Wedding Invitation Suite: Programs

Let's talk about our programs! For awhile, we were not going to have programs and do a big chalkboard sign instead. Then I stumbled upon B is for Brown's Etsy page through Pinterest. Not only does this girl make some pretty sassy programs, she is from Oklahoma City!!! SOLD!

Here is how they turned out: (You can see that they printed out different than how they look on the computer. With the help from our wedding planner, Taylor, we sent over the exact colors we needed to match our coasters and other prints.)

I loved how personal they are, especially since there are usually a good amount of guests who are your parent's friends who just don't know you as a couple.

Design: I just can't get over how fun these were. I love getting to know different people's quirks, hobbies, etc...So I assume people would like to know more about us.

Cost Breakdown:

Design: $35

Printing: $113.37 for 225 (from Cat Print. Honestly, I overpaid...I should have stuck with Vista Print)

We also had her design a "Love Libs" we used as our guestbook. The guestbook was another tradition that I just wasn't really feeling. At all. I've seen a bunch of fun varieties (both at actual weddings and Pinterest) that were cute, but wasn't my taste.

These Mad Libs were pretty funny. Some people didn't fill them out a all, some people wrote serious things in the blanks and others, um, well...let's just say they were Cards Against Humanity worthy :)

Design: These were a pretty last minute decision. I could have probably done without them if it came down to the cost (especially since we have SO MANY left unfilled).

Cost Breakdown:

Design: $20

Printing: $56 for 200 from Cat Print. WAY OVER ORDERED!!

Total: $224.37

 Next up is the final cost break down of everything we did vs if we went with a more popular site's Invitation Suite.

Anniversary Gift for your Wedding Party

One Year ago today I married the love of my life! It is insane how time goes by so quickly. I think it was about June before it all felt "real" (aka: we were getting into a decent routine). June is also when I came up with this little project.

Ideally I would of had pictures printed for our wedding party/family in February, but of course that did not happen. June came around and I started thinking of a fun way to get them a few special pictures from our wedding day. I made a mental note (which I'll often do and then they magically get erased 90% of the time) of sending them pictures closer to our anniversary. You know, the weekend of Thanksgiving and right before Christmas season gets started. Hey, I never said I was very bright. Anyways, when October came around and I still had the idea in my head, I knew I needed to get it done.

I got the pictures printed and started working on this little gift. First, I used my Cricut to cut out these tags that I wrote "thank you" on. I'll use any excuse to practice calligraphy.

Then I wrote out a little note to each person. You know... full on sappy style. I couldn't help it...it really allowed me to relive my wedding day emotions!

 

Next I bundled the note and pictures with some twine and my thank you tag. 

I also tried my best at calligraphy while addressing the envelopes. Not super easy (note to self: invest in a light box) but I can tell you that paper matters. The envelopes I used were pretty cheap quality and I could tell! It did not take the ink very well at all.

There you go! Super easy, cheap and thoughtful little anniversary gift you can send out to your loved ones who supported you the most during the wedding process!

Envelopes, Ink, Twine, Cardstock: Hobby Lobby
Return Address Stamp: Empress Stationary
Washi Tape: Target
Tape Dispenser: The Container Store (FYI: this might be one of my most favorite purchases ever! It was $9.99, compared to some of the other acrylic office supplies which run around $35 or $40! Needless to say, I bought two!)

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Now, I'm off to celebrate with my hubby and indulge in some bundt cake!

Addressing Envelopes

So my first big DIY wedding task was addressing my Save the Date envelopes.

I know what you're thinking....not exactly a "DIY". Well, for those of us who can't figure out the whole "mailings" part of Microsoft Word, tune on it!

First off, lets start with my inspiration. Hashtag shocker....it's from Pinterest. Typography is everywhere on there. From basic stationary to wedding signage to gift tags. I'm obsessed! Here are just some of my faves...

{http://www.etsy.com/listing/111335192/the-julia-dashingly-chic-calligraphy?ref=shop_home_feat}

Whew! My heart swoons for this envelope! This is from Etsy. I SO wish it was in my budget to have this done. I wish even more that I could do this myself!!

{http://www.stylemepretty.com/2012/12/04/tulsa-oklahoma-ranch-wedding-from-imago-vita-photography/#}

This is from the Style Me Pretty site. Could you imagine how AH-MA-ZING your pictures would be if you had this bad boy behind you?

{http://www.stylemepretty.com/living/2012/09/14/diy-vanilla-sugar-favors-from-kimbry-studios-photography/}

Also from SMP. Adding a simple tag like this adds so much to a favor.

I love to see different fonts put together. It gives it a very modern touch and personalizes the most basic aspects. OK, I got off track there for a little bit...

Here are my STD...

My friend Keith designed them for us. He's pretty awesome. 

And our envelopes! I ordered them through Vistaprint.com. I had our return address printed on them, which was pretty awesome and a time saver.

What I did was downloaded an A2 and A7 template from this site: {http://www.archiversonline.com/pages/templates.} They have a lot of different templates that you should check out as well. 

Then you open up the file and since my envelope had a pre-determined box, I had to play with my layout for a little bit. And if you're anything like me, you have a 1,000 different downloaded fonts that you have to choose from! I get a lot from kevinandamanda.com. They have a lot of fun ones that look like handwriting. I tend to go for the less formal calligraphy fonts. Picking a font took about an hour...I had to go through and see what different "Ms" looked like, and find one that the numbers were fun also. I MAY have a tendency to over think these things :) 

This is time consuming. I'm not going to lie.... But I created a folder with individual files of each person's address. It makes this a one time process and when it comes to addressing envelopes for the actual invites and thank you notes it will be ready to go for you. Just plop down in front of your newest netflix addiction and take off! 

I can't even tell you how excited I am that I have figured this out. I realize that this may only be cool for me....but man I am excited!! 

My next wish is for a font/template that would help you create an envelope like the first one I showed you. If I could guess it will probably be all over Pinterest the day after I get married....Classic! 

Hope this helps those who are challenged in this area. And sorry I got so distracted...but hey, I just like sharing pretty things that I find :) 

-Mal