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| DIY Fringed Scalloped Backdrop via Ruffled Blog |
Which one would you use for your wedding??
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Easy DIY Paper Backdrops!
If you're looking for BIG impact on a low budget look no further than a great paper backdrop for your ceremony or reception! I mean...have you seen the white paper flower wall?! Hello gorgeous! I might even put that in my house!
Monday, October 1, 2012
Paper Primer ~ Hand Cancelling Your Wedding Invitations
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| photo via Pinterest |
What in the world is hand cancelling?? If you are anything like me when I was planning my wedding you are probably asking yourself this question. Well, grab one of the zillion pieces of junk mail that you get and take a look at the envelope. You will notice a stamp at the top with several squiggly lines that run through the postage as well as a couple lines of text telling your where the mail originated. Then at the bottom of the envelope there is a barcode and sometimes a series of numbers. The primary purpose of these markings is to prevent the postage..aka the stamp..from being used again. These traditional cancelling marks are put on the envelope when they are sent through a sorting machine at the post office. Hand cancelling accomplishes the same thing but it is done by hand which means no extra barcodes and no scary sorting machine.
So....why should you hand cancel your wedding invitations? Well, for one..having one cute little round stamp over your postage looks ALOT nicer than having your envelope marked up all over the place. Especially if you've gone through the extra effort of finding pretty vintage postage stamps (here's how to do that..) and having a calligrapher address the envelopes. The second reason to be pro-hand cancel is to protect your beautiful invitations from the sorting machine. These machines have a little bit of an appetite for paper and you would hate for them to snack on your invitations!
Here are a few tips on having your invitations hand cancelled....
- To have your invites stamped by hand, simply request that they be hand cancelled when you mail them at the post office.
- Call ahead to the post office and find out when their "slow times" are. Hand cancelling takes a little longer and they might be more willing to accommodate your request if they aren't busy.
- Be nice to the attendant! I've heard that some post offices will still tell you that the USPS does not hand cancel but that's not true! Sweet talking the attendant goes a long way in ensuring your invitations are handled with care.
- Think about sending a test invitation to yourself to see if the invitation is correctly hand cancelled.
- Consider sending your invitations to a city with a lovey dovey name to have them hand cancelled. It's a small detail but imagine having your invitations arrive from a place like Romance, Arkansas. To do this, simply place your stamped, addressed envelopes in a large package with a note requesting that they be hand cancelled. Send them addressed to "Postmaster" in the city and state where you would like them stamped. Tracking your package as well as calling ahead to the post office are both excellent insurance policies if you choose to do this. Check out Martha Stewart Weddings for a list of cities with pretty names.
A tiny word of warning......
No matter how sweet you are toward your local post office attendant, your invitations will eventually leave that location and could still find their way into the sorting machine. Hand cancelling does not guarantee a safe arrival for your invitations but I still think it's worth the tiny extra effort. Hey, it's one thing that won't add a cent to your wedding budget!
Friday, September 28, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Spotlight on Paper: the Crimson Poppy
I cannot keep a plant alive to save my life...which is probably where my love of paper flowers started! But beyond that, they are simply stunning to look at! Some of my absolute favorites come from a little shop on Etsy called the Crimson Poppy. My jaw literally hit the floor when I saw some of their creations! Aside from the lack of the florally scent, you'd be hard pressed to tell these weren't the real thing! And a quick bottle of perfume can easily take care of that:) Ok, it was tough but I narrowed it down to a few favorites...
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| All photos via the Crimson Poppy |
Check out their blog for more amazing flowers!! They even sell DIY kits if you are feeling crafty! No water required:)
Would you ever consider using paper flowers for your wedding??
Monday, September 24, 2012
Four Fun DIY Ways to Package Mason Jar Favors ~ Free Printable Labels!
It's officially fall and that means all kinds of jams, jellys and other goodies...all of which make wonderful wedding favors! I still owe my amazing mom and grandma for picking thousands of berries and making hundreds of jars of jam for my wedding seven years ago. The jam was delicious..the packaging not so much. I clearly had not found my true calling yet when I got married! I still shutter when I see the little leftover jars. Yes, they made enough jam to last seven years:) SO, today I bring you four easy ways to style your mason jar favors with free printable labels included!
Style #1
- Use the lid of the mason jar as a stencil to draw a circle on heavy cardstock in the color of your choice.
- Cut out the circle and use an exacto knife to cut a half circle for the handle.
- Glue the cardstock to the top of the jar. Make sure you don't glue the handle!
- Wrap the handle in ribbon or washi tape for an added detail.
- Print this label on blank sticker paper. Sign your names, cut and attach to the jar.
Style #2
- Use the lid of the mason jar as a stencil to draw a circle on scrapbook paper in the color of your choice.
- Cut out the circle and glue it to the top of the jar.
- Wrap washi tape around the edge of the lid.
- Print this label on white or light colored cardstock. Sign your names, cut and attach to the jar with ribbon or string.
Style #3
- Cut large circles out of tissue paper. I used two different colors but you can use one as well.
- Wrap the tissue around the bottom of the jar and secure with a small rubber band.
- Cover the rubber band with washi tape or ribbon.
- Print this label on blank sticker paper, cut with a craft punch or scissors, and attach to the mason jar lid.
Style #4
- Cut small circles out of tissue paper. I used two different colors but you can use one as well. If you use two different papers, make the circle that will be on top slightly smaller than the bottom circle.
- Wrap the tissue around the lid of the jar and secure with a small rubber band.
- Cover the rubber band with washi tape or ribbon and add craft string for a pretty bow.
- Print this label on blank sticker paper, cut with scissors, and attach to the mason jar.
Are you using mason jars for your favors?? How are you going to dress them up?
Friday, September 21, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
*Guest Feature* Tyler Adams ~ Invitation Wording
As promised the wonderful Tyler Adams of The Girl Tyler is back for another Wed-iquette lesson. This week she is going to chat about invitation wording which we all know can get a little tricky! Have no fear! She breaks it down into easily understood bits that will have you on the right track in no time. If you missed her great post on the anatomy of an invite from last week you can check it out here. It's a great reference to keep on hand as you navigate your way through the world of wording.
***
There is
etiquette for everyday and then there is something extra special that I like to
call “Wed-iquette.” Let’s be honest, your wedding day requires a whole new set
of language and rules for proper correspondence. What used to be the right way
to word an invitation and it’s enclosure cards has since gone out the window
and branched off into endless options for the modern couple. I know there are
those that might cringe at some of the wording out there today, but weddings as
a whole are no longer the same celebrations our parents had decades ago. Couples are having all sorts of ceremonies
and receptions these days – from big formal bashes to small destination beach
weddings. They are also putting on their big day in a variety of different ways
– everything from the bride’s parents hosting to everyone chipping in to support
the happy couples. Overall, people are also putting more personality into their
weddings, which means they need to put their personality into how they invite
their guests too!
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| Design by The Girl Tyler. Photo by Bit of Ivory Photography |
WORDING YOUR INVITATION
The paper
goods you’ll need for your wedding aren’t only just about creating pretty
pieces, they are essential for communicating the who, what, when, and where to
your guests. A great place to begin your “wed-equitte” education is invitation
wording.
Start planning
your wording by considering the formality of your wedding day, which is
typically dictated by location along with date and attire. Is your big day
happening on the beach in flip-flops with a casual cookout style reception or
will it be at your house of worship with a seated dinner in a grand
ballroom? Thinking about this will help
you determine how traditional or casual you can be with your wording.
A
“LINE BY LINE” BREAKDOWN OF THE INVITATION WORDING:
Host Line – Who is helping to throw the grand (or
intimate) affair? These days it could be one set of parents, both, split
parents or just the bride and groom. The “hosting” line on invitations is a way
of acknowledging this support so you’ll need to think about who gets included
and how that gets worded.
- Formal: Dr. & Mrs. Peter M. Price
- Casual: Peter and Cindy Price
Request Line – Asking for the guest to join
you at the celebration! Consider the wedding location – religious or secular
will determine how you word this. Typically use “honour” for religious venue
and “pleasure” for a secular space.
- Formal: request the honour of your presence at the wedding of their daughter
- Casual: requests the pleasure of your company at the wedding of
Bride & Groom Line – Where your names go! You can
choose to be formal and include your full name or go more casual by using only
first and last, even simply what people call you (ex. your name is Katherine
but you go by Katie)
- Formal: Katherine Anne to Mr. James Ernest Smith, son of Mr. & Mrs. Charles F. Smith*
- Casual: Katie Price to Jimmy Smith.
*two things to note here:
1. since bride and her parents have the same last name, it does not need to be listed again here
2. Formality can also include an acknowledgement of groom’s parents
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| Design by The Girl Tyler. Photo by Bit of Ivory Photography |
Date & Time – List the date of the wedding
and time the ceremony will begin. Choose
to go formal with the numbers spelled out or be more casual and use actual
numbers. Another piece to consider here is if your events be held over a
holiday. If so, you may want to work that into the wording by mentioning both
reasons to celebrate! It’s also a factor to consider in when to send out Save
the Dates and Invitations… but paper timelines are another post all together.
- Formal: Saturday, the thirty first of December, Two Thousand Twelve, half past four in the afternoon
- Casual: Saturday, December 31st, 2012, 4:30pm in the afternoon
Location – List where the ceremony will
take place, include name of location, street address, city and state (no need
for zip code). If you are having the
ceremony and reception in different locations, you will need to provide the
reception location either in the line to follow or on a separate reception
card.
- Formal: Christ and Saint Luke's Church
Norfolk,
Virginia
- Casual: The Sanderling Resort & Spa
1461
Duck Road
Duck, NC
Reception Line – What will come after the
ceremony? This is a newer addition to the invitation as previous sets typically
included a Reception card.
- Formal: A dinner reception will follow at the Chrysler Museum of Art
- Casual: Dinner, dancing and merriment to follow
Other
things to remember when wording your invitations, is the importance of titles (for
example doctors, lawyers, military)… but we’ll do another post on that when we
address, well addressing!
Great sources
to get you started on wording your invitations:
- Emily Post - http://www.emilypost.com/weddings/wedding-invitations-and-announcements (they have their own “etipedia” to help you too)
- Martha Stewart Weddings - http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/228634/wedding-invitation-wording/@center/272440/wedding-etiquette-adviser (will walk you through the anatomy of an invitation suite)
- Hello! Lucky - http://www.hellolucky.com/wedding-advice/wedding-invitation-wording-samples.html (some of my favorite invitation designers who also happen to be etiquette sages)
- Invitation Consultants - http://www.invitationconsultants.com/sw-main.aspx
- Wedding Paper Divas - http://www.weddingpaperdivas.com/wedding-invitations-sample-verses.htm
***
Thank you Tyler for another great lesson!!
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