Trendy Wednesday: All in the Invite

Trendy Wednesday by Jenna Paniccia

The second your wedding invitations hit the mail, your wedding has officially begun! Wedding invitations set the mood for what your guests will be experiencing on your big day. It’s a way to show off the ambiance and excitement that your wedding will be filled with.

There is so much to consider when choosing wedding invitations. All the little details can make a huge impact on something so quaint.

When considering the style of your invitations I think it’s best to design around your wedding colors versus your wedding theme. Invitations are planned out early in the wedding process. Most brides find a color palette that they love and stick with it; but when it comes to design of the wedding, theme changes are endless. Also, keep your personalities in mind. Do you want your wedding to be traditional and classic, or is your wedding going to be eccentric? Your answer to this question says a lot about the look and feel of your wedding invitations.

Planning the invitations can be a little stressful, and the less stress the better! Looking through invitations and finding details from a few that you love and then applying those details to your own invitations helps make the process run more smoothly. When you have a visual of something you really like it’s easier to come up with an overall concept.

Make sure to shop around before choosing a vendor! Invitations can get a little pricey, so it’s easy to go over-board. Really think about if you want to send a save the date, if you need to include directions for the venue, whether you’ll have a seated dinner with entrée options or a buffet style event… all of these questions can change the price of the overall outcome. Make sure the stationer you pick really understands what you are looking for before sending your design to print! Requesting a sample is always best to make sure you love the invitation as much as you love your dress.

Keep in mind that your invitation is like the pictures from your wedding. Ten years from now, you’ll want to look back and have fond memories of the whole process. Make sure you love every aspect that goes into the design and be proud to drop them in the mail. Have fun with it, be creative, and keep the invitations true to you.

Photo credit: ruffhouseart.com, vponsale.com, onewed.com, weddinginvitationscards.com, ohsobeautifulpaper.com, mostweddingflowerideas.com

My DIY life

Diary of a Bride to Be by Lauren Cooper

A few months ago I decided that I would get a little crafty with the wedding and make some things myself.  At first I drew a feather motif to go with our “modern vintage romance” theme, and decided to make four panel fan programs.  Then I decided that I could print and cut the escort cards myself  because, well they’re pretty easy.  Then I added the menu cards, and the favor cards and, oh, we’re doing welcome bags too! And then the magnitude of printing and very meticulously cutting really hit me.  Someone please tell me what I was thinking?  Did I mention that in the middle of all these projects I’m running a business? 

After running errands all day on Saturday, I frantically started printing our favor cards and recruited the future hubs to help out.  I used the exact-o knife while he used the paper-cutter.  He was finished before me – scrapping the exact-o knife idea.  Then I tried to print the menus but we would up getting paper that had a watermark on it by accident and now I have to return it.  Grrr. Because I felt like I needed to keep going, I printed the RSVP card labels instead.  I tried to do more but FH intervened and told me that I have more than enough time to get all of this done.  I disagree.

 AND to top it all off, we have to assemble and send out the invitations by April 2nd.  Which was also a subject of debate since FH wanted to send  them by the end of March and I wanted to send on the exact two month mark.  He didn’t like it when I said if we sent them too soon, we’re less likely to get a timely RSVP.  So April 2nd is our compromise. 

In an effort to save my frazzled brain, I started running again which helps relieve some of my nervous energy.  And invested in a rotary cutter.  🙂

Wedding Maps

Diary of a Bride to Be by Lauren Cooper

There’s a recent trend that I’ve really taken a liking to:  Wedding Maps.  I first saw the wedding map in Martha Stewart Weddings magazine and I fell in love with the idea.  It’s such a creative and fresh take on direction cards!  Fortunately, there are tons of stationers on sites like Etsy that can create a wedding map for you…however, it can be a bit pricey.  So I took matters into my own hands and drew up our map myself! 

I’m a fan of DIY-ing but, as I’ve mentioned before, I don’t really want to overwhelm myself since all of my wedding helpers are a few hours away.  😦  Keeping that in mind, I thought drawing a map and sending it to whatever stationer I chose would be a simple and fun project. And I was right.  I went to Google maps, looked up where our wedding is being held and searched for locations nearby that pertain to our wedding weekend.  Clicked print and viola!  A simple template.  I carefully traced the streets that I needed and added in the locations.  Then I drew little symbols that went along with each destination.  For example, there’s a golf course nearby that people can visit, so I drew a tiny golf bag.  Finally, I very carefully hand printed the names of the streets and destinations.  And it looks pretty!  I’m scanning it in to the computer today so that I can pass on to the stationer when I’m ready.  (Yes, I still have to choose invites.  Yes, I have a week left to do so.  I know, I know!)  Pictures to come soon!

Pretty Paper

Diary of a Bride to Be by Lauren Cooper

The good news is the save the dates are all sent out!  (Well, except for one) The bad news is, with the response I got from our save the dates, I now feel like the stationary I had originally picked out is below par.  😦 Yea, I know I said I didn’t want anything fancy because people just throw it out, blah, blah.  And I still feel that way, which is which I’m trying to find pretty stationary for a good price.  

So I’ve gone back to the drawing board to look at more invitation options.  We’ve been traveling so much on the weekends, that spending an entire day at a stationary store is sort of out of the question.  I also feel I’ve exhausted my options through places like Minted and Wedding Paper Divas.  And so back to trusted Etsy I go.  I swear I should start a fan club for this site.  Who knew how many thousands of stationers are on Etsy?  It kind of makes my head spin.

So far I’ve reached out to five vendors whose work I really liked.  I requested samples and pricing and started an excel sheet to compare.  Obsessive?  Yea, maybe.  But there’s so many different options for stationary that it’s impossible to keep straight if I don’t have it written down.  There’s letterpress, thermography, and offset printing.  Then you have to choose how many enclosure cards you want, and what sort of card stock you want to print on…oh and some places offer menus and thank you card printing while others don’t.  It’s all very confusing.  The good thing is:  I can go custom made!  Which is really what I’ve wanted from the very beginning;  something that incorporates our theme and personal style onto an invitation.  And the prices?  SO much better for work that is created just for YOU!  Yay.  🙂

Stationary Insanity

Diary of a Bride to Be by Lauren Cooper

This week I started getting more in depth with finding invitations. And my head is spinning. I know I’ve written about some amazing stationers before (Twig & Fig, Ceci New York, Wedding Paper Divas) but I decided to branch out a bit and explore more options. Little did I know just how many MILLIONS of options there are. And some are just over the top expensive. Add that to the fact that every time I pick up a bridal magazine or check a blog for ideas there has to be that Debbie Downer that says, “Oh, but our guests are just going to through the invites out anyway”. Ugh. Knife. Through. Heart.

So, my amazing wedding planner recommended some stationers to me that I’m looking into and yesterday I ventured out to a local store and browsed through some books. And more books. Until they all started to look the same. Annnnd of course the ones that I literally went, “Ooooo” out loud to, cost pretty much my whole stationary budget. So back home I went with pictures on my phone and a DIY mission in my head. No, I’m not going to make my invites myself. I don’t want to drive myself insane. But there are some things I think I can make rather easily and save on the overall cost of the stationary. Like ceremony programs.

But how do I justify splurging on invites when most people throw it away? Really? Aren’t there some family members that save invites? I know my parents will. On the other hand, do I really care if they throw it away as long as it makes FH and I happy? Oh for pete’s sake its PAPER and I’m overanalyzing it. What am I gonna be like when we go dress shopping?!

This one I’ll have to sleep on for a while.

Invitations 101

Wedding invitations have multiple purposes: the most obvious is that it informs guests with the details of your wedding event. More importantly, it subtly sets the tone of your wedding. Choices in paper, print, and design determine the formality, sophistication, and theme.

So now what!

1. Pick out your paper first, then start stressing over the design and color palate you want.
2. Get familiar with the 5 basic types of printing… and your choice depends on your personal style and budget. Which include:

Calligraphy: (elaborate decorative handwriting)

Here’s the thing Calligraphy is pretty expensive…. Think YSL or Prada…. But if it is in your budget it is unbelievably elegant and sophisticated.  But calm down… if you want this look but your budget doesn’t have room for the handwritten Calligraphy, there is an alternative.  Smock has a handwritten Calligraphy font that looks like the real deal but instead of eight to fifteen dollars an envelope it is around three dollars an envelope.

Engraving: (copying each invitation from a raised hard surface)

Engraving represents the classic wedding invitation.  If you like a little glitz and glam, such as metallic colors… then engraving is your best option.  As far as invitations go, Engraving is one of the more expensive options.  But, it can be done without feeling like you just maxed out your credit card at a sample sale.  Both Crane’s and William Arthur do unbelievable classic, traditional looks, and are similarly priced.

Letterpress: (relief printing invented by Gutenberg in the mid-15^th century)

Letterpress is the most popular printing method for invitations.  Traditionally the flatter the surface the better, however, modern times call for modern measures… people now view the deep impression as a marker of quality.  If you want some of the hippest designs out there check out Elum … don’t forget that this is the Dolce & Gabbana of printing.  For a more reasonable but still quality product look up Julie Holcomb.  Helpful hint choose a soft paper for letterpress so that the imprint and ink can truly be absorbed!

Thermography: (a semi-glossed, raised way of printing)

Some brides prefer the semi-glossy look and the lower price point of Thermography.  You still get the fun look you want but it is 40% less expensive than Engraving.  So if you accidentally spent your entire budget on the dress here is a way to counteract that, while still looking polished and chic… and again you can visit Crane’s or William Arthur for Thermography.

Flatpress: (laser printing that comes out completely flat)

If you want something less expensive Flatpress, also known as Offset printing, is a perfect choice.  If you are basing your decision on price then this is on par with Thermography, so choose the style you like the best.  A favorite for Flatpress printing is Wiley Valentine; they will fit your budget and leave you with a fantastic product that matches your style and expectations.

Last, but certainly not least in our book, we would like to give a shout out to Viva at Kate’s Paperie on West 57^th between 6^th and 7^th.  She is the guru when it comes to stationary and invitations!