Invitations are what sets the tone for your affair.

"Its the first thing seen, it's the first initial impact of a wedding, said Cheryl Kalp, of Invitations, Etc..., in Sharon, Massachusetts.

"You can establish what kind of tone...traditional, contemporary, summer garden or a saturday night affair." said Kalp.

It also helps your guest decide what to wear.

"Should I get dressed up? or should I wear polyester pull on pants?" said Kalp.

Upon looking for the perfect invitations one should keep their budget in mind first advises Kalp, who stressed that you can get the formal "Emily Post" look without spending a lot of money.

Among all the wedding vendors that you will run across when planning your wedding, invitations are about as straight forward as you can get. If you go into any store that sells invitations, you will see the same books in which are hundreds of sample invitations with the prices from the manufacturer listed right there. So, what are you shopping for anyway?

"Service," said Kalp, "You should be able to look at the price yourself."

What does vary from place to place is addressing the envelopes which can range between $1 to $2.50 per envelope. It depends if you have them done by hand with caligraphy which is beautiful but tends to be more expensive than if you have them done via computer and printer.

Aside from that Kalp warns against some mail order companies which people use to save some money.

"There are many that are reputable, but you have assumed responsibility." said Kalp.

That means if on your order form you spell your own name wrong, or forget to put on the invitation form what time your affair starts, which Kalp says is a common mistake-- you bought it.

Although Kalp warns "Don't be overwhelmed by what you see in front of you, be realistic on how much you want to spend...They all end up in the same place, --The garbage."