Weddingbee Blog

Invitations are nearly done here at Chez Pdog, so I’m showin’ ’em. You’ll never tell our guests, now will you? Here you go, my internet chickies!

(If you want to see how these fit into our overall idea of my wedding colors/tone, go here.)

To be perfectly frank, these invites probably suggest a more traditional couple than Pdog and myself. If mine were the only druthers considered, they might be a little less formal and a little more sassy. However, these invitations are going to my parents’ friends and associates, and my parents are traditional people. So Pdog and I found a way to make them formal, elegant, and still us. It’s a good compromise.

The creation of save the dates vs. these invites were like night and day. Like bathing suit shopping and eating warm brownies. Like getting a flat tire and scoring big at a sample sale. You get it. Save the dates sucked, and invites were awesome.

Both times, I designed them myself, but the way I went about the rest of the details was very different. I learned a few valuable lessons the first time around, via trial-and-error. What can I say? I deserve a graduate degree in Getting It Wrong a Few Times Before I Get It Right. Decisions which preserved my already-fragile sanity were as follows:

1. Ordering a self-inking address stamp.

Even easier than the labels we did for the save the dates, plus I can reuse it for thank you notes! All of the mailing and RSVP envelopes were stamped in less than an hour. Can’t beat it.

2. Having every piece printed and cut for us.

I have NO idea what I was thinking when we printed/cut our own save the dates; it was a total nightmare, despite what we thought was a top-of-the-line printer. The image of Pdog kneeling in front of the printer with ink all over his hands, dripping onto the hardwood floors of my office…well, let’s just say that won’t soon be excised from my memory. By the time we got to the invites process, I would have paid anything to have each piece printed and cut for us. When I got the quote returned to me, I laughed out loud. It was so, SO much cheaper than I anticipated. Then the samples came—gorgeous. SO WORTH IT.

3. Using Cards & Pockets, in general

The prices, products, customer service, and return times are exemplary. Confirmation emails are sent to notify you of assembly and shipping (both of which were lightening quick), and if you have a question, a real human will respond to you! A nice, helpful human! In a timely manner! I had email exchanges with both the Production and Printing representatives, and both were wonderful to me.

4. Addressing them myself

Why is this helpful? Because our guest list includes quite a few people who are essentially nomads. Being 24 years old means my friends are finishing grad school and moving, getting married and moving, and/or spending extended time abroad because they don’t yet have kids or real responsibilities yet, haha. Since the time I would have had to schedule/order calligraphy, one friend has moved to Australia, another to Kazakhstan, one across the country, and at least four other invitees have changed addresses. A few are currently in the process of moving, so I’ll send a quick text to them as I address them next week.

Now that I’ve seen the light with invitation simplicity, all I have to say is: glory hallelujah, get them out of my house. I want my kitchen table back.

How did you fare with invitations? Any other tips for navigating the precarious world of wedding paper goods?