Weddingbee Blog

Could this DIY have taken any longer? Probably not, if you ask Mr. PaC.

I started brainstorming ideas in October, experienced holiday-related delays, buckled down in January, and was almost done until…I became a bee in February. Oops, productivity plummeted that month. Then I got the harebrained, but thankfully short-lived, idea to screenprint the entire suite. (Which I still want to do.) I’m happy to announce that the invitation project is done at last!

Now that our paper babies are being delivered into the hands of their new owners, via the storks at the USPS, I can finally reveal the Pain au Chocolat invitation suite.

Are you ready for the big reveal?

Our bold yellow envelopes, keeping it simple with an inkjet-printed address in our font

So glad the printer didn’t eat our envelopes! (They don’t make “nom nom nom” noises, btw.)

The back flap was stamped with our custom return-address stamp. I didn’t want to spend extra money on the envelope, special labels, or liners. As much as I love all those special touches, I never keep an envelope. I’m guessing our guests, none of whom are even close to obsessed with graphic design or our wedding, will do the same. Just looking for a quick pop of color and a little continuity.

Here’s a peek at the invitation itself. We bucked tradition by forgoing the inner envelope in favor of a belly band. When Mrs. Hippo posted about her belly band idea, I was sold. Less material, less waste, less postage. And I don’t have to scour the internet for two envelopes that will nestle together properly…in my chosen color, no less. Didn’t I say I was keeping it simple?

The actual invitation

Our printed pieces: wedding invitation & RSVP (left), rehearsal dinner invitation & RSVP (right), and stripey info card. (It’s killing me to blur out all of the delicious details!)

Wedding invitation and coordinating envelope

In person, the color match is pretty close. Considering my approach (whichever envelope is closest to my “invite yellow” wins), I’m pleased.

The two A8-sized invitations (wedding & rehearsal) against the A9 envelope

A closer look at the three pieces that all of our wedding guests will see. Fun fun fun!

And then there’s the rehearsal dinner invitation and RSVP. Mr. P worried our guests would not understand why they received two RSVP cards, so I paired the cool colored pieces as a visual reminder.

Closeup of our font on the info card. (It’s Commercial Script, if you’re curious.)

Details, details, details: wedding invite

Details, details, details: rehearsal dinner invite

Remember our color palette?

Color swatches via 100 Layer Cake

How’d we do?

How long did your invitations take from start to finish? What ideas did you implement to save money, time, or your sanity?