OK! Man, I sure have stretched out this thing, haven’t I? Sorry.
The wording was the easiest part of the invitation process. I fiddled with it a little, but I really liked this phrasing:
Together with their families
Bride & Groom
Invite you to celebrate as they become husband and wife
Something about having “husband and wife” printed out was neat. I figured we’d keep it relatively simple with an invitation, accommodations card, and an RSVP card. I laid everything out in Word, used my fonts and stuff…but man, was it boring. I thought we might watercolor on the paper a la my save the date, but I didn’t want to do the same thing over, and I think what worked on a flat card wouldn’t be as awesome inside the invitation.
Enter my MOH. I sent her my documents with the missive to “add SOMETHING.” A border, a graphic, something that would fill the space and not look so boring. I included a few inspiration pieces:
(Invite via Oh So Beautiful Paper / by Watermark Stationery & Crystal Kluge)
(Invite via Bella Figura)
Within no time, my invitations went from this:
…to this:
(Invite by Clarke Ross Designs)
Hell of an improvement, right? She used the same infinity loop from the belly band in the graphics…and I just love them. We printed them at home on some plain card stock and used Mono Adhesive to put everything together…
What you’re looking at above actually isn’t stitching…it’s paper punching:
Yes, we (my mom, my sister, and I) hand punched every single hole with basically a jumbo tack. My mom happened to have this stencil that perfectly matched the design. Tedious, but it’s my favorite detail.
The assembly line
Ready for the mail! Super satisfying.
Hive, I know I posted way too much about these things (whoops), but I am so, so proud of them. They definitely took awhile and I know some of the little details might not be noticed, but that’s OK.
I think you did a fantastic job! I’m not very patient with much of the wedding planning, so when my fi’s brother asked if there was anything he could do for the wedding i said, “Yes! You can design the invitations!” He did the book cover designs for all of their books and they’re all amazing, so normally i bypass looking at invitation. Glad I looked in on this though.
They are drop dead gorgeous!!! I love all of the different details….your guests are going to love receiving one of these in their mailboxes!
They look great! Where is the charcoal paper from? I love the style and color – it’s pretty much exactly what I’m looking for 
Oh, WOW! What a lovely invitation. The stenciling really adds that special something!
holy crap, those were totally worth the wait. I’m seriously drooling over them. If my invitations turn out half as well as yours did, I’m going to be so so happy. so so pretty
I love the punches, the bands, and all the details! And the color combination is really pretty!
Wow! They look great.
Also, you have now (probably unintentionally) convinced me that I will NOT be DIY-ing my own invitations I cannot believe that you punched all of those holes individually! I’m pretty sure I’d just light them all on fire out of frustration after about the third one…
I love them!! I can’t believe you put all of the punches in yourself!
These are so awesome, Miss Gray Wolf, and I’m sure you felt super accomplished once they were finished! I would have loved receiving one of these in the mail. A memory box keeper for sure.
Miss Gray Wolf, are you aware that in one of those pictures you haven’t blurred out your full names and wedding date?
Love them! The paper punching is such a small detail, but it really adds a lot to the invitations, great job!
@jilleeann: thank you! this definitely was one of the few things i cared a lot about, but everyone has their things, ya know!
@fer714: they’re from michaels, just simple 12×12 cardstock they sell by the sheet. i can’t remember the color name, but they only had a few gray colors. all we did was cut them into an L shape and fold up for the pocket. then i was able to use that extra square for the RSVP backer – so each invite used on sheet.
@Miss Blue Whale: haha! i would def say if you’re on the fence, consider not doing it. i DIYed for a few reasons – i knew i could, especially given the crafting materials my mom already had and my MOH’s talents, and for cost reasons – these ended up being about $3 each, which sounds like a lot, but there’s no way i could have gotten the level of detail i wanted purchasing elsewhere.
@PrincessConsuelaBananaHammock: ah good catch! getting that fixed now – you’d be surprised how many pictures one person can take of an invitation…
@bridesmomma: @Mrs. Bracelet: @Miss Panda: @Red Poppy: @missmovies: @StephK527: @Mrs. Pony: thank you so much! i’m glad you liked them too!
These look gorgeous, GW! I’m impressed with your attention to detail.
These are amazing, if I was in planning they would be number one source of inspiration!! Beautiful job!
OMG– love everything about them!! I have been trying to start mine in Word too, and feel like I keep coming up with duds. Yours look fantastic!
These are amazing! And I can’t believe you and your family hand punched all of those holes. That is TRUE wedding detail dedication. It paid off though because it looks so good.
I love all of the detail. I am SO impressed that you guys sat there and punched all of those holes. You need to frame these bad boys.
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Mrs. Gray Wolf, Washington DC Age and Occupation: 26, Business Development Executive Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Research Scientist Engagement Date: November 11, 2011 Wedding Date: February 2013 Venue: Whittemore House About Me: I'm an ultra-organized, pun-loving, list-making, cheese-enthusiast bride-to-be. Although my day job is in cubicle land, I'm happiest in the modern art wing of a museum, having recently earned my Masters in Museum Studies. Shortly after a chance meeting five years ago, I moved in with Wolfman and haven't looked back since. We love music, movies, TV, and all things pop culture; we have an unspoken competition to be the first to share the latest YouTube sensation or indie song. Together, we've filled quite a few pages in our passports, but also love quiet nights in with a Game of Thrones marathon and our French Bulldog, Tonks (Harry Potter, anyone?). I'm planning a small, cozy winter wedding---think mercury glass and candle light---in the heart of DC. Our venue is a historic home with a lot of political charm, but needs a bit of work to be wedding-ready.
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