Weddingbee Blog

We have all been warned about the awesome power of STDs*. They are the first impression guests get of your wedding, they can set the tone of the event, they can share the theme of your event with guests, blah blah blah. Does anyone else think this is a lot of pressure to put on one little piece of paper?!

This pressure alone gave me a good excuse to procrastinate working on our STDs for a few months. But, I eventually got my rear in gear and started thinking about how to announce our wedding to our guests.

I had no clue what I wanted, so I set out just searching for things that caught my eye. Here are a few STDs that I liked after my first few searches:

Photo and design by Molly Gaines at Dot Girl Blog

{So unique and FUN}

Image Credit: Savor the Date via Etsy

{Wine + chocolate labs? Love ’em}

Photo by Dave Bibeault / Design by Starfish / via Weddingbee

{Magnets and quotes, I am in love}

Image Credit: Go Go Snap via Etsy

{Very art nouveau}

Image Credit: Go Go Snap via Etsy

{I love this simple one}

Image Credit: Wedding Paper pas

{Notice the Location?}

Looking at my inspiration photos, a few things stood out: I wanted to incorporate magnets, I’m vain and wanted to include pictures of us, I wanted them to be fun and a little unexpected (that first inspiration photo took my breath away–so freakin’ cool), I want a dog, and I have a thing for monochromatic (I guess, I actually just noticed that right now).

While all of these designs are wonderful, they weren’t exactly what I was hoping for. I was itching to flex my DIY muscles, but I was also painfully aware of my limitations (such as a complete lack of artistic talent or graphic design skills). Undeterred, I knew I had to suck it up, make it work, and make something that would make Tim Gunn proud because time was running out.

Up next, I find the perfect idea and have no idea how to execute it.

*Back in the day (aka college), I lived with some crazy, unfiltered girls (who are now some of my awesome BMs). Instead of normal apartment decor, we had things like mannequins (a complete family with names and personalities), Halloween decorations that stayed up all year round, a George Forman cut out (who changed hats for different holidays), and a mountain of recycling (aptly named Recycle Mountain) that took up half our kitchen. But, the weirdest thing in our apartment was probably a pamphlet on STDs (of the venereal variety) that BW displayed front and center on top of our TV cabinet. Complete with graphic macro pictures. So every time I see this acronym all I think of is that unfortunate pamphlet and how BW would encourage people (ie: anyone who dared step foot in our apartment) to crack it open and pick which disease was the grossest looking. So, I do giggle at this acronym, but in a different way. Thanks, BW.

Did you know exactly what you wanted for your save the dates or did you research trying to find the perfect inspiration?