RSVP's are the devil.

I can't tell you how long I took to create the RSVP wording. In fact the reason I can't tell you is because of the shameful face I would have to make while telling you.
First of all, I knew I wanted postcard RSVP's. (Economical, what what) But the person doing our invites keeps one side blank, free of design or wording. So then I thought we should ask people to write a message on the blank side (you know, a "Please feel free to send a message to the bride and groom" kind of thing. That way it wasn't such a lonely barren side of the RSVP (they have feelings too ya know!) But that would have cost 35 dollars to print. I passed because every time I turn around we are spending 100 dollars here or 50 dollars there (luckily the thousands of dollars here, thousands of dollars there thing stopped a while ago) and my sister said "Save that money for a nice bottle of wine on the honeymoon!" Well said.
So then I was worried about the actual wording. Do you just have a line for regrets and accepts? Do you get a little wordy for fun like this:

____is/are looking forward to dining, dancing, and celebrating

____has/have to miss the fun



or even this:

__ Yes, we look forward to dinner!

__ Sorry, we're unable, our plate is full.



oh, and there are corny themed RSVP's as well, such as if you were to be married at a golf course:

__ Yes, we'll see you on the green!

__ Sorry we can't swing it.


Anyhow... point is... a zillion options. Plus there is the whole +1 issue. Sadly, we are not able to allow our guests +1's (we have 150 chairs that fit under our tent and our guest list is currently well over that, so it's just a matter of space! Plus, have you ever had to feed tons of people? Sheesh it's expensive) and honestly I knew I didn't really want +1's to begin with because I am not comfortable having people that I don't know as guests at the most special day of my life. That might come off as rude or weird to others, but when I picture my wedding day, I want to look out at the church and see people that know and love us and are there to celebrate our union... not just come for the free beer with a date. So, we decided to only allow people who are in relationships to bring their boyfriend or girlfriend as a date, since chances are we probably know them anyway if they are dating our friend that is invited. My exception is that a few way out of town friends can bring someone if they don't know anyone else at the wedding... and of course the bridal party. I know it might not seem fair to some, but this is what we are comfortable with and so that's just the way it is!

So how to convey this on the response cards? Well... I have read some horror stories where people just automatically add names on their response card without checking with the bride first, and I really wanted to avoid awkward situations like that at all costs, so I did a little research and I found two options. One was that you can put an asterick and small font below the response part that looks something like this: *__ seats have been reserved for you. And you fill in the number for each person before mailing them out, so Uncle Bob sees he only has one seat reserved and isn't going to bring his stripper girlfriend. However, that seemed a little too blunt. Plus, you have the family of 5 that might possibly only have 3 coming to the wedding. Now where to fill in how many out of their party might be attending?

SEE WHY I HAVE HAD SO MANY ISSUES?!?!?

So here is what I decided, in my own nice wording with a way for people to know how many people in their party are invited and a way for them to tell me how many they will be bringing. Whew.

__ out of __ will be attending with glee! (and yes, I fill in the second line with the number)

__ will not be attending, but shall celebrate from afar!

Crisis averted. And I kind of like knowing people can still say they will celebrate from afar. It makes their "no" seem warm and sweet, even if the no is from grumpy Uncle Bob who is mad he didn't get a plus one.

Adorable Download

I love the internet.
And I love the blog, Ruffled.

When I am getting ready on the wedding day, my groom will also be getting ready at the same house. I think it will be kind of fun knowing he's so close and that I have to hide from him before the ceremony! I like these door hangers... that are a free download! (all hail the internet and it's awesomeness)

I might have to make some for the day while we are getting ready and maybe one for the wedding night! How sweet :)

Download is found here!

FONTS!

I have decided for invites I really would like to have a unique and eye catching font with just a simple hand stamped design. I picture linen cardstock in a khaki color with black font and green stamp. I am obsessed with the idea of having the invites in kraft envelopes, but I realize the envelopes should probably match the invitations. I'll save my obsession for kraft paper for hand made cards and wrapping presents :)

The other night my friend Bridget and I sat on the couch at a friend's house pouring over free font sites and giggling at what they looked like when we typed inappropriate phrases to sample them. Never mind that it was 11pm and we isolated ourselves into a typography storm while all of our friends were socializing and heading out to DC bars. We are geeky like that. I am amazed at the amount of fonts there are! Oh, how I have come to love and appreciate the graphic design world. Bridget says I am a vicarious designer... it's so true. Can I have a career change? After my photography career change that is.

Anyhow, I decided to share some of the free font sites that are out there... I'll have to post on when I attempt to actually download and use them. Should be quite an adventure for this technologically handicapped woman (yes, this blog is a product of a miracle I tell you).

So here are a few sites:
Font Forge   Fonts 101   J Murphy Free Fonts   Vintage Fonts  DaFont   Abstract Fonts

 
See... look at all these fun things you can do that MS Word does not come with! Who knew?

Thank You Cards

Now that we've receieved a few engagement gifts, I've been writing several thank you cards and I thought I would do a little post on them. I really think it is so thoughtful when someone puts time into their thank you. Whether it's choosing a nice personalized card or writing really heart-felt words, I think you should always put in a little extra when you are sending words of appreciation. I sat down one evening and made a little series of hand stamped cards. I did go out and later buy a set of thank you cards that I can use when in a pinch, but I am excited about using hand made cards for friends and family who are contributing toward the wedding. I used stamps and blank cards by Martha Stewart, and I am even thinking of using the same stamps on the invitations!

the front of an envelope

the back of an envelope

a different assortment of the back of an envelope, because I want to include scripture

a thank you card I made for my aunt when she hosted our engagement party... perhaps I can use the stamps in a similar manner as this for the invitations?

Save the Date

They are finally done and ready to be mailed on my lunch break tomorrow :) After many e-mails and grueling conversations with our designer friend Bridget, they are finito and they look GREAT! We sent them in to Zazzle and had them made into postcards. We put a personalized message about the wedding on the back and they are perfect! We just wanted a simple, clean look with some green added in. (also, you will see the swirly things on the edges look like R's) I'm impressed.... thank you Bridget! (her website: http://bridgetstec.com/)

Calligraphy on a Budget

This morning I stumbled upon this neat idea posted on Design Sponge.

Looks insanely time consuming, but would certainly spruce up the invitations without the major cost of hiring a calligrapher.

Basically, the girl that did these bought a font she liked online and printed each address onto individual envelopes in a shade darker than the envelope itself. Then she went back and hand traced the lettering with a calligraphy pen in a lighter color.

The end result: Beautiful calligraphy that looks hand written, but without spending a fortune. Terrific idea... but you would need some major help accomplishing this. And sometimes... it's worth it to just spend the money to save time. I must admit, having my envelopes addressed in calligraphy isn't a huge priority (most people don't save the invitations, much less the envelopes they came in!), but daannggg it looks purdy.

I have this belief that if I pick up a calligraphy pen, my handwriting magically becomes beautiful. Maybe I can just address my own invitations?

(Post is here)