Weddingbee Blog

According to Martha, “Save-the-date cards create the first impression that your guests will have of the wedding.” No pressure there. Now, as much as I like love worship Martha, I do think you can have whatever kind of wedding you want with whatever kind of save the dates you want (or don’t want, for that matter!). That being said, I have dedicated a solid chunk of time to our save the dates (perhaps more than I initially bargained for, but I enjoyed [almost] every minute of it), and I am pleased with the first impression that our save the dates will express about our wedding.

But what about the first impression of our save the dates? I know that some of you are thinking, “Miss D, you have officially gone of the bridal deep end!” I admit, you just may be right, but I have written this post anyway.

What I am talking about, of course, is the envelopes! I promised myself I would not go too crazy with this, and personally I don’t think I was too bad (although some people may beg to differ). The first decision was the stamps. On a random trip to the post office before I even knew what our save the dates would look like, I saw these beauties and snatched up a handful of sheets. Easy peasy.

Image via Shop.USPS.com

Next up were the envelopes. Since there was lots of color going into the envelope via the save the date, and a splash of color going onto the envelope via the stamp, we decided to keep it simple…but not too simple, of course. We went with the A2 envelopes in the paper bag color from Paper Source (otherwise known as the greatest place on Earth).

Then it came time to address the envelopes. I decided that I wanted them to be handwritten, but I wanted them in a handwriting that was superior to my own. Impossible? I think not. Hire an expensive calligrapher? I think not. Check out dafont.com, buy a pack of carbon paper, and prepare for hand cramps from writing? I think so!

Here’s a breakdown of what I did:

1. I chose Beautiful Every Time as my font, and I typed the addresses in Word.

2. I printed the addresses, cut them out, cut a piece of carbon paper in the same size, and taped the paper with the printed address and the carbon paper onto the envelope. Note: Look for carbon paper at an office-supply store like Staples as opposed to a craft store.

3. I traced the address with a pen (make sure it has a nice sharp tip!) to transfer it onto the envelope.

4. I removed the taped-on paper and carbon paper to reveal the addressed envelope. I then went over the address with a writing marker to make it a little thicker and a little more durable.

Ta-da! I had lovely stamped and addressed envelopes to make a great first first impression!

Is anyone else a big fan of carbon paper like me? (If so, stay tuned—I have another project in the works to make use of my remaining 90-some sheets!)

How did you package your save the dates?

*All photos personal unless otherwise noted