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Hanson Ellis Review

Monday, January 13th

2025 Wedding Invitation Site Reviews

Hanson Ellis Review 2.5 Star Rating

Hanson Ellis

2.5 Star Rating
  • Starting at $7.95
  • Unique wedding favors to complement your invitations
  • Unfiltered customer reviews

Hanson Ellis isn't just known for their wedding invitations, but also for their gifts and unique party favors. They boast that they set the trend for "Latest and Most Popular Personalized Gifts & Wedding Favors”. Since 1999 they have grown to include gifts for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, and corporate functions. Hanson Ellis' mantra is "Celebrate life with Love, Trust, & Faith.” Just a few of the respected names of companies who have used Hanson Ellis for their customized products include SpaceX, Delta, Celebrity Cruises, Allstate, Lexus, CenturyLink, Samsung, Walt Disney World, Smith's, Morgan Stanley, and others.

Atypical invitations

It's pretty obvious from a quick look around Hanson Ellis' website that they have really unique products that you wouldn't find at your typical wedding invitation store. However, in this case it means that you won't really find "normal”, traditional wedding invitations at all. They have a "Wedding Cards + Save the Date” category with just 5 products. One of them is a wedding invitation that comes in a bamboo box, a sailboat magnet favor, a genie lamp message holder, rhinestone save the date fans, and wedding postcards. The "Wedding Invitation in a Bottle + Scrolls” category comes up with equally entertaining-but-unhelpful results. They have a variety of different types of bottles and small boxes that you could print your wedding invitation on, roll up, and send to your guests.

Minimal customization

There are really minimal customizations you can make to the invitations from Hanson Ellis. Say you choose to order a scroll that slides into a bottle. You can add 24 characters to line 1, 24 characters to line 2, add a map and directions (for an added cost), type a brief message, and add a response card (for another additional fee) with your RSVP date, return name, and address. With the RSVP you can choose from a few clipart images like a seashell, palm tree, beach chair, or dolphin to add to the card. You could pay more to personalize the tag on the bottle or add a charm. There is nowhere to change fonts, change the layout of the wedding invitation, or add photos. Really all you can do is add your own information to the already existing, simple format.

Expensive invitations

Since you aren't just buying a simple piece of paper at Hanson Ellis if you choose to order wedding invitations, you'll be paying quite a bit more. Instead of paying maybe $1.25 per invitation, you'd need to plan to pay closer to $7 - $15 each. This might be more reasonable if you just send these unique invitations to a handful of people or use them as invitations to a bachelor/bachelorette party, but if you're hoping to invite hundreds of people to your big day, you'll have a fat bill for that.

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Made-to-order = no refunds

Since wedding invitations are made-to-order, they do not qualify for any type of exchange or refund from Hanson Ellis. The only way you can have a refund or reprint is if the product comes with defects. You can contact Hanson Ellis by phone to get any issues taken care of.

Read product reviews

Hanson Ellis is not rated by the Better Business Bureau and they aren't popular on any third-party sites or forums. The best resource for finding out how people's experience is with wedding invitations here are by the customer reviews one each product. One of the invitations in a bottle has 49 customer reviews and all of them are glowing. Some other products have a handful of reviews, and a few of them don't have any at all. If you are interested in a particular product, be sure to read any reviews they might have for a good gauge on quality.

Not what most people need

Unless you have plenty of money to spend on invitations and your wedding theme revolves around the beach or is nautical, you probably won't find what you want at Hanson Ellis. It's fun to look at their unique wedding invitation choices, but there aren't very many and it's definitely not what 99% of people are going for when they want to send out invitations for their wedding day. Because of this, Hanson Ellis has earned one of our lower ratings.

Where is the Best Place to Order Wedding Invitations?

It's an exciting time of life if you're on the search for wedding invitation companies. It's the purchase that kicks off the rest of the important events you're about to experience. Wedding invitations can reach your loved ones all around the globe to invite them to celebrate your special occasion.

The design of an invitation says a lot about the personalities of the happy couple and portrays the vibe of the wedding - low-key and casual or fancy and formal? The invitation says it all. You can have any wedding invitation you dream up with how easy it is to customize them these days.

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Wedding Invitation Site FAQ

You can get online and create all your wedding invitations in an hour or less. Wedding invitation sites have easy-to-use templates that allow you to drag and drop photos, graphics, and text to make a beautiful design in a short amount of time. You'll be able to select the font, color, and size of your invitations as well. As soon as your design is complete, you can submit your order and receive your invitations within a matter of days.
The total cost of wedding invitations is dependent on a few factors like the type of paper, quantity, and size. They are usually priced individually, but prices tend to drop the more you buy. On average, you can expect to pay between $400 and $650. That number can be a lot higher if you have a long guest list, want addresses printed on all your envelopes or other fanciful options.
The classiest and timeless way to do wedding invitations is on paper in the mail. That way people get a beautiful picture of the engaged couple, all the details for the wedding day, and can save the invitation and look at it so they don't forget. It is a much more formal option than evites. Evites are more acceptable for events like birthday parties or baby showers.
Yes! Some companies charge extra for envelopes, while others have them priced in with the invitation itself. You might choose to change the color of the envelope or have addresses printed for you, which could alter your overall cost. However, envelopes are a necessary part of the deal when you're purchasing wedding invitations online.
Oftentimes companies will mail you your invitation before you place your full order so you know what they look like. This way you get to feel the paper, see the quality of the printing, and make sure everything is formatted the way you want. Another option is just viewing an online preview of your invitation before submitting your full order, which also gives you an adequate idea of how they will turn out.
You could collect wedding invitations the old fashioned way and make a list of all your guests, then text or call to request their address. Another option is to make an account through a website that emails or texts your guest list and asks them to respond with their address. There are quite a few free options for doing this. Also, some people simply put it out there on social media that they're getting married and would like a direct message with people's addresses if they are interested in receiving an announcement.
The most traditional size for a wedding invitation is a 4.5 inch by 6.25 inch rectangular card. Most of the time wedding invitations aren't much bigger than a 5 inch by 7 inch design. If it's too big it will look silly, but if it's too small it might be hard to read. Nowadays there are lots of creative designs for wedding invitations like circular scalloped, oval, or other unique shapes that all come in reasonable sizes and add flair to your wedding invitation.
Some key pieces of information you'll want to include on your wedding invitation include the names of the bride and groom (sometimes the parents of the happy couple are listed too), wedding date, location, and time, and other special ceremonies the guest is invited to. You might include whether or not you'll be serving food, where the couple is registered for gifts, RSVP information, and a note about attire.
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Continued from above...

Many companies allow you to upload your own photos, choose your favorite fonts, select colors and clipart, and adjust the placement of your text to create exactly the look you're going for. You can put your creative skills to work or choose from one of the hundreds of thousands of pre-existing wedding invitation templates where you could easily add your information and have them ready for printing within minutes.

Your wedding invitation will likely include the names of you and your significant other, the date, time, and venue location for the ceremony, how you want people to dress (if applicable) and information on where you're registered (so you can get showered with money and gifts, of course!). It's important to find a company that will quickly print out your invitations so that your guests have plenty of time to get details about your wedding and give you a solid RSVP.

Aside from the wedding invitation alone, some people choose to slip in extra cards to invite certain guests to a luncheon or dinner, reception, or even a bachelor/bachelorette party beforehand. You can choose the envelope design you want to go along with your invitation and if you want the company to print addresses on them for you. You might add a fancy gold stamp to seal the invitations or have them embossed with your names. The sky's the limit when it comes to designing something beautiful that you'll be excited to send to all your friends and family.

We've done a lot of the important research regarding some of the best online companies that do custom wedding invitations. There are a few key details we recommend that you keep in mind when you are shopping around:

  • Customization. Are you able to take a basic template and adjust every aspect of it to look exactly the way you want? Is it easy to use the website and figure out all the features and how to upload photos? You want your wedding invitations to feel perfect, so don't settle for somewhere that doesn't allow you to make many modifications to their templates.
  • Cost. There are more than enough things to budget for when you're planning a wedding, so don't feel like you have to spend too much on your invitations. Compare your design across different sites and see who will print it for the most affordable cost. You'll often get bulk discounts, so the more you print, the cheaper they will likely be. Also consider the cost of shipping since this will add to the overall price.
  • Production time. Once you've given the "okay” on your invitation design, how long does it take the company to get them printed and to your doorstep? Find somewhere that guarantees their shipping times and gives you the quickest turnaround time. You want to give your guests plenty of heads up about your wedding and be able to compile an accurate guest list of those who will be able to make it.

The experts at Top Consumer Reviews have researched the most important things you'd want to consider when choosing a company to create and buy your wedding invitations from. We hope this information helps you have an enjoyable time designing wedding invitations that reflect your style and that you'll cherish forever!

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