Weddingbee Blog

Mr. Candy Apple and I really aren’t Valentine’s Day people. We think it’s just an excuse for the card, flower, and chocolate companies to make a killing, and for single people to feel bad about themselves. So, we don’t usually do anything out of the ordinary for the day. The first Valentine’s Day we were together, way back in the day, he took me out to a really nice dinner and then a play. But we haven’t really done anything since then.

This year, though, because of my wedding-crazed brain, I had my eye on the custom prints that Rifle Paper Co. creates. I love Rifle; their designs are fun, whimsical, and filled with lots of florals. Love love love. Their gorgeous wedding invites are a bit out of our price range, unfortunately, but I became obsessed with their customized prints. The infatuation started over their adorable customized Christmas cards and morphed into a full-blown obsession over the Valentine’s day prints.

{Rifle Paper Co. card via YoKiddo!}

They’re just so cute!! And I love the personalization aspect.

After drooling over them online for a month, I received an email from their mailing list for 20% off holiday items. Um, obviously I was forced to bite the bullet, and I decided to get one for Mr. Candy Apple for Valentine’s Day. And by “get one for Mr. Candy Apple,” I actually mean get one for myself and use Valentine’s Day as an excuse.

It’s actually kind of neat; once you purchase the listing, someone at the company contacts you to get some information—hair color, eye color, clothes. You can even send a picture! I sent in a picture and described the type of clothes I wanted us wearing. After that, I waited. Impatiently, might I add. A few days later, they sent me THIS:

{courtesy of Rifle Paper Co.}

Isn’t it darling?! I am so incredibly obsessed. While they were having it printed and shipped, I kept clicking on the PDF proof that they sent me and just stared at it. I love it. I feel bad blurring our names and the date out because it looks so much prettier with them in there! Ahh, privacy.

I am hoping to display this at our wedding, so I put our date and the location on there. I also wanted Mr. Candy Apple in his gray suit, like he’ll be wearing for the wedding. I was going to put myself in a white dress, but since it only shows the shoulders, it probably would have just looked like I was naked, so I decided against that. Instead, I just put myself in lavender (one of our colors!). Mr. Candy Apple thinks that my hair looks a bit gray so I look like an old lady, but I don’t care. I still love it. And it’s US! Very cool.

{This was the display I set up for Mr. Candy Apple when he came home on V-Day. Paper products: Rifle Paper Co.}

I love that I can display it at the wedding. It’s in a white frame with white matting, so I’m thinking I can display it on the guest book sign-in table, with one or two of their other cards that I frame. Maybe the above “I love you” card and another “love” card? I’ll need to check out their spring collection.

I had originally thought that I would have everyone sign the matting that surrounds the print itself as a sort of guest book, but I think that would be a bit cramped and would take away from the image itself.

Checking back through some archives, I also see that Ostrich is doing something similar. I really like the idea of framing little prints, drawings, paintings, whatever has personal meaning to you, and including them in your reception decor. It just adds that little extra touch of personalization for you as a couple.

{Paper products: Rifle Paper Co.}

After the wedding, I can hang it on our wall and have a constant reminder of our special day! The perfect momento. It’s actually the only thing currently hanging up on our barren walls. I now am feeling the need to re-paint our walls a deep evergreen, just so this print looks even more spectacular. Must. resist. urge.

What do you think? Did you have any sort of personalized image or something similar done for the big day? Did you do anything out of the ordinary for your guest book?