StDs - Designed/Delivered Part III

I apologize for the delay in this post. Here are my DIY save the dates...TA-DA!


After my huge black pen fiasco I regained my self-confidence and decided to try again at handwriting all the addresses. I got a couple of white gel pens from Michael's which I think look a million times better.




I didn't have it in me to hand write all the return addresses so we just printed them on transparent labels and stuck them on the back. We also used a little piece of fancy fabric tape as a finishing touch.We were originally going to use seals but they ended up being a little big for the envelopes. Hopefully I'll be able to use the seals on the invitations.



Then I put them all in gallon ziplock bags to protect them from the elements until they were safely in the hands of the USPS.

StDs - Designed/Delivered Part II

After designing the StDs, the next step was to line the envelopes. We went to Paper Presentation and picked up some high quality brown kraft paper envelopes and loads of scrapbook paper I clearly couldn't pick just one so I picked up everything that caught my eye. D picked the one with the pink elephants.

Then a traced an envelope onto some cardstock to make a template.

Once I had the basic size of the envelope it was easy to figure out the size and spacing I wanted for the liner.
Then I cut out the template and just traced it onto the paper. This is actually the back of the paper. D was in charge of the cutting and the stuffing. Then I did all the gluing.


Here's what they all looked like when they were done!
Super easy and the whole project envelopes and paper cost a little less than $50.

StDs - Designed/Delivered Part I

As previously mentioned, my StDs finally went out on Monday... and people have already received them. I thought it would be a good time to share my STD process.

The StDs were designed and printed in Stamford, Connecticut about a month ago. I took the Metro North up to Stamford and met with my bridesmaid L.

Immediately, L got to work in her home office. (She does this for a living!)

This is me giving her a thumbs up! I was pretty useless. At some point I just have so many ideas that I become indecisive so I just provide general statements of approval.

We finally got them printed!!! This is LA checking out the prints and making sure they were consistent, making sure the black was black and all the edges were clean. I love that my friends are perfectionist just like me :D

Then she cut and whole punched the individual save the dates! She punched little semi-circle notches in the side of the StDs because we tied a piece of twine around each invite... as a mnemonic device of sorts since we used "Tying the Knot".... I know it's a little cheesy but I liked it :D

Because were were ignoring her cat, he made sure to remind us that he was around!

My job was to put holes in the calendars for the little heart shaped brads.

They really turned out great and I'll post the final invites soon enough.

Upscale E-Vites

Today Ideeli featured a groupon-esque deal for $60 worth of invites at Paperless Post.

Paperless Post is a New York-based company founded in 2008 by siblings Alexa and James Hirschfeld. PP combines all the thoughtful charm of a letterpress invite with the ease of electronic delivery, including the ability to monitor and track guest responses.

The site has grown to include hundreds of design options for dozens of special (wedding-related) occasions: engagement party invitations, save the dates, bachlorette party invitations and great thank you notes. You can even add extra customization like borders, envelope liners, and you can even create your own monogram - with so many options, the design process can actually be pretty addictive.

Not only are these invites cost effective, they are great for the environment too!

Here are some of their great designs:









How amazing are these!?!? I love the envelope liners. The attention to detail really makes these e-vites unique.

I probably wouldn't use these for my Stds or Wedding Invitations because I have a high rate of internet illiteracy on my guest list but it would be awesome for a bridal shower or bachlorette party.

****If you wanna get in on the Ideeli deal, you better hurry... the deal ends at midnight!!

StDs Lace Obsession

About a month ago I set an arbitrary deadline of August 30 for my StDs. Now that its only about four days away I realize that (1.) I am not going to be done by Aug. 30 (2.) I am SOOOO indecisive.

First of all, I should mention that I will be spending the next four days in New Orleans. It is the 5 year anniversary of Katrina and it's Dave's first visit so I have a lot on my mind.

Second, I started a new job! I am a part-time nanny/babysitter/mother's helper for a family with four AMAZING kids. Anyone who knows me knows that I love to hoard jobs! Anyone who doesn't is probably wondering why I would put more on my already overflowing plate... Well, I really love being around kids. Plus it's the only thing that takes my mind off school, and the wedding! In other words my life has kind of taken a nanny diaries sort of turn but I really needed the distraction!

BUT back to the StD fiasco...

I am so torn between all the possible ways to use lace. After hours and hours of scouring the internet, these are my favorite designs.

{Etsy}
{Etsy}
{Etsy}
{Etsy}
{Wedding Paper Divas}
{Elizabeth Anne Design}
{Zenadia}
{Wedding Paper Divas}
{Hello Lucky}
{Invitation Box}
{einvite}

I am super torn between a printed lace design and using real lace to accent the save-the-dates. Thoughts??

Weekly MVP

Last night my fabulous "Event Designer" (bridesmaid, college roommate and super talented friend) emailed me Save-the-date mock-ups! She also but the hard copies in the mail (1) so I could see/touch the in person and (2)so we can see how the travel( ie. Make sure nothing gets ruined by the USPS!). I haven't received those yet but I already know I'll love them just from looking at the pictures!

Here is a sneak peak of my favorite:






How awesome is the textured paper! I also love the vintage Costa Rican map she incorporated into the Stds! I can be a little bit of DiY/budget snob. By that I mean, I love the idea of budget conscious ideas but I hate things that look cheap or generic! There are certainly people out there who couldn't care less about their stationary, I am self-aware enough to know that I am NOT one of those people! I love stationary. I love paper products in general. I hoard thank you cards and order expensive Christmas cards every year from my favorite stationary store in New Orleans. Speaking of which, I should probably set a Scriptura budget before I get to NO otherwise, things are going to get out.of.control!

and some of the other contenders:




I am generally horrible at asking people for help and hate imposing on friends and family, (I think it may be a cultural thing, but I'm not sure) but so far the StD experience has been an amazing experience and has really made me realize that I need to trust other people more and let go of some of the decisions!


Because Laura A. has been SO awesome she is official this weeks (and the only) wedding MVP! Thanks roomie!

Stds...hehehe

So yes, I am STILL looking for save-the-dates. The good news is that a good friend of mine, has offered to design and print all my invites for me. She was actually my roommate in college for a semester before she transferred to design school

The bad news is, I am SO indecisive.

I adore Minted and currently they are offering three free samples to all their customers. So I spent the morning trying to narrow down my favorites to just three.
So far this has proven to be an exercise in uncertainty and ever growing self-doubt. Here are some of my favorites:
{Float + Vintage Round}
{Destination}
{Winter Stitch}
{Float + Brocade}

One of my major problems is that I like things that don't even make sense for my wedding. When I see any idea that is particularly uniqu I have a hard time letting it go. I want to believe I can incorporate everything into my wedding.

Then I got this great facebook message from another friend about flashdance. Flashdance is "a collective of artists who think YOU deserve a rad wedding" How awesome is that. I don't recognize all the vendors but I obv recognize Max Wanger, who I LOVE.

Then I saw these amazing save the dates:


L.O.V.E

They are stylish without tryig to hard, and certainly get the message across. LOVE. Thanks Chels!

Paper work

In honor of all the paper pushing I am doing as a summer intern I thought I would feature some pretty paper that caught my eye. Here are two recently featured invitations that I truly love. The first is a wedding invitation suit from Ruffled, and the second is a vintage save-the-date from Once Wed.

{Source:Dapper Paper}
{Source:Hello Lucky!}

DIY save-the-dates

I am about two weeks away from sending out save-the-dates so I've started looking for the very very best ideas. So I really love the vintage handkerchiefs and have found a number of affordable vintage handkerchiefs on ebay. Although I think they are lovely, I think they may be too feminine for my FF and the lovely gentlemen in my life.

{Martha Stewart Weddings}
{wedding bee}
{Eat Drink Chic}
{The Wedding Chicks}
{oh hello, friend}