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Because we got engaged at the Parkway Theater, I had a wonderful vision in my head for our Save the Date. We would be beautifully set in front of the Parkway, and I would use Photoshop to change the wording of the “Now Playing” sign to say “Save the Date: August 2008.” This was my inspiration (from knottie DynomiteWins):
Fabulous, right? However, this idea was a disaster from the get-go. I had a VERY hard time getting Mr. Cream Puff down to Oakland (he claimed he was “tired from work.” What kind of excuse is that?! 
), and when we finally got down there, the results were (how do I say this politely?) HEINOUS. I appear to have deleted the pictures from iPhoto, but let’s just say this: They were NOT fit for public consumption. There were multiple chins, bad lighting and a barely-visible Parkway involved. Overall, it was bad news.
So I gave up and decided to draw us in front of the Parkway instead. I’d already decided that I wanted to have a theme of some sort to our wedding, and had settled on the “journey” we’ve taken together. Each table would be a favorite memory we’ve shared together. I hadn’t quite decided how to execute this, but it turned out that the Save the Dates were the beginning of everything. Oddly enough, I’m not thankful that those initial pictures sucked so hard! This is the final Save the Date, which we sent as postcards:
On the back of the card, I explain why we’re wearing disguise glasses and tell the story of the proposal. I am pretty excited about them! After I finished them, I decided to draw a little picture for each memory for every table. I knew I’d lose steam on that idea pretty quickly, so I started early. I am (more or less) finished with thirteen of them. Sadly, our guest list keeps growing (the guest list = my number one stresser), so I’ll probably have to make more. I’ll post some of those drawings later.
I’m always looking for new and creative ways to send Save the Dates. Now I kind of wish I hadn’t done a postcard–I wish I would have sent them in a colorful envelope to make them more special. Oh well–hindsight is 20/20.
What creative ideas have you come up with for your Save the Dates, Wedding Bee readers?
So adorable and unique. I love that you are working to make your theme all about you and your lover! You’ve got skills.
This is cute! I love adding the proposal story…a lot of guests might not know it, and it adds a personal touch.
We found a caricature artist at the Lynnwood mall who was drawing for donations to the Katrina Fund. We had him do one as our Save-the-Date, copied it onto post cards (a difficult process if the copy wants permission), and mailed them out. We ended up using that same artist at our reception, and people loved him!
I think these are so much better than any picture could ever have been– and they showcase your talent! Brava!
We Photoshopped ourselves into the window of an “L” Taraval Muni train, as that is the line that goes to the zoo where the wedding is ! The “Ad” on the side of the train is one of our engagement, which is our date written in the sand, with our feet next to it. They came out EXACTLY how I envisioned ! So happy !
I think your cartoon version turned out SOOO CUTE ! Your cartoon selves just look so “happy” LOL ! EXCELLENT !
me and FI met in Math class in college so we made a save the date where on the front of the card it said:
do the math
1 + 1 = 1
and inside it said “two become one on….blah blah” hehe yeah, we are dorky.
your drawing is so cute!
I love it, Miss Cream Puff! And I want to know why you’re wearing the disguise glasses!
Our Save the Date had the football schedule of the university we both graduated from, and a picture of us in the stadium. They were a big hit!
That is fantastic. You are quite an artist! Can’t wait to see the drawings you did for the tables.
We are getting married in our home town, which is a seaside resort in the south coast of England, so we are going to use cheeky holiday postcards. I am so excited - I’m sending them today!
That is such a great drawing!
Here’s a consolation about having sent postcards instead of putting them in envelopes - you saved a lot of paper by not using envelopes and therefore are being kinder to our planet. 
Very Kurt Halsey-esque..i think it’s adorable!
I’m impressed with your drawing skills!
My fiance and I live in Oakland and one of our first (and most memorable) dates was a movie at the Parkway
I have to admit that with all the posts about being a Weddingbee addict and the power of the internet forcing your best creativity, I felt pressured (of my own doing!) to make really creative save-the-dates. After thinking of obscure ways to utilize an I-25 highway sign (since our wedding is on May 25th), my fiance then came up with the brilliant idea of spelling it all out with our bodies. Fortunately, we are pretty much the same height, so nothing came out lopsided! Our oh-so-agreeable friend came over to take our pictures, and they turned out fabulously! For example, M was both of us doing the Downward Dog of yoga fame, and A was us lying on our sides, angled away from each other with a dark blanket between us for the cross-bar. It was very fun, but it makes me really glad we weren’t getting married August 8! LOL!
btw, when your introduction said you were an illustrator, I was wondering how long it would take before your illustrations would show up in a blog showcase! I love your save-the-dates, and think that having drawn them yourself is so special! Have you told the story of the disguise glasses on here yet? (Maybe I need to do some digging in the archives.) Do share, if you haven’t!!
These are amazing!!!
Your postcard rocks! I too designed our postcard Save the Dates after finding an old picture that was just too funny not to use. After spending hours on photoshop making ours from laying text over the pic, I then had to find someone who could print them. The local print shop just couldn’t replicate it. I really recommend to everyone for homemade postcards http://www.printsmadeeasy.com . Not only was the photo quality awesome — but it cost just $50 for 300! Hint — go online to see their specs on the size of your image before you start designing! I had to redesign mine!
So cute! I sort of wish you’d had that fantastic drawing before the link to see the full post so everyone would see it! Be sure to post more pictures from your table numbers.
Your STDs are cute but I think you should give credit to Kurt Halsey for your design.
Angel–that’s a GREAT idea! I am all for tying things together like that.
CarFar and L–you guys should really find a way to post pictures of your save the dates–those sound awesome!
Roopa–Good point! That does make me feel better. I just hope everyone got them!
Katya–Very good point. Noted for future posts!
Very cute! Very random: I saw your post then saw a sample of your STD at the Berkeley Paper Source! Small world it is! I love the Parkway too! Quite an engagement story you have there!
[...] we have the RSVP postcards. I sent my mom our Save the Date postcard, just so she could see what it looked like, and to make sure it got there okay. When I saw it after [...]
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Mrs. Cream Puff, San Francisco Bay Area Age and Occupation: 25, Illustrator Fiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Merchandise Planner Engagement Date: May 27, 2007 Wedding Date: August, 2008 Blogging Since: February 7, 2008 Venue: Ceremony at Crissy Field and Reception at the Green Room About Me: I never dreamed about my wedding as a little girl because I was too busy playing in the mud or pretending to be Martha Stewart–but now that it's here, I'm having a fabulous time DIYing everything in sight! We’re planning a very fun multicultural wedding (I'm Jewish and Mr. Cream Puff is Chinese), filled with as many personal details as I can muster.
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