plenty of companies that offer free wedding stationery. Here are some options to explore:

Websites with Free Templates

• Wedding Chicks: This website offers dozens of free stationery templates for invitations, save-the-date cards, and thank-you cards.
• Cards & Pockets: This website provides a wide variety of stationery designs, many of which are free. They offer 35 different free templates to choose from.
• Greetings Island: This website has hundreds of free templates for wedding invitations, bachelor parties, bridal showers, engagement parties, and rehearsal dinners. Some invitation templates even come with matching RSVP cards.
• Poster My Wall: This website offers over 1,200 different design templates for wedding invitations and over 100 save-the-date templates, all for free.
• Canva: While Canva does offer paid pricing plans, they also provide over 500 free wedding invitation templates and over 3,000 save-the-date templates.
• Printable Invitation Kits: This website offers free, printable templates for wedding invitations and RSVP cards.
• Love & Lavender: This website offers various free and paid templates for wedding invitations and other stationery. You can use the price filter to narrow your search to only the free options.
• Avery: Avery allows you to create and print custom wedding invitations, save-the-date cards, thank-you notes, and custom address labels.
• Basic Invite: Basic Invite specializes in invitations and offers free printable wedding planners and websites. They also provide menu cards, guest cards, bridal shower cards, enclosure cards, and more.
• FotoJet: FotoJet offers two options for creating thank-you cards: using their templates or personalizing your card with a picture from your wedding. Both options are free and do not require registration.
• The Sweetest Occasion: The Sweetest Occasion offers a free, printable thank-you card featuring a tandem bicycle in three different colors, along with printing instructions and paper recommendations.

Electronic Invitations

• Evite: This website allows users to create digital invitations for special events, including weddings. Some designs are free, while others charge a fee.
• Punchbowl: Punchbowl offers an extensive selection of wedding invitation designs, as well as options for bachelor, bachelorette, bridal shower, engagement, and rehearsal dinner invitations. They offer a free seven-day trial.
• Wedivite: Wedivite provides custom digital wedding invitations and other services like guest song suggestions, directions to the wedding, a wedding album, seating arrangements, and a free planning app.
• Paperless Post: Paperless Post offers electronic wedding invitations, save-the-date cards, bridal shower invitations, rehearsal dinner invites, and thank-you cards. They feature designs from brands like Kate Spade, Anthropologie, and Crate & Barrel.

Custom Address Labels

• Online Labels: This website lets you create custom mailing labels for your wedding invitations or save-the-date envelopes. They offer 86 different options, including labels for water bottles, wine bottles, and beer bottles.
• Template.net: This website offers ideas for custom mailing labels for your wedding invitations. They have almost a dozen different styles to choose from.

Free Wedding Planning Tools

• The Knot: This comprehensive wedding app helps with tasks such as picking a style, finding local vendors and venues, managing the guest list, and creating a free website.
• Zola: Zola offers a range of wedding stationery and a free wedding website where you can import guest addresses and track RSVPs. They also have a registry feature with over 800 brands.
• Joy: The Joy app helps manage the guest list and RSVPs and creates a private social network for the wedding party and guests. It also allows the newlyweds and guests to share photos privately.
• LadyMarry: The LadyMarry app lets you create a customized checklist, share your checklist, find tips, and manage communication between everyone involved.
• WeddingWire: WeddingWire offers a free wedding website and app where you can add your registry, collect RSVPs, sync your guest list, and recommend hotels.
• Luvbirds: Luvbirds claims to help couples create their own wedding website in just 60 seconds, with countless colors and fonts to choose from. It also allows you to track and manage RSVPs and includes an "online wishing well" feature for guests to contribute to the honeymoon fund.

These options provide a great starting point for obtaining free wedding stationery, and some also offer additional planning tools and resources.

Free wedding food tasting

A wedding food tasting is a fun part of the wedding planning process. It is when you, your partner, and any other key people, such as a wedding planner or parents, get to taste a variety of menu options with your caterer. This can include cocktail hour bites, plated appetisers, entrées, and even desserts.

What to Expect

Tastings allow you to sample the chosen menu and experience the service and presentation of the food before the reception. They may be complimentary or paid, and some vendors may require you to sign a contract first. Discuss your expectations and choose the dishes you want to try before the session. Drinks will also be included with the meal.

Who to Bring

Keep your entourage small and limited to three or four people who can give honest and helpful feedback. Consider bringing a wedding planner as they are experienced enough to spot potential problems with the food and service and make suggestions.

How to Prepare

• Be flexible with your schedule. Your caterer will have to put their staff on duty to prepare the meal, so accommodate their style of conducting the session.
• Focus on the food and avoid distractions during the session.
• Come prepared with a notepad, camera, and an open mind to fully enjoy the experience.
• Avoid eating a heavy meal or snacking before the session, but don't starve yourself either. You should be hungry enough to enjoy the food but not so hungry that you gobble it down.
• Be respectful and follow good food tasting etiquette during the session.
• Don't go overboard with the drinks. Take small sips to identify how the drinks go with the meal.
• Be discrete when discussing the food with your group. If there are negative factors, don't be too loud or overly critical.

Questions to Ask Your Caterer

• Who is preparing the tasting today?
• How far is the kitchen from where my guests will be dining?
• How do you handle dietary restrictions and allergies?
• Can we meet our on-site coordinator on the day of the tasting or before the wedding?
• Can we see photos of the food and presentation from past weddings?
• How many weddings do you typically do in a year?
• Do you provide linens and napkins? What are the costs associated?
• If not, can you handle coordinating those rentals?
• What is the server-to-guest ratio?
• Will all the food be made on-site or prepared in advance and brought in?
• Does our venue have enough kitchen space for you to execute our menu?
• How will your staff balance multiple events on the same day?
• Where do you source your food from?
• How will everything be plated, portioned, and presented on the day?
• Do you also do wedding cakes? What other desserts do you offer?
• When do you need final menu choices and headcount?
• Can you provide vendor meals?
• Do you provide bartending services? And if so, can you provide the alcohol?
• Are non-alcoholic beverages included in the food costs? If not, what are those costs?
• What is your cancellation policy?

Tips

• If you haven't signed a contract with your caterer yet, they will typically charge you for the tasting. If you are in contract with them already, some will waive all or most of the tasting charge.
• If you are just shopping around and want to taste the food prior to committing to an order, this is usually possible, but the caterer may ask you to pay for the food served at the tasting.
• If a vendor refuses to conduct a tasting before you pay a deposit, you can ask them to make an exception if you are willing to pay for it.
• If you have any pressing work problems or other things on your mind, schedule the tasting for another day so you can be mentally prepared and attentive.
• Tip the waiter who served you. Consider the total amount the meal would cost and tip the same percentage that you would normally.
• Thank the chef personally. It's not necessary, but it's a nice gesture.

Wedding registry freebies

There are several companies that offer wedding registry freebies. Here are some of the best options:

• Amazon: Amazon's wedding registry offer includes a 20% off coupon code after your wedding date, free shipping, and a record of who bought what, making it easy to send out thank-you notes.
• Target: Target offers tons of great freebies for couples who create a wedding registry with them. After the big day, you'll receive a 15% off registry coupon on everything left on your registry.
• Crate & Barrel: Crate & Barrel offers plenty of brilliant loot for free with completions. You're guaranteed to be spoiled for choice, and you can get all the kitchenware you need from guests who browse your registry.
• Bed Bath & Beyond: Take advantage of a one-time 20% completion discount after the big day.
• Sur la Table: Sur la Table offers some amazing giveaways just for registering. Once your guests start buying gifts from the registry, you'll receive even more freebies.
• Macy's: Macy's offers a 10-20% newlywed completion discount on gifts remaining on your registry. You'll also receive bonus gifts when you register with certain vendors and when your guests purchase something from those brands.
• Dillard's: Dillard's offers a 20% completion discount on remaining home, beauty, and furniture items on your registry. You can also get free items when your guests purchase enough from select brands.

Free wedding sweepstakes

Planning a wedding can be stressful and expensive. Luckily, there are many companies that offer free samples, deals, and other wedding freebies to help you save money. Here are some ideas for free wedding sweepstakes:

• Amazon: Create an Amazon wedding registry and receive bonus gifts. After your wedding date, you'll get a 10% off coupon (20% for Prime members) on items sold and shipped by Amazon. If your guests buy certain items, you may also get free gifts like a Cuisinart Pop and Serve popcorn maker or Riedel champagne glasses.
• Wedding Vibe and Emmaline Bride: These websites offer free wedding giveaways. You can enter to win various prizes, such as wedding cake toppers, bridesmaid robes, guest books, and more.
• Crate and Barrel: Sign up for their wedding registry to get free champagne flutes, gift cards, and bonus gifts from Wusthof. You'll also get 15% off all items for three months after your wedding. If you receive $450 or more in Wusthof products, you'll get a free utility knife worth $115.
• Williams-Sonoma: Register for their wedding registry and get free bonus gifts from All-Clad and De'Longhi. For example, if someone buys a De'Longhi coffee machine, you'll receive a set of six thermal-walled glasses worth $120.
• Dillard's: Complete your Dillard's wedding registry and get bonus gifts from Le Creuset and Reed & Barton. You'll also get a 20% discount on remaining registry items after your wedding, plus a 30-day return policy.
• Sur La Table: Sign up for their wedding registry and get freebies just for registering. If you register for $150 worth of Cuisinart products, you'll get a free popcorn maker. Register for $500 or more of Le Creuset, and you'll receive a heart-shaped skillet.
• Target: Target offers a 15% off coupon for items left in your registry. You can also add items from other websites to your Target registry.
• Macy's: Open a Macy's wedding registry to access various discounts for six months after your wedding. You'll get 25% off fashion, shoes, fine jewelry, and select home items, as well as 15% off watches and small appliances.
• National Tuxedo Rentals: Book four tuxedos and get a free groom's tuxedo rental. Just remember to do this at least 60 days before your wedding.

In addition to these sweepstakes, you can also find free wedding stationery, food tastings, and other wedding-related discounts and freebies.

Other wedding freebies

If you're looking for other wedding freebies, you're in luck! There are plenty of opportunities to get free stuff and save some money. Here are some ideas to explore:

Wedding Expos

If there are wedding expo events in your area, be sure to attend. These events often offer free samples, treats, and refreshments from various vendors. It's a great way to shop around for ideas and enjoy some freebies at the same time.

Magazine Subscriptions and Catalogs

Keep an eye out for free magazine subscriptions and catalogs related to weddings. These can provide valuable ideas and inspiration for your big day. While some are local publications covering specific areas, you can always opt for online versions to reduce paper waste.

Wedding Stationery

There are several websites that offer free customizable wedding stationery, including invitations, save-the-dates, thank you notes, and more. Websites like Avery, CardsAndPockets, Evermine, and Evite provide free templates that you can personalize and print yourself.

Food Tastings

Some bakeries and caterers offer free wedding cake tastings, allowing you to sample different flavors and styles without paying a cent. It's a fun way to find the perfect cake for your wedding while saving money.

Wedding Registries

Many companies offer freebies and discounts when you create a wedding registry with them. For example, Amazon offers a 20% off coupon code after your wedding date, free shipping, and a record of who bought what. Target provides a 15% off registry coupon on remaining items after the big day.

Beauty Samples and Consultations

Several beauty brands and stores offer free samples, consultations, and other perks for brides-to-be. Dillard's provides a custom face chart created by a professional makeup artist for your wedding day look. MAC Cosmetics offers complimentary applications when you purchase their lashes. Macy's provides free consultations for brows, eyes, foundation, and lips.

Wedding Apparel

If you or your partner are in the military, Brides Across America offers free wedding dresses. David's Bridal provides various deals, such as free accessories and discounts for bridesmaids. Men's Wearhouse offers a free suit, tux upgrade, or rental package when you order attire for your wedding party.

Online Tools and Services

There are also free online tools and services available to assist with wedding planning. Websites like Blueprint Registry, The Knot, and WeddingWire offer guidance, advice, and tools for creating a personalized wedding website, managing RSVPs, and more.

Frequently asked questions