Wedding Blog
@#$%^&!!! I am SO sick of my invitations, I just want them OUT OF THE HOUSE already!! I am especially sick of the envelopes, which I spent hours lining with decorative paper, tracing perfectly straight lines in pencil and then hand-calligraphing addresses for all 100+ invitations.
Then last night I came to an accidental and unfortunate realization that the calligrapher pen I used is NOT permanent. Which means that if it happens to be raining on the day the mailman is delivering my invitations, we are majorly screwed. One drop of water and the writing smears beyond recognition. CRAP. *sigh* That is a chance that I am NOT willing to take (with good reason, wouldn’t you agree??) But I absolutely refuse to toss my envelopes!! They represent over 12 hours of work!! So now I need to find another solution…
The only thing I can think of is to enclose it in another larger envelope. My current envelopes are 5.75″ x 8.75″, which means that I would have to use 6″ x 9″ ones. I was thinking of just getting these very utilitatian ones from an office supply store for relatively cheap and slapping labels on them (albeit I would dress up the labels to make ’em pretty, but I don’t want to go through another round of calligraphy). What do you think of these?
Geez, this would mean that opening my invitations would be like getting into Fort Knox. Outter envelope, inner envelope, and vellum enclosure. Nuts! Please, please share your own wedding-related blunders so that I won’t feel like the only doofus 
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Share this post: A Big Ol’ Oops
You should check out an arts and craft/fabric store to see if there is something you can spray on the envelopes to waterproof the envelope and the calligraphy.
i must say that the professional calligraphy we had done on our envelopes was not permanant either. and we didn’t have them redone. they went as is and no one said anything about any messy envelope that they received.
If you’re concerned, what about 6×9″ vellum envelopes that will still show the calligraphy?
yeah, just like what susan said, there’s a spray that you can use. just go to any craft store…they should have it. that’s what we’re doing and it’s working perfectly fine. just make sure you spray outside. 
Maybe this is too weird/ugly, but why not get large clear stickers/labels and print a design around the edge and place the label over the address? Although in the long run that may cost more than just getting another envelope. The second one doesn’t look bad at all! I would also look into what Susan suggested. I know they make it for fabrics, so it’s worth a shot.
To save money, why not get some clear labels and stick it across your calligraphy. Or even a strip of clear plastic tape (cut neatly) would work. That way, you don’t have to buy extra envelopes and present your invites the way you intended.
Or maybe look for large transparent stickers to place over the addresses. If you get a shape (like a rectangle with rounded corners), it will look more deliberate and not an afterthought.
Good luck!
like Mrs. BOP - ours were not permanent and we didn’t worry about it. No one complained, nothing happened and it all worked just fine.
But if you’re concerned, I’d try the spray and if not, go with the large white envelopes. The suspense will build up as people open your invites.
I used clear plasic covers my all of my invites and that worked wonderfully! They are also cost effective they were $10 for 100!
The spray you’re looking for is called fixative. You can find it at any Arts & Crafts store (probably with the colored pencils or charcoal, since that’s what it’s typically used with to prevent smearing). Some fixatives have a gloss finish while others are matte. I’d buy a can of matte and test it out on an envelope or two (samples, of course!) and see if a few drops of water stand the test 
But you will most likely want to do this outdoors, since it has chemicals in it and is a bit smelly when you’re spraying it!
The spray is awesome!
what if you just go over it with a permanent pen? it will take forever but it would work.
I second (third? fifth?) the clear sticker idea too. With rounded edges it would look ok.
if you are really concerned that it will look bad maybe enclose a little note saying something like “sorry for the sticker covering the addreess but the calligraphy didnt come with a warrenty”… cheezy but shows it was intenetional and that you cared a lot.
So far my blunders have been:
1.*Thinking* I was done and then realizing that I forgot to include the map/directions cards.
2. My invitations are in boxes. Sealed with gerbera daisy stickers. That apparently don’t stay stuck. I tried using a tape runner from Creative Memories. Nope. So I wound up using clear packing tape just over the sticker anyway… which is what I was trying to avoid in the first place.
3. I had a few people that were last minute additions.. And now I can’t remember if I put postage on their response cards. So there fore I’m ripping into their boxes to make sure.. Luckily I have more boxes and gerbera stickers.
And that’s JUST with the invitations. 
Miss Emerald: I think you were looking to hear our own blunders to make you feel better. Well, let me share mine with you… oddly enough, my frustration came at the invitation stage as well. After addressing 115 envelopes, I realized that I ordered the Man/Woman wrong. At .75/envelope I was not about to redo all 115. Luckily, after 3 days of “what do I do?! “they” won’t blame Mr. for this… it’ll be ME that “they” blame!!” my invitation designer told me that her caligrapher always does it the way I did, man first. So, I mailed them out… and fast. So I didn’t hear something to the contrary.
Don’t worry–get the spray… send them off, and then wait for the rsvps. It’s like winning the lotto every time you check the mail (if the rsvps come to your address). It’s ok… no one is perfect, and I doubt there is any bride who didn’t have at least a blunder or two in her planning.
Another solution just in case you need to use the larger envelopes… just get address labels printed or print them yourself. I don’t know how much that spray costs, but printing labels may be a cheap solution. Good luck!
A can of the spray shouldn’t be more than like $9, tops! If you line up the envelopes to do a bunch of them with each spray, you’ll use far less than a whole can for all of your envelopes. That stuff goes a long way.
I was going to suggest clear envelopes so you wouldn’t have to address them all over again, but I think the clear tape/labels are a great idea. You could also ask bliss where she got her clear covers. I’ve never knew of the spray but it seems like it would be the easiest, cleanest route! Good luck! Let us know how everything comes out. =)
I fifth/sixth the clear label idea. I can’t remember what your invites look like (or maybe you haven’t shown us yet!) but you could stamp a cute design or use a corner puncher to put a design in it. I think it would look sort of neat actually.
Otherwise, there are clear envelopes or Vellum envelopes (I don’t think that the mailmen like those though). But the clear ones would look really cool and you could probably get your same size so it looks totally on purpose! good luck!
Here’s a blunder: Waited too long to get the hotel blocks in place. Worse, this included the hotel where we had the reception, because of course people would want to stay there. The hotel’s standard deadline (for reserving a room at the block rate) was going to occur just about the time guests would be receiving the invitations, giving them only a few days to make a reservation — not good. So, I told the hotel’s coordinator (a very unpleasant person who was more into enforcement than service)that I didn’t want to stick that to my guests and/or look like an idiot before I’d even met half the guests on the groom’s side, so if she couldn’t extend the deadline, she should know that I wasn’t going to list their hotel with the other hotels whose room blocks that had longer deadlines. The wedding was off-season and she likely needed the business, so she gave in and matched the deadlines for the other hotels. So, happy ending here; mistakes can be un-done!
What about enclosing the envelope in one of those crystal clear bags - see: clearbags.com ! I use these all of the time for sealing greeting cards.
Wow, so many solutions, thanks ladies!!
Lana - clearbags.com - AWESOME!! I think this would be super cool, not to mention they are cheap!!
Also liking the spray idea… I’ll keep you guys posted =)
After printing my 80 of the 100 RSVP cards for my invites, I realized that I had printed them with a “.” (period) at the end of the phrase “respondea s’il vous plait” … I just sent them as is because I didn’t have enough supplies to reprint them. Nobody even noticed.
well the clear bags sound fab-o, but if you are just dying I got my calligraphy, if you can call it that - it was not hand-done, but a machine, at Write On in Glencoe (writeoncalligraphy.com). Julie was great about fixing any mistakes if she made then, and in the end the price wasn’t too bad - so if you are losing your mind and want to just pay to get it out of your life that may be the way to go.
If it makes you feel any better - my best girlfriend’s sister accidentally misspelled her own mother’s name…so the invites read that they were from Nathan and Julio! And they are crazy conservative! LOVE IT!
I put my envelopes in blanksemi-translucent white vellum envelopes…looked super classy, and the addresses showed thru great!
fixative spray.
even with permanent ink, sometime the envelopes are glossy and don’t hold it well. they still require fixative.
i can’t remember if i sent a STD to a couple that i don’t plan on inviting anymore…
i don’t have an address written down for them so i probably didn’t send it. i’m taking my chances and not sending an invite - if they ask for it then i’ll just pretend it got lost in the mail!
i also bought an eyelet punch and setter (8 in 1) yesterday to try to make name tags easier for the invites…after the first hour the little part that retracts when you punch the eyelet down got permanently stuck so it doesn’t work anymore! i’m going to michaels’ today to complain, hopefully i can get a new one or my money back, definitely defective…
you’re not alone, miss emerald!
[...] stamping, sealing, organizing and checking off all our invitations. You may remember my previous dilemma about my calligraphy and the potential for smearing. Thanks to our trusty Weddingbee readers, we [...]
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Mrs. Emerald, Chicago
Age and Occupation: 26, Wedding Planner
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Paralegal
Engagement Date: October 8, 2006
Wedding Date: September 2007
Blogging Since: November 29, 2006
Venue: Hyatt Lodge, Oak Brook IL
About Me: I have been dreaming about my wedding forever, and flipping through bridal magazines since high school, so I am in my element! I am calling our theme "Vintage Inspired French/Asian Fusion." Mr. Emerald is very involved in the planning process, but of course he generally defers to me cuz I have a strong opinion of how I want everything to be :-).
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