Programs

Honestly, this was one of my FAVORITE parts of the wedding planning process. I spent sooo much time planning out the invitations and save-the-dates that it almost makes me sick. Do you know how little time I spent planning the programs? Do you know how much more proud of the programs I was than any of the other wedding paper products?

First we started out with paper. Thick paper. Program paper. 

Or maybe we started with the actual program. I don't remember.

Not being Catholic, I had to spend a lot of time on the wording and researching other Catholic wedding programs. Originally we were working with Father Tim, but he ended up having to do something for the archdiocese on the same date as our wedding. It was sad, but we scampered to find another priest to fill in. We ended up not even having a priest officiate which worked out quite well for us.

Point being... I had to e-mail him and the church coordinator about the wording and events within a Catholic wedding (that did not include communion). I needed to make sure I included all of the prayers and everything that needed to be said since only a few of Justin's friends and my dad's side of the family were the only to have ever experienced Catholic mass before.

Meanwhile, the wording for Catholic mass got changed as we were planning the wedding making things even more confusing. Ahhh!!!

So anyway, the program was double sided beginning with a cover page (including our names, the church name, the date, and the time) and ending with our thank yous and remembrances. We also made sure to include the names of everyone involved in the wedding mass including readers, singers, and ushers that were not necessarily standing with us at the front of the church during the mass.

I used a similar type to that which had been used on our invitations and save-the-dates.

My favorite part was the outside of the program. Justin had sifted through and bought a bazillion(!!) blue flowers from Ikea for our floral arrangements that I had NO IDEA what we were going to do with them! In January, I had bought a TON of ribbon from Hancock Fabric on sale that I also did not know what I would do with. So it came together. My mom and I spent 2 days cutting flowers, ribbon, and using a glue gun. *ugh* SOOOO TIME CONSUMING! But it looked so pretty, and I was sooooo happy with it! I was really afraid that all of the programs piled on top of one another would lead to flat flowers, but luckily this did not happen. On top of it, Justin (yes, Justin) had to teach my mom and I how to tie the bows so they would lay pretty. (Justin knows how to do everything! It really is scary occasionally. Apparently he learned this skill on a "How to Correctly Tie Your Shoe" website. Go figure. lol.)

At the same time as we were gluing flowers and tying ribbon, we were also poking holes in the pages of the program and sewing the books together. (Also very time consuming. So glad my dad was able to help!) Finally, we glued pockets inside the program covers to hold the map and information about the reception site. (The church coordinator had suggested the use of pockets to make church clean up easier. She said inserts typically get left at the church in the pews as they fall out of the programs. Then you have guests that can't find their way to the reception site! It probably didn't help that I had left the reception site as a surprise to everyone except out of town guests, immediate family, the wedding party, and the vendors.)


The one thing major that we did to the programs, that was even a surprise to me, was include two birds and a heart sitting on the ribbon that went around the back of the program.


My mom used to joke when I was young that if we saw birds sitting on a power line that they were having a meeting. I had a bird hole punch I bought for the wedding not knowing if I could use it. (Yes, they are technically black birds that I punched as blue.) Anyway, I was just playing around and being silly when I discovered that this could be a fun and unique way to personalize our programs without losing the class I was hoping to achieve. So my mom cut out approximately 300 "blue birds" on some thick blue paper while I used my Silhouette Cameo to print 150 hearts. Then my mom got to work gluing. I figured not many people would notice, but I was amused... Justin was amused. Everybody who knew anything about this little touch was able to notice and be amused.

Overall, I was so proud and excited for my guests to see our wedding programs. A lot of time and love went into them. I felt involved in every detail... and yet I felt like everything just came together.

I don't really have any suggestions for creating your own wedding program except to have fun. The minute you start worrying about copying somebody else or not being creative enough, you will probably get locked up and not be able to imagine what it is you want. Worst case scenario: call me.

Thank Yous (Picture)



Just wanted to share a picture of my Zazzle thank yous. I've talked a lot about how much I love them and how glad I am to be finished writing them, but I have not posted a picture!

Pink and beige borders were added by yours truly (and her help).  Thanks to Justin for the suggestion on how to make beige and white look good together (making the save-the-dates and invitations go together! woo!). Also thanks to my parents who dealt with days and days of confusion followed by lots of rubber cement. We won't mention Atlanta traffic, stupid MARTA bus drivers, or paper stores that are only open Monday through Friday (*ahem* Xpedx *ahem*).

Thank You Notes

Justin and I finally completed all of our thank you notes last night. It was a grueling task, but we made sure to spend time when writing thank yous to consider the person who gave us the gift as well as the gift itself. We especially appreciated the many people who took the time to come see us on our wedding day. (Then again, the kitchen appliances and feathers are pretty awesome as well!)

After the realization that we were done... yet still had a large number of thank you cards I left, I hit the internet in search of an eco-friendly way to use my thank you cards in another type of project. Honestly, I haven't had a whole lot of luck in my search just yet, but I did find a service that surprised me.

With three months involved in carefully crafting the perfect imperfect thank you notes, I cannot even imagine using That's Gratitude to write my thank yous for me. That's Gratitude is a company that will handwrite unique, individual thank you notes anonymously for you and have the task completed in 3 weeks. They guarantee that individuals from the same household and people that sent you the same gifts will not get the same thank you note. On top of their thank you note service, they also provide stationery! I'm not sure how I feel about this service, but I definitely like the idea of having all of my thank yous done in 3 weeks. That would have been nice.

I have not yet decided what I will do with my left over thank yous. The biggest problem I have is that my notes have our wedding date on them. I may be able to craft unique ornaments out of them. Then again maybe I should just recycle them? We ended up recycling over 50 of our wedding day programs!!! I still am sick at the amount of time and money that ended up just being recycled. *shrugs* We got lucky in not having a single save-the-date or invitation leftover!

Do you have any creative, crafty ideas for recycling/reusing wedding stationery?

Day #513

Ok, so I am exaggerating a bit when I say that the planning day for this wedding is so high.

This week has been crazy stressful as Justin and I try to finish the final touches. Justin is still working on bridesmaid dresses and I am trying to finish all of the paper "products" that will be found at the wedding including the programs. I'm not worried about us finishing on time (although maybe I should). I know I have my mom's help (but I also know she is tired of gluing). Don't worry dear friends. I am super excited about the programs, and if you are coming to the wedding -- you should be too! They are my favorite paper product from this whole wedding "experiment".

Today I will try to finish some decorations as well as the maps for the wedding programs. I have quite a bit to finish. Wish me luck!

It's COLD!

Finally the temperature has dropped here in Georgia... only to go back up toward the end of the week... Eh! I enjoy the cold for the hot drinks, but I'm not really getting the relaxation that one hopes for when it's cold. You know... curling up under a blanket with a good book near a fire? That sounds awesome right about now! :)

Instead I have spent the week with my future sister-in-law addressing invitations and getting all of the pieces put together. I never once realized exactly how long it would take! I keep thinking I am so close to being finished, but I still have to get my invitations printed, rubber cemented on their backing paper, and I have to weigh and stamp the envelopes! Ahh... invitations are exhausting!

... Did I mention we are still getting addresses together?!

I have been a stickler for etiquette and trying very hard to make the invitations as personal and professional as possible. I never knew there were soooo many rules!

Let me provide a few suggestions for other brides putting together their own wedding stationery:

1. Begin ASAP. I was looking for perfect inspiration, and this is why I am not finished. *shrugs* Put yourself on a strict timeline and maybe you will finish more quickly than I have.

2. It's awesome to win some stationery pieces to help you put together your suite. No you have not made every piece, but it is a heck of a lot cheaper and less time consuming than printing and doing it all yourself.

3. Have help. I could not have done any of this without help. From bouncing ideas off of Justin, having Marion's help with addressing or my mom's help with rubber cementing... It is ALL helpful!

4. Check, double check, and check again. THEN get somebody else to check. It is sooo easy to make mistakes. Just remember - if you spell someone's name wrong, you will be embarrassed. If you send something to Arlington, Georgia, you will confuse the post office and your mail will never find it's way to Virginia.

5. Read up on etiquette and then check again. You probably missed a rule. (Though this does not matter if you are not trying to follow etiquette.)

6. If you are addressing in pen, begin in pencil. It's easier to correct mistakes.

7. Finally -- QUIT ADDING ADDRESSES TO THE LIST! (You already had plenty.)

Anybody else have suggestions for stationery making?

Lessons Learned While Making Save-the-Dates



As a hopeful graphic designer, I really wanted to make my Save-the-dates gorgeous. I put a lot of time into creating them. Unfortunately, I made a lot of mistakes along the way. This is my list of things I've learned while making Save-the-dates.


1. Printing

  a. USE A PRINTER. (Not the one connected to your computer.) I tried taking my concept to Fedex, but they screwed up the image far more than the printer ever could. I still used those Save-the-dates, but I learned my lesson. (Also, printers cut things to the size you want anyway. It saves time and is nice for perfectionists like myself.)

  b. Don't expect the printer to color match. Get a proof before you print if you are being particular. I thought they could match color. No. Maybe some printers can, but the one I used could not. Lesson learned.

  c. Send them the correct image. Guess what? The incorrect image is... incorrect.

  d. While you are sending them the correct image, make sure you also send them the correct file format. The printer I used wanted Hi res jpgs while Fedex/Kinko's preferred pdfs.

  e. Get more copies printed than you need. You will make mistakes.

2. Stamping

  a.  There are different types of ink... which correlates to what you are stamping on. Figure out what you need, because otherwise your ink may not work or may smear. :(

  b.  Pat your stamp on the ink pad rather than rocking it on the ink pad. You are less likely to get excess ink on your project.

  c.  There are cleaners for stamps. I'm currently using the Rub N Scrub Stamp Cleaner. It really makes a difference in how clean you can get your stamp.


While these are just a few suggestions regarding the methods I used when making save-the-dates, make sure you PRACTICE before you create. I'm not sure how many problems we solved through practice, but I am certain that we would have made many more mistakes had we not practiced.

Printers used:  Print Master of Decatur  FedEx/Kinko's

An Invitational Delay

I may have mis-titled this blog. It probably should have been called "The Picky Indecisive Bride". I'm sure that I am not the only one to feel this way. Wedding planning can be fun, but making so many decisions in such a short period can be stressful and frustrating. Especially for me. I like to make sure I explore all options. With 3 months to go, I'm just not sure there is time to explore all of my options any more!

This is what led me to the decision of getting everything but my invitations done in the next month. (You have no idea what all goes into that little invitation "packet"!) Oh, you're invited to my wedding. Here are directions, the vital information you need, the pretty graphic design, your names written in calligraphy, pretty envelopes and stamps, an rsvp card for you to send me, and any extra information you may or may not need. Please come. Love and kisses, Mandy and Justin (or vice versa). :)

Yeah.

About that.

Those crazy little invitations will be done by the end of the month. The difference is... I'm starting from the outside and working my way in. I will make the "extras" and hope a perfectly styled invitation will just appear to my brain.

Get ready maid of honor. You are about to have a busy month! :)

Thanksgiving +


I hope everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving! In between our three Thanksgiving dinners, Justin and I got to enjoy spending time with many of our family members. Especially touching was a lovely speech Justin's grandmother gave to everyone in the family! We had a lovely time with all of our families and we are looking forward to many more Thanksgivings together as a married couple!



Justin and I also had a lot of fun this past weekend with his lovely little sister and my maid of honor as she spurred us along in our invitation/save-the-date creating. Our save-the-dates are complete, beautiful, and adressed, so they will go in the mail this week! I just love the way Marion addressed these!

And then there was stationery...

First of all, let me provide a huge CONGRATULATIONS to my dear friend Suzy! She just posted some awesomely wonderful news on Youtube! Go check it out!

So... I've been busy working on my lovely save-the-dates that are going to be printed this week! (I know I keep saying that, but I am serious this time!) Justin bought the paper this afternoon. Even though I have yet to see it, I am certain it is wonderful and will work splendidly with our save-the-dates!

In preparation for the magnificent printing of our save-the-dates I have been going crazy trying to put together my address list. We almost have everyone on the list who is getting a save-the-date. Sadly, we will not be sending one to everyone. I've also had to research some "extras" that will make our save-the-dates completely unique and very much created by hand. (I'm sure I will post a sample after they have been sent out.) Next week I will find myself stamping, stamping, addressing, and typing. (Hopefully I will find myself some help!)

In the mean time, I decided to think about the wedding program. I was impressed with how many helpful websites there are for putting together a Catholic wedding program. Not being Catholic myself, I really had no idea what to expect from a Catholic ceremony. As it is, with mostly non-Catholics in attendance I will still need to consider how much participation will be required from the group that will need to be added to the program. *shrugs* I'm sure I will figure it all out!

Even though creating the wedding stationary has been a rough and stressful process, I am actually really excited about the save-the-dates and I know that our invitations will come together beautifully as well! However, do not be surprised if I post a few more times about the creation of our stationary before it is all said and done...

Invitations & Sam Flax Review

After my wonderful find of vintage stamps, I was sooo excited to finish my Save-the-dates and begin my invitations! I have to admit that just being excited doesn't get you very far. Justin and I began looking at our paper options on Friday afternoon and we decided to use a linen paper in our wedding stationary.  We tried printing our Save-the-date on both white and cream cardstock. Then my heart dropped as I recalled my distaste for color and color matching*. Knowing what all was involved in trying to match color, I knew Justin and I had to find someone to help. We ended up taking our Save-the-date to a printer in Decatur. Three dollars later and I felt much better having seen that they could get a much better color with their printer than I could on my own.

Our experience with the printer and looking at paper encouraged Justin and I to take a short trip to Sam Flax to get some "inspiration" and a linen-type paper for experimentation. As Atlanta creatives may or may not know, Sam Flax recently moved from their glorious location... to an old Kroger. I guess you don't need to imagine my feelings regarding this move. Not only did they have a smaller paper selection, and nothing that could be used to emboss with, they also had an awful humming sound created by the light fixtures in this old building. It was awful and not at all what you would expect from a store that is suppose to create excitement for artistic opportunities! The store inevitably felt like a warehouse (like Home Depot or Sam's Club) but with an awfully annoying noise that was very likely to give you a headache. So yes, Atlantans, if you must go to Sam Flax for some type of artistic project be prepared to leave uninspired and have a headache.**

On a positive note, Justin and I picked out a Japanese cherry blossom looking print that may end up in our invitations somehow!

*During the summer of 2010, I had trouble matching the color of a vintage photo I had "fixed". It resulted in my getting X-Rite and spending hours upon hours working to match color in Photoshop and with my brand new printer. I ended up taking it to Wolf and they succeeded in color matching for me.
**Keep in mind that Sam Flax has only been at their new location for a short time and they may improve. An alternative to Sam Flax (other than Michaels or JoAnn's) would be Utrecht (which I haven't visited in years). 

Postage Stamps!

I swooned over the images from Martha Stewart (and the like) of wedding invitations covered in vintage stamps, but as of Monday I thought vintage stamps were out of my reach.  I contacted multiple stores who were completely unhelpful.  I sought advice on google, and I researched the postage sellers that they mentioned.  None of it was helpful though, because they all wanted more money for postage than I was willing to spend.

I had contacted a seller (Stamps Unlimited) on 10/17 in Atlanta who said he might be able to help me out.  When I called him, he had changed his mind.  He didn't think he had what I was looking for, but I was free to come in.  I decided "what the heck!" and I went in.  He had a box full of 30% off stamps that he was willing to sell to me.  My parents sat with me for a good 2 hours (maybe 3) going through these stamps picking out colors and designs.  I had a really hard time imagining what my invitations would look like, but I knew that however they looked, these stamps would make that look complete.

Following my trip to Stamps Unimited, I found what would have been useful advice for vintage stamp looking brides like myself.  Apparently, if you go here and find the numbers of the stamps you are looking for, you can use ebay to see if anyone has that stamp possibly buying it below retail.  (Also you can use companies like Zazzle to create your own vintage designed stamp.)

Warning: You may fall in love with vintage stamp collecting!