Showcase Friday: Our DIY Wedding Invitations!

Written by Sara on June 4, 2010 – 9:00 am -

invitesGroup

Dear readers, I don’t even know where to begin with this post, except to say that Jordan and I are SO excited to share our DIY wedding invitations with you today! This post is rather lengthy, but for you budget-brides out there, I wanted to give you an extensive look into what it takes to DIY your own wedding invitation suite.

A note on our inspiration

It was quite a challenge to try and explain to Jordan (or anyone, really) what “vintage” means to me, and how exactly I envision us capturing that feel in our wedding invitations. So, I frequented many a web site, from Etsy to super awesome stationery sites to simple Google searches of random objects (mason jars, for instance).

Jordan and I began the design process with the idea that we would utilize Adobe Photo Shop brushes. Since little touches of birds, nature and aviary motifs will appear throughout our wedding, we felt it was important to include a bird in our wedding invitations. We found a Photo Shop brush of a tree, and we started working with that.

However, with each draft of the invitation, we began to hate the look and the feel of it more and more. It didn’t look elegant, it didn’t look lovely, and it didn’t look vintage. So, much to my chagrin (seriously, I was stressed!), we scrapped that idea and started over, a mere month-and-a-half before we wanted to start the printing process.

However, in re-conceptualizing our DIY wedding invitations, I remembered an art class that I took in middle school, where we carved images into a wood block, and then used that wood block to stamp with ink. (I’m sure this was a Mother’s or Father’s Day project from way back when.)

So, I started to try and tell Jordan about what I envisioned based on this look. Then I saw a few invitations around the web utilizing different fonts and a woodblock/boxed layout, and after brainstorming with Jordan, we downloaded a variety of fonts (which is over-simplifying the process – I was very picky about what fonts I wanted to use, and Jordan just would not let me go with Feel Script, no matter how badly I wanted to shell out the money for it – and he was right in the end…) and we  got to work bringing together all of our inspiration into one invitation suite.

A note on the design process

Jordan and I used Adobe Fireworks to design our invitations. Jordan is very familiar with this program, and I found it to be a rather intuitive program myself after playing with it for 20 minutes or so.

Since Jordan and I are living 45 miles apart right now, we designed our entire invitation suite on the weekends we were able to be together. For us, the process worked like this:

1. Sara tells Jordan in advance, “We need to work on this part of our invitation suite this weekend.”
2. Sara sends Jordan links of what she’s found that she likes (“I like this overall look, but with this wording and this graphic and this font.”)
3. Jordan comes home, sits on the couch and designs away, making sure Sara doesn’t look over his shoulder until the project is near completion (it drove him nuts!).
4. Sara edits, says what she’d like changed, and Jordan makes the changes.
5. When Sara and Jordan are both satisfied with the design, they PDF the file and send it to their right-hand person to print a proof.
6. After final proof approval, the document goes to the printer, and a few days later, the final product arrives at Sara’s house.

Multiply this by 5 pieces (there are 5 items in our invitation suite), and you have approximately 24 weekends (6 months!) of design work that we spent working to complete this invitation suite. It was definitely a labor of love; there’s no other way to describe it.

A note on invitation wording

invitesMain

It was important to Jordan and I that we acknowledge the contributions that our parents have made to our lives and to making our wedding happen, so we included them in our invitation wording. In determining the other parts of the wording for our invitation, we spent quite a bit of time (probably two weeks) changing words and tweaking the look of the invitation.

Here’s what we ended up with:

Sara’s parents and
Jordan’s parents
Invite you to celebrate the wedding of their children
Sara Jo and
Jordan Wayne
(Ceremony Details)
(When/Where)
Dinner, Dancing & Merriment to immediately follow
at the Washington Pavilion

A note on the details

First, I spent about 8 – 10 hours of time gluing little doilies (see above picture) inside both the mailing envelopes and the RSVP envelopes (a la Holly) – what a project (!!), but I’m SO happy with how well they turned out. (Everyone thought I was nuts, but I was having a great time!)

I then stamped our return address on each of these envelopes, proceeded to freak out when the ink I used wouldn’t dry, and then our envelopes were miraculously saved by a can of hairspray. Moving on…(I just can’t talk about those darn envelopes anymore!)

Next, once everything was printed, we glued the invitation matte directly to the pocketfold, and then glued the wedding invitation on top of the matte, to create a layered look (again, see above picture).

map

I knew that I wanted our invitation suite to have a few components to it. While the majority of our guests are from South Dakota (and are rather localized to Sioux Falls, where the wedding will be held), I still wanted to provide guests with a map to help them navigate their way to each location. Thanks to a wonderful classmate of mine, we had a lovely hand-drawn map to showcase to our guests. We placed the map on its end in the right-side pocket of the pocketfold.

rsvp

For our RSVP card, we wanted to make sure that our guests knew to expect an offbeat, relaxed wedding from the moment they received their invitation. So, we utilized the following check box system, as seen on A $2000 Wedding:

- Gladly Attend
- Regretfully Decline
- Regretfully Attend
- Enthusiastically Decline
- I’m in the wedding, so I have to come
- Other ____________________________

dance

Since Jordan and I are coordinating the music for the wedding dance ourselves, we also wanted feedback from our guests to see what would get them out on the dance floor. Our “Request a Song” card was so much fun to design, and Jordan even made the record player graphic himself!

These two cards were tied together with the RSVP envelope using baker’s twine, which is a special type of yarn that blends two colors (our’s was yellow and white) together. This little package was then placed in the pocketfold in front of the wedding map.

A note on the construction and presentation of the invite

I owe a lot to the lovely Holly at Nothing But Bonfires for introducing us to a company without which our invitations would have lacked cohesion: Cards & Pockets. We ordered nearly everything for our DIY invites from Cards & Pockets … from the pocketfolds in which each piece of our invitation suite was placed to the envelopes that carried our invitations to their destination, we found Cards & Pockets to be the best value for our money. And the quality of the materials? Couldn’t have asked for a better product or better customer service along the way. [No, this is not a sponsored/paid post; I just love the company!]

A note on printing

Jordan and I feel extremely blessed to have had the help and support of one of my father’s business colleagues throughout the DIY invitation design and printing process. From our first initial idea to our final proof, having a person to walk us through the process, telling us what worked and what didn’t, was absolutely invaluable.

While I understand that what’s right for us might not be right for everyone, I would encourage readers who are looking to DIY their own invitations to get them printed by a professional (but local!) printing company. All we supplied was the paper (we chose a partially recycled natural ivory linen cardstock), and the printers and our right-hand person handled the printing and the cutting gratis (yes, we were extremely lucky).

A note on the materials used

Materials:

From Cards & Pockets:

- Perfetto pocketfolds in “Smoke” (We ordered a sample of one, loved it, and then ordered 90 for our invitations)
- 5.75 inch square invitation mattes in “Lemonade” (Again, we ordered a color swatch, then ordered 90 mattes for our invitations)
- 90 6.5 inch square envelopes in “Lemonade” (to hold the invitation; we scrapped the inner envelope, because I think it’s wasteful and frivolous (no offense))
- 90 RSVP envelopes in “Lemonade” (while we initally thought about designing postcards, I loved these little envelopes, so we went with them)

From Etsy:

- Customized stickers from Maxim Creative Invites on Etsy (we ordered two different designs of stickers, one which we used to close the pocketfold and the other which we used to close the envelope)
- Yellow baker’s twine from Whisker Graphics on Etsy (we used this adorable twine to tie a bow around our RSVP package)
- Return address stamp from Love to Create Stamps on Etsy (we used this stamp as a return address and as the “deliver to” address on our RSVP envelopes)

From around town:

- Partially recycled natural ivory linen cardstock (we printed everything on this stock; we probably utilized 250-300 sheets for invitations for our entire guest list)
- Doilies + glue sticks + glue lines + ink pads from Michael’s craft store
- $0.61 cent wedding cake stamp, plus 2 $0.10 cent clock/nautical stamps, per invite, purchased at our local post office (I really wanted stamps with one of our engagement photos on it, but I couldn’t justify the cost)
- $0.44 cent “Love” stamp for our RSVP cards; we chose the stamp with the King and Queen on it!

A note on final cost

After calculating cost for everything ordered, including postage, it seems that the cost for each invitation suite was $3.74.

Here’s the breakdown:

Pocketfolds: $0.98 per invitation
Invitation Mattes: $0.18 per invitation
Natural Ivory Linen Cardstock: $8.00 per ream, $0.09 per invitation
Mailing Envelopes: $0.17 per invitation
RSVP Envelopes: $0.12 per invitation
Stickers: $0.47 per invitation
Address stamp: $0.08 per invitation (includes RSVP envelope)
Doilies: $0.14 per invitation (includes RSVP envelope)
Glue/Glue Lines/Double-stick Tape: $0.22 per invitation (includes all construction)
Baker’s Twine: $0.04 per invitation
Postage: $0.81 per invitation
Postage: $0.44 per RSVP card

TOTAL: $3.74 per invitation

What do you think of our DIY wedding invitations?

[All photos taken by my soon-to-be father-in-law, Steve!]


Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Budget Weddings, DIY, Eco-Chic, Inspiration & Insight, Music & Entertainment, Our Wedding, Stationery, Vintage Beauties | 7 Comments »

Guest Post: More Money, More Balloons

Written by Sara on May 21, 2010 – 9:00 am -

It’s been awhile since my man Jordan has dropped by to offer his take on wedding planning, so here’s a fun-loving post from Jordan on what our wedding would look like if he had an unlimited budget and the upper hand:

Throughout our engagement, I have noticed that Sara has had the final say on green lighting projects for the wedding. I trust her decision making as she really has put together a wonderful package that her and I can both be proud of. I have made a few suggestions along the way, and some have passed the test, while others were quickly dismissed. This is okay, I completely understand, and couldn’t be happier with the upcoming event.

However, that’s not the point of this guest post. This post is just for fun; it’s me pretending that if I were to plan a few big things for the wedding, regardless of practicality, cost, or anything else, here’s what I’d do.  Who knows – maybe if an idea gets enough support, I can get a green light!

In order:

Number 5 — Rainbow Tuxes

This is a slightly goofy option, but I really enjoy personality, and while its far from traditional, I think people have more fun when they get a little more abstract. How much more fun and a greater memory for all would it be if everyone was wearing some different brightly colored tux? I think it would be outrageously fun!

[Sara's note: It's rather interesting that he thinks this, considering I literally BEGGED him to let my girls wear dresses the color of the rainbow, and he quickly turned me down. Hmmm...]

Number 4 — Jon Miller and Joe Morgan doing Play-By-Play and Color Announcing

Perhaps this is slightly far fetched, but I’d be excited for impersonators to go over any type of video we record for the wedding and give a play-by-play and color analysis, as if they were on Sunday Night Baseball. I generally hate announcers, but I enjoy Jon Miller, and I enjoy to make fun of Joe Morgan, so I think it would be just smashing and potentially really humorous if we find someone who can nail the Morgan role.

Number 3 — Absolutely no country music played at any time.

I really detest country music. I could say about 1400 bad things about it that I’ll likely get no response to, but I just can’t stand it. A country song will suck the fun right out of me and will just murder my attention span. There’s not a single country song in my music library, and despite being forced to sit through it in my 24 years of life, I have yet to enjoy a single one. I honestly prefer boy bands over country music, as with them at least the music is catchy and danceable. Country music offers nothing, but (age old cliche from country music haters) my dog died, my wife left me, and my friends don’t know me, wah wah wah, suck.

Number 2 — Rethinking the gift-opening event.

I am not a huge fan of gift-openings, either. I love to give and get gifts, but to me, gift-giving is so much better at random periods of time than at designated events or days. There’s nothing wrong with holidays, anniversaries, or gift-opening events, but I just don’t really enjoy focusing my attention or being the focus of attention during this time. I suggest we just wrap the entire gift-opening party around a large kickball game (or a similar event) that everyone participates in, and in between innings, we open a gift or two. That way, there’s ample time for breaks, thank you’s, and everything else, while there’s always that game to look forward to and keep everyone occupied. What an awesome idea!

Number 1 – “99 Red Balloons” … literally and musically

This is by far my most favorite idea. I have even suggested this one several times and been turned down very politely every time. However, I push on as I really believe this is a great idea to get the party started. Here’s the plan: We have our first dance as a couple, which gets everyone all excited, emotional, and amped. Then after the song ends, the song “99 Red Balloons” comes on (either original or Goldfinger cover) which starts off slow, serving as a great transition that builds up into the chorus. When the chorus starting playing, my plan is to have 99 red balloons (that were earlier filled and set up to fall on the dance floor) come down and “rain” on everybody. This would do many things, including:

1. Create a unique dancing environment that you don’t see often.

2. Inspire those who are still sitting down to get up and join the dance party.

3. Make for some really cool photo shots.

4. Get the dancing start off right, as so many people need a reason to get out of their chair.

It’s an insanely good idea, and I know that someone would have to clean the balloons up almost right away, and/or popping them becomes an unnecessary fun game for many. But that’s one side effect that I’m willing to live with to get everything rocking.

[Sara's note: I love, love, LOVE this idea, but it's just way to dang expensive to even think about doing.]

Honorable mentions:

Giant sports ticker. Instead of having a slide show rolling through pictures for hours, we can mix in a sports and news ticker that mostly updates fantasy baseball and Seattle Mariners scores. This one didn’t make the cut as the Mariners so far aren’t worth watching…

Life-size giraffe-shaped cake. While it’s not a feasible idea, even a 1/8th scale version would be pretty sweet.

Wedding mascot. Mascots are fun, get people going, and are typically good performers. But, Sara’s terrified of mascots, so that one’s out.

I won’t have any less fun at our wedding if none of my ideas come to fruition, but it was fun to think about setting these things up and remembering them for years and years. Positive and negative comments are welcome!


Tags: , , ,
Posted in Budget Weddings, Decor, Inspiration & Insight, Music & Entertainment, Our Wedding, Personal | 2 Comments »

Showcase Monday: Audiostiles!

Written by Sara on April 19, 2010 – 9:15 am -

Want to save money by DJing your wedding yourself, but lack the music library or know-how to pull off an iPod wedding? Look bi further than Audiostiles!

From building a playlist from songs already on your ipod to starting from scratch, Audiostiles has the expertise to put together a rocking playlist for your wedding. To view Audiostiles’ web site, click here.

(This is not a sponsored post.)


Tags: , ,
Posted in Budget Weddings, DIY, Inspiration & Insight, Music & Entertainment, Weddings | 1 Comment »

Showcase Wednesday: Our Photobooth Tickets!

Written by Sara on April 14, 2010 – 9:00 am -

A few weeks ago, J and I spent a lazy afternoon together working on DIY “tickets” of sorts for our DIY wedding photobooth. While we plan to make our photobooth together in May/June, we knew that it would help us in the long run if we had our other DIY projects (that went along with the photobooth) done in advance.

I wanted to make sure that guests knew that we had a photobooth available for use at the wedding reception, so I wanted to make little “tickets” to set at each place setting inside the fold of our DIY napkins.

I took the general idea of a carnival ticket (“Admit One,” fun fonts, etc.), and here’s what Jordan and I came up with:

Photobooth

We’re very proud of the design, and we are so excited to share it with you! As you can see, the ticket reads “Admit One” around the four corners of the ticket, with these phrases in the middle of the ticket: “This ticket secures you five minutes in the photobooth. Props are provided. Smiles are required.” We also used images of a vintage camera to decorate the main body of the ticket.

The right side of the ticket reads “Tear Me!” at the top; the card also informs guests where they can A) view the photobooth pictures from the night, and B) add pictures of their own from the wedding. We plan to perforate these tickets along the “Admit One” edge on the right side, so that after the guests turn in their photobooth tickets upon entrance into the photobooth, they can have the little “Tear Me!” card as a take-away.

This was such a fun DIY project for Jordan and I, and we’re thrilled with the resulting design! I can’t wait until these are printed and perforated.

What’s your favorite DIY project?

[Photo via In A Frame]


Tags:
Posted in Adornments & Embellishments, DIY, Inspiration & Insight, Music & Entertainment, Our Wedding, Photography, Weddings | Comments Off

Our Wedding: Ipod Playlist Update!

Written by Sara on January 21, 2010 – 9:00 am -

Good Thursday morning, readers!

Thank you to those of you who left comments on what songs you love to dance to; we’re always excited to hear from our readers!

Here’s where we are in compiling our wedding playlists:

  • Jordan and I both have raided our ipods for music that we each have and would like played at our wedding reception.
  • I also have started a list of songs to download, the list of which is mostly an ode to Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald (with a little Goo Goo Dolls and The White Stripes mixed in for good measure).

It’s now time, however, to figure out what special songs we want to use for our special dances!

One of my favorite musical duos right now is Everly, fronted by the amazingly talented Bethany Joy Galeotti of One Tree Hill fame. I am in love with the folksy sounds of Everly’s first LP, but the song “Scheming Star” really tugs at my heartstrings. It’s a jazzy tune that’s short enough to use for Jordan and my first dance, but showcases sweet, meaningful lyrics and beautiful swells of music that will be perfect to sway to. At this point, Jordan’s not too crazy about using this song for our first dance as husband and wife, but I’m hoping to work on him!

For my dance with my father, I definitely want to dance to “My Girl” – love that song! We’re not sure what we’d like played for the Mother-Son dance, but I’m sure Jordan’s Mom Nachole (a musical fiend!) will have some great ideas.

Also, Jordan is a huge fan of Blink-182, and I am a gigantic fan of the Backstreet Boys. The question is this: how many songs can we get away with playing at our wedding reception!?

For those of you who are embarking on compiling your own wedding playlist, be sure to check out A $2000 Wedding‘s Sara & Matt’s forthcoming posts on the ipod playlist they compiled for their wedding!

How are you compiling your wedding day playlist?

What songs are must-haves?


Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in DIY, Music & Entertainment, Our Wedding | Comments Off

Our Wedding: I-Pod Wedding!

Written by Sara on January 7, 2010 – 9:00 am -

Happy Thursday, readers!

Throughout our wedding planning, J and I have agreed on one major part of our wedding reception: the dance. While we both always knew that, to us, a reception is not a reception without a dance, once we saw the pricing structure for today’s DJ services, we knew we’d have to be creative.

Enter: I-pod wedding.

For me, as a type-A personality and a control freak, having absolute control over the music played at our wedding is a MUST, and for the cost of renting speakers, we’ll have an instant DJ set-up that will A) be cost-effective for our budget; and B) reflect who we are as a couple, as all of the songs will be selected by us.

Today, dear readers, I’m writing to ask for your input. J and I are in the process of compiling a music playlist for our wedding reception. To make this list, we’ve made lists of songs that J and I have already downloaded to our Itunes software that we think might make “good wedding dance material.”

However, we’d LOVE to hear from you!

Here’s a few quick questions for you:

  1. What song(s) do you LOVE to dance to?
  2. What song(s) do you HATE and are sick of hearing at wedding dances?

One note:  There will be no YMCA, chicken dance, Shout!, Hokey Pokey, or Cha Cha Slide Song (“one hop this time!”). Please refrain from suggesting these songs (unless they happen to be your answer to question #2).

Thank you all for your input; please leave your comments below!

[Photo courtesy of www.mnweddingminister.com]


Tags: , , ,
Posted in DIY, Music & Entertainment, Our Wedding | 2 Comments »
Newer Entries »