I’ve figured this out about myself. I’m a procrastinator. Even worse, I’ve convinced myself that I work better under pressure and therefore can justify procrastinating. This is probably completely false, but I like to try to believe it anyway. Anyway, this post wasn’t supposed to be about procrastinating, but instead about one of the projects that I procrastinated on doing - our wedding programs.
I had these lofty ambitious goals to do fan programs like Mrs. Bellpepper and Mrs. Plum but since we didn’t get our act in gear to actually figure out the whole program (music, who reads what, etc.), the project was delayed. By the time we had everything in place, I thought it best to save my sanity and not have to worry about all that cutting! Instead I came up with a far simpler easier program:
Front Cover
I bought linen cardstock in Blazer Blue from paperandmore.com, and had them cut the sheets in half for me (8.5″x5.5″) - it saved an extra step for me! I then brought out the gocco and used gold ink to put our monogram on the front.
Inside Cover
For the inside, I designed the program using Microsoft Publisher. I modified the 8-page booklet template a little. Since the programs are pretty small (each page is 4.25″x5.5″), I put two programs one template page (so, on page 1, you would see two page 1s on top of each other). This way, each complete program took up only 1 sheet of cardstock (double-sided). Then, I just printed them out on our home printer (thank goodness we have separate cartridges for blue and pink ink!) on lightweight ivory cardstock.
After all the programs were printed out, I followed the advice of Mrs. Daffodil, and took our programs to get cut at Staples (Kinkos is slightly cheaper per cut, but Staples was more convenient for us to get to)! We asked for 3 cuts. Because our programs consist of multiple folded sheets, we had the paper also trimmed on the two edges so that they wouldn’t stick out beyond the edge of the blue cover paper. And then, of course, we had the one cut down the middle two separate the two programs I stacked on top of each other. Daffodil was right, this indeed is money well spent. Instead of hours of cutting and trimming, I got a nice clean cut in a matter of minutes!
Next, it was time to assemble. While I thought of tying them together with nice pretty ribbon, in the end, I opted for the quicker cleaner route - stapling. And this bad boy was up to the task:
Swingline Heavy Duty 12″ Long Reach Stapler
With a little assembly line help from my family (one puts the three sheets together, one lines up the paper and one pushes the staple in), the programs were done in no time!
Our little programs all in a row.
While they are definitely less “showy” from what I originally planned, I think they came out alright, they get the job done, and I’ve managed to keep (at least some of) my sanity. 
Have you toned down or eliminated some of your DIY projects because you either ran out of time or because they just got too complicated?
I just picked my programs up from my stationary store today. I too was going to do the fan programs like Mrs. Bell Pepper (which is actually how i found wedding bee for the first time, of course totally addicted for the last 6 months!) but like you I procrastinated about getting the music and readings in order and just ran out of time. I totally LOVE my programs but I can’t take any credit for them! Love the gold monogram!
ok, your monogram is the most seriously adorable thing ever. Love love love the monkey hanging off the W. Did you design this yourself?
@Thea T: Thanks! I, however, can’t really take credit for the design. I asked my cousin to make it for me with specific instructions. The monkey and the bear are our nicknames for each other so I originally asked her to make logos with our names. I wrote about it here. Later I asked her to also make one with my new last name initial! I’m really thrilled with how they came out!
T- Your toned down project is my idea of a huge undertaking- these look great- your creativity and style are a wonderful addition to our family.
Mrs. Toucan, Boston
Age and Occupation: 25, Full-time Research Assistant, Part-time Graduate Student
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Actuary
Engagement Date: February 18, 2007
Wedding Date: June 7, 2008
Blogging Since: November 07, 2007
Venue: St. Catherine of Genoa, Jin Asian Cuisine Restaurant
About Me: I’m a Gemini to the extreme. On one side, I’m a girly girl. I read countless bridal and fashion magazines, and have an obsession with keeping up with the latest Hollywood gossip. On the other side, I’m a sports fanatic. Despite being a full-time bride-to be, full-time research assistant, and part-time student, I’m also a full-time Red Sox fan from spring training to October, and a full-time Patriots fan from mini-camp to February. I devote almost as much time researching my for fantasy football team as researching for our wedding!
You couldn’t have posted this at a better time! I’m about to start mine and am lacking all motivation to design them!