Here Comes the Blog

Archive for the ‘Invitations & Stationery’ Category

From theme and personalization ideas to attire and décor, the wedding world is full of inspiration loveliness! So many incredible ideas… it almost makes me want to get married all over again! *sigh*

Newly engaged? If so, are you swimming in a sea of wedding magazines? Is your Google Reader overflowing with amazing wedding blogs? Are you feeling joyous yet overwhelmed with all the possibilities? Perhaps it’s a good time to get down to basics {I’ll explain soon}.

Your wedding invitations are the most important communication tool for your guests- reflecting the tone of your wedding as well as your colors, theme and style.  With all of today’s wedding inspiration goodness, a challenge lies in staying focused and keeping a cohesive look. Of course, it can be done~ hopefully, by the time you order your invites. 

Back to wedding planning basics. This simply involves deciphering your style and knowing what you want for your wedding day. If you stay true to your personalities and style, wedding planning will be a joy {as it should be}! You’ll have a much easier time making decisions while staying focused, consistent and true to yourselves.

Talk Amongst Yourselves

• Dream over your vision. How do you see your wedding day?
• What’s your style? Are you modern, traditional, destination, non-traditional…
• Which colors and season are you naturally drawn to?
• Is there a theme that effortlessly captures your personality and style?
• Where do you lean… rustic or metropolitan? Somewhere in between?
• What are the most important elements? {Great food. Great music. Dream dress…}
• What is your budget?

Thoughts? What other questions are worth asking?

 I’d love to hear from you,

Heidi

Save the Date image via MagnetStreet Weddings

Love a certain Save the Date or Invite design but the tone isn’t quite right for your wedding style? It’s easy to change the look and feel simply by making font changes! Just like color, fonts interact with the tone of the design making a design more or less formal. So, by all means, play with the tone by playing with the fonts…  

There are 3 Main Font Types

• Script fonts- either formal or informal. These fonts look handwritten and are often used in the names of the couples. Scripts fonts have personality and are perfect for calling out your names. 
• Serif fonts- more formal. You can tell a serif font by the tail on the end of the first letter.    
• Sans Serif fonts- less formal {without the tail}. These look more like block letters.

Play with the fonts giving lots of importance to how your names appear. Choose the font style that best reflects your personality. For instance… for a fun, casual look to your Save the Dates, look to the Sans Serif fonts. If a formal tone is what you’re after, then pair a script style with a Serif.

A few more suggestions:

• For readability, limit the number of fonts to two and avoid using all CAPS {tough to read.}
• Contrast your two fonts: i.e. a script font with a Sans Serif font.
• Be consistent with your fonts… if you change a script font in your name and that same script font was found in your wedding date~ change it there too.
• Do not use 2 different script fonts.

Which fonts are you considering for your wedding stationery?

Happy Planning!

One of my favorite wedding invitation companies, Minted, launched a new line of “Wedding Invitation Suites” which include fully coordinated invitations, RSVP cards, information cards, and thank you cards along with backers, envelope liners, and skinny wrap address labels.   Along with the launch, Minted has announced that they will be giving away a full wedding invitation suite to one lucky bride.  It will include all of the fully coordinated items listed above for up to 100 guests.   A prize valued at over $1000!!

To enter for your chance to win the wedding invitation suite of your dreams, simply go to the Minted Blog and leave a comment with the name of your favorite wedding suite invitation.

PARISIAN GRAMMAR SCHOOL WEDDING SUITE

Hurry!  The contest ends Friday May 21st.  Good luck to all of our readers!

When life rocks, we roll. 

Craft your invitation with care. Wording can get a little sticky when trying to convey who is hosting~ when the hosts are divorced. Aside from communicating style and formality, the invite has the huge responsibility of communicating: who{the hosts}, what {wedding of b&g}, when, where, and time. Big responsibility!

Weddings are all about personalization. Below are four examples of invitation wording for four possible scenarios for divorced hosts. Choose wording that best reflects the formality of your wedding and pays the proper respect to the hosts.

When the Bride’s Mother is divorced and hosting:
Mrs. Barbara Johnson
requests the honor of your presence
at the marriage of her daughter

Both sets of divorced Parents AND Bride and Groom are hosting:
Together with their families
Ally Johnson
and
Paul Bernard

Divorced Parents of Bride are hosting:
Mrs. Barbara Johnson
and
Mr. James Johnson

Divorced Parent and Stepparent of Bride are hosting:
Mr. and Mrs. James Korman
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage
of Mrs. Korman’s daughter

Happy Planning!

Photo Below – Flat Rectangle Invitation INVC-11750: MagnetStreet Weddings

One of the easiest ways to keep your wedding look cohesive is through a wedding theme.  If you’re still contemplating your theme, simply look to what you are naturally drawn to. For instance… it could be your favorite colors, a love for a certain era, a meaningful location, your culture or simply… the season of your wedding.

And, to add another level of WOW and polish to your theme, consider using a signature motif or a special design element that resonates with your theme and provides a focal point within your overall wedding look. Sort of like~ icing on the cake.

If threading a motif or design element throughout your wedding look sounds appealing to you {whether it’s your logo, monogram or charming lovebirds for a spring wedding theme} incorporate it into your invitation design and from there, add it into your attire and decorations.  From address labels and seals, seating cards and favors, to cake toppers and ring-bearer bowls, sprinkle your motif in surprising ways to delight your guests and put smiles on their faces.

Are you using a special motif in your wedding? Do tell…

Happy Planning!

Images:  “Covenant Love” Square Invitation inside a Petal Fold Holder via MagnetStreet Weddings and  Ring Bearer dish via Etsy

Know the rules~ then modify them!

From a foodie perspective~ if you’re making a grilled cheese sandwich, the basic ingredients should include cheese and bread. And from there, you add the personal touches that take your grilled cheese sandwich to a whole new level. For me, that means adding cilantro, onions and ranch dressing!

It’s the same idea with wording your wedding invitations. Once you know the basic guidelines, then you have the freedom to personalize according to your wedding style and formality.

Your wedding invitation is responsible for a great deal and will set the tone for your entire event! Not only must it be stylish and all that… it also needs to communicate very important wedding day information: who, when and where. Whether your style is classic, modern, or non-traditional, a less formal wedding will allow for more creativity and less formality. While there are no longer hard and fast rules, use this basic etiquette as a guide.

Basic Etiquette:

• All verbiage is in the third person
• Be consistent with spelling: honour/favour or honor/favor
• Dr. and military titles need to be spelled out: i.e. Doctor Marie Johnson
• Use Roman numerals in names instead of second or 2nd
• Punctuation is used to separate city, state or day, date or Mr. Mrs.
• All days, dates and times are typically spelled out: Saturday, the twenty-third of July, Two thousand and seven at two o’clock
• Avoid abbreviations: spell out Street, Boulevard, Avenue…

Mr. and Mrs. William Iverson

Request the honor

of your presence

at the marriage of

their daughter

Holly Iverson

&

Ben Johnson

on Saturday, the twenty-third of July

at two o’clock

Grace Fellowship

Lake City, Minnesota

Gate-fold wedding invitation via: MagnetStreet Weddings

Happy Planning!

Weddings are all about personalization! And, since the wedding invitation sets the tone for the event, let’s talk about unique wording that adds flair and personalization to the RSVP Cards!

There are 4 essential ingredients to every RSVP  

1. Name{s}
2. Accept Line
3. Decline Line
4. RSVP date {usually 2 weeks prior to the wedding}

Name{s} _________________  {or} M _____________

____Accepts

____Declines

Please respond by {date}

Now that we’ve got the logistics down, let’s concentrate on adding the flair. Think about where you can introduce your style and theme of your wedding into the wording. Enter… your creativity. Let your wording style match your formality. For instance…

For a less-than formal Spring or outdoor wedding, your wording might read:

Name{s}________

______ Rain or Shine, we’ll be there!

______ Unfortunately, conflicting forecasts keep us from attending.

Kindly respond by {date}

In other words, consider all that makes your wedding special: the venue, the time of year, a cultural aspect, the color theme or an overriding theme, the formality… and incorporate that into your wording.

TURN your RSVP Cards into KEEPSAKES

If you leave extra space on your RSVPs, ask guests to:

• Write out one piece of marital advice on the RSVP. Think of the fun you’ll have getting them back! Guests might even be more inclined to respond sooner than later. Plus, you can share the laughs by reading a few at the reception. Fun!
• Ask guests to include the dance song they would most like to hear the band/DJ play. {This will help you build your playlist too.} And, you’ll have great memories of the special songs played.

It’s all about sharing your style and making lasting memories. Have fun wording your RSVP Cards in the style and spirit of your wedding.

p.s.

Tip:  Number your RSVPs to match your guest list. In the event you cannot read someone’s handwriting, you will at least know who you sent the invite to in the first place.

Happy Planning!

Image source: from the Inspired Devotion Invitation ensemble from MagnetStreetWeddings

A romantic adventure! Whether you’re embarking on an adventure that takes you across the pond or one that takes you across the country, make sure you’re giving your guests plenty of time to plan for your destination wedding. Send Save the Dates ASAP and have your wedding website printed on them too. Your wedding website will be “command central” and a much needed resource in getting valuable planning info out to your guests.

Once the Save the Dates are sent begin brainstorming ideas for bringing the flavor of the destination into your wedding invitations. What is it that you love about your destination? Perhaps it’s the beauty of the area, the culture, the weather, the food…  Incorporate that special design or motif that resonates with your style and the locale. Sprinkle it throughout your wedding stationery. From the Invites to the RSVP and Enclosure Cards, to your Favors and Thank Yous, your wedding look will be consistent and you’ll generate incredible excitement with your guests about traveling for your big day!

Enclosure Cards are your Friends! Use them to include pertinent info: currency, airport and shuttle, average temps, reception times, local attractions… What else?

Welcome Baskets help guests feel special and right at home! Have them waiting in the hotel rooms when your guests arrive. Here are a few ideas of what to include:

• welcome note
• a wedding itinerary
• tickets to a local attraction
• toiletries: lotion, cotton swabs, sunscreen, travel sewing kit, mini-mani set, clear nail polish
• for the guys: shavers, shaving lotion, shoe polish
• Mini champagne bottles
• water bottles

What else?

Happy Planning

Destination Wedding Invitation

Image: wedding invitation design by MagnetStreet Weddings

Save the Date… or Not

It’s up to you!

I once read an extremely funny blog post whereby the author blamed ‘Save the Dates’ for guilt-ing the guests into attendance… because they’re sent early enough for people to adjust their schedules. So, he expounded on their inherent evils and selfish imposition on people’s time.  

Hilarious post. Ridiculous reason. {I’m quite sure that people still have free wills and attend events because they want to}

I’ve also read that Save the Dates aren’t needed stationery items.

If like we need air to breathe… then no, Save the Dates aren’t needed.  But then I really don’t need mascara or earrings~ yet I’m always wearing them.

It’s up to you!

Save the Dates are Helpful Planning Tools! If your wedding is on or near a holiday… during the busy summer months… OR perhaps if you’re planning a really cool destination wedding in the Bahamas… then your guests may need ample time and info to adjust their schedules and make the necessary travel arrangements.  In this case, Save the Dates are a courtesy that can easily include: your wedding website, travel, hotel and any other info you deem important.

Save the Dates are FUN! There are virtually no rules to follow. Yay! Since they’re sent anywhere from 6-12 months ahead of the wedding date, colors and styles are often times still being explored. So, unless you know your colors and want to start setting the tone with your Save the Date, you have free creative reign! So go ahead, show off that personality of yours! Have fun with it! I always recommend using a Save the Date design that has room for 1-3 photos. That way, you can introduce your fiancé to those out of town guests. 

What are your thoughts on Save the Dates?

I say go for it!

~Heidi

Save The Dates from MagnetStreet Weddings

Everyone wants their wedding to have a unique look and feel to it~ something that is truly special and memorable. Sounds good right… but how? The key…is to create a signature style~ a look that’s all your own. It’s achieved by personalizing your wedding in such a way that it leaves an indelible impression on your guests. Let’s start at the beginning.

Lead with your wedding colors! A palette of 2-4 colors will be the tie that binds your wedding look. Then, incorporate design and accent elements that support the look and feel you’re going for. Sprinkle them throughout your wedding~ from the Save the Dates, to your wedding website and Invitations, to your attire and decor. Your goal is to create a look that is consistent and cohesive and that melds with your personal style.

Consider the mood you want to create… For instance, a vintage feel is enhanced by wearing an heirloom gown and decorating the venue to resemble a different era or perhaps a love of roses would be the perfect theme to center a whimsical garden wedding around. In other words, marry the mood you want to achieve with stylish elements specific to your wedding theme. Carry those elements throughout each aspect of your wedding. Your thoughtful and consistent attention to the details will communicate your style and leave an experience for your guests! {I get inspired just thinking about the possibilities and know that each wedding can truly be unique.}

 Cheers to Creating Your Signature Style!

~Heidi