Mrs. Cupcake, PhiladelphiaAge and Occupation: 27, Graphic DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Construction Project ManagerEngagement Date: February 10, 2007Wedding Date: September, 2008Blogging Since: December 7, 2007Venue: The Desmond Hotel in Malvern, PAAbout Me: Mr. Cupcake and I hit it off at a Halloween party and immediately began a long-distance relationship. After two years, he moved to my neck of the woods, and a year and a half after that, he proposed at the “place we fell in love.” I am a true perfectionist who enjoys designing and creating more work for myself, so wedding planning is my perfect outlet. Mr. Cupcake and I are both old souls, and we hope to weave that aspect of our personalities into our wedding day.
I stray away from a lot of wedding trends simply because they’re trends and I want to be a little bit different, but the photo booth bandwagon is one that I am quite happy to have jumped on. Not only does a photo booth go along with the vintage vibe that we hope to infuse throughout our wedding day, but, quite simply, it’s an awesome treat for our guests.
Mrs. Cupcake, PhiladelphiaAge and Occupation: 27, Graphic DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Construction Project ManagerEngagement Date: February 10, 2007Wedding Date: September, 2008Blogging Since: December 7, 2007Venue: The Desmond Hotel in Malvern, PAAbout Me: Mr. Cupcake and I hit it off at a Halloween party and immediately began a long-distance relationship. After two years, he moved to my neck of the woods, and a year and a half after that, he proposed at the “place we fell in love.” I am a true perfectionist who enjoys designing and creating more work for myself, so wedding planning is my perfect outlet. Mr. Cupcake and I are both old souls, and we hope to weave that aspect of our personalities into our wedding day.
When I read Miss Cream Puff’s post about Gocco-ing cocktail napkins with useless facts about her and Mr. Cream Puff, I knew I had to steal— er, borrow— her idea. I immediately got to work coming up with some fun facts about Mr. Cupcake and me, and bought 600 3-ply cocktail napkins at Party City.
At $2.99 per 50-pack, I spent just over $35 on this project. I already had the Gocco, the screens, and the teal ink that I had planned to use, and my labor was free Read more…
Mrs. Coconut, TallahasseeAge and Occupation: 27, LawyerFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, phD Computer ScienceEngagement Date: March 2007Wedding Date: November 2008Blogging Since: May 20, 2008Venue: 1930s Historic Building in Lakeland, FLAbout Me: I never thought about weddings until I got engaged. Now, I can't stop thinking about them! Planning the wedding has really opened the floodgates to my DIY side. If there's anything I can do to avoid hiring someone else, I will do it! Mr. Coconut is my financial advisor, he tries to keep me budget-conscious! We've tried to make wedding planning a team effort!
I know that’s an old joke, but I just couldn’t resist.
We made our Save-the-Dates in early March to give our guests plenty of time to make arrangements for our November wedding! Here are the print-outs I used for the main save-the-date. I used the ink blocker to make the calendar green, but everything else was in brown. In retrospect, I should have used brighter colors, but hindsight is 20/20, right?!
Miss Candy Corn, PhiladelphiaAge and Occupation: 27, Freelance Writer, Photographer and IllustratorFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Front End Web DeveloperBlogging Since: May 6, 2008Engagement Date: November 10, 2011Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Our backyard!About Me: I’m a 27-year-old photographer, writer and illustrator who enjoys shooting weddings, catching typos in magazines, geeking out with Google Reader, watching Wonder Years marathons with my fiancé, and hanging out with our menagerie of pets. I’m an encore bride planning an intimate, offbeat backyard wedding with my fiancé (known around these parts as “The Ginger”), as we explore our adventures of homeownership.
Even though I read the Gocco instruction manual and watched the how-to videos a million times, I was still really nervous about breaking open my new Gocco machine. I decided to start simple, with only one color (black) and a simple line drawing illustration that I drew.
This is me right before my Gocco machine decided to teach me my first lesson. Pardon the mess, I tend to fling stuff everywhere when I’m attempting to be crafty. I also tend to wear unmatching jammies. And yes, those are pink princess balloons.
Mrs. Lovebird, New York/CancunAge and Occupation: 25, AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Medical StudentEngagement Date: September 22, 2006Wedding Date: July, 2008Venue: Dreams Cancun Resort & SpaAbout Me: Born and raised New Yorker planning a destination wedding in Cancun, Mexico. Got proposed to in Cancun, so it’s only fitting we are going back to get married. I love trivia, board games, bargain shopping, asian dramas and eating yummy food!
So these are the final products. My wonderful bridesmaid, Michelle, put all the text on herself since I was too tired from the almost all-nighter we pulled the night before putting the images on. Gocco’ing is rough man! She also mixed her own shade of turquoise ink and used good old black.
Mrs. Coconut, TallahasseeAge and Occupation: 27, LawyerFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, phD Computer ScienceEngagement Date: March 2007Wedding Date: November 2008Blogging Since: May 20, 2008Venue: 1930s Historic Building in Lakeland, FLAbout Me: I never thought about weddings until I got engaged. Now, I can't stop thinking about them! Planning the wedding has really opened the floodgates to my DIY side. If there's anything I can do to avoid hiring someone else, I will do it! Mr. Coconut is my financial advisor, he tries to keep me budget-conscious! We've tried to make wedding planning a team effort!
I owe many thanks to my fellow bees for introducing me to the Gocco. Let me explain. Like I’ve said, when I first got engaged, I didn’t really know how to plan and I certainly wasn’t aware of any blogs. Truth be told, I didn’t even read blogs and for the most part I still think they can be a dangerous waste of time. But if you know which ones to read, they can be essential to planning the wedding of your dreams.
I wish I could recall the first instance I laid eyes on Weddingbee. It was probably a google search of some sorts. I started reading articles by Mrs. Lemon and Miss (no, Mrs.) Penguin. If you don’t know what a gocco is and you want to be inspired, read through their posts. You will have to get one.
Soon after discovering Weddingbee and the gocco, I discovered Etsy. Oh yes. I can’t fully describe what Etsy means to me, but if you haven’t been there, I promise you won’t be disappointed! (*No, I’m not being paid with etsy goods for this!) Read more…
Miss Candy Corn, PhiladelphiaAge and Occupation: 27, Freelance Writer, Photographer and IllustratorFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Front End Web DeveloperBlogging Since: May 6, 2008Engagement Date: November 10, 2011Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Our backyard!About Me: I’m a 27-year-old photographer, writer and illustrator who enjoys shooting weddings, catching typos in magazines, geeking out with Google Reader, watching Wonder Years marathons with my fiancé, and hanging out with our menagerie of pets. I’m an encore bride planning an intimate, offbeat backyard wedding with my fiancé (known around these parts as “The Ginger”), as we explore our adventures of homeownership.
Mrs. Coconut, TallahasseeAge and Occupation: 27, LawyerFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, phD Computer ScienceEngagement Date: March 2007Wedding Date: November 2008Blogging Since: May 20, 2008Venue: 1930s Historic Building in Lakeland, FLAbout Me: I never thought about weddings until I got engaged. Now, I can't stop thinking about them! Planning the wedding has really opened the floodgates to my DIY side. If there's anything I can do to avoid hiring someone else, I will do it! Mr. Coconut is my financial advisor, he tries to keep me budget-conscious! We've tried to make wedding planning a team effort!
Yes, that’s right. Sister Coconut is getting married this July, and I’m getting married in November. Only 4 months apart! It’s actually quite exciting when I think about it, although Mama Coconut might not be too excited. So, one of my duties (does anyone watch Friends? Think Joey) as a Maid of Honor was throwing a kick-butt bridal shower for my only sister. With graduation and exams it was rather tough, but I managed to pull it off last weekend!
Decor and food were the easiest parts of the shower. I went to Michael’s and bought wood letters spelling her name and some coral spray paint. I also decided to make a candy tree using a planter and some floral foam. It came out nicely, but not as nicely as I pictured. For favors, I stole an idea from Miss Penguin’s MOH and made wine glass charms. I picked up 30 wine glasses for $25 at IKEA and attached name tags. There’s something about name tags that makes a person feel special, isn’t there? I also tried to make tissue pomanders, but I think I failed at making them poofy and the tissue paper wasn’t the greatest quality. Nonetheless, they were cute. I actually hired my wedding caterer to make sandwiches and salads for the shower. It was wonderful and a nice excuse to take my caterer for a test drive.
(I had a few pictures of them printed and bought frames from IKEA!)
Mrs. Cookie, DenverAge and Occupation: 25, Nonprofit Fundraiser/Theatre DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Financial AnalystEngagement Date: September 2007Wedding Date: September 2008Blogging Since: May 8, 2008Venue: Ten Mile StationAbout Me: With a degree in Theatre I never realized that planning a wedding was a lot like Theatre Management, until I started planning my own. I am a coffee addict, especially Starbucks' Grande Mochas, yummy! I love to cook (especially chocolate chip cookies for my honey), travel to exotic places, and be creative. As a couple, Mr. Cookie and I are extremely practical, down to earth, and children at heart. We live in a cozy abode with our adorable Pomeranian, and love to play board games and watch movies into the evening.
I always knew I was going to design my own invites. I worked as a graphic designer for a theatre company to put myself through college. And since I am a little bit of control freak, I knew couldn’t farm the invitation out; I had to design them myself.
Mrs. Tiramisu, Annapolis, MD/MaineAge and Occupation: 26, HealthcareFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Project Manager/Real Estate Management grad studentEngagement Date: May 15, 2007Wedding Date: July, 2008Blogging Since: March 4, 2008Venue: Oceanfront lawn and tentAbout Me: I was born and raised in Maine, now living in Annapolis, Maryland and planning a hometown wedding from afar. I’m nothing short of obsessed with wedding planning, and am loving the do-it-yourself madness that has now taken over my life! As for me, I’m a craft-loving, martini-drinking, girly-girl who loves traveling, photography, my schnauzer, and above all, spending time with Mr. Tiramisu.
As promised, here’s the cost breakdown for my DIY invitations… They were (mostly) fun to make, but they did take H O U R S ! Since I’m still a grad student, my time = 0$/hour. Here’s the price breakdown of the rest of the supplies:
Paper (all from Paper-Source):
A7 envelopes in Superfine soft white: 15 packs @ 3.83 each = 57.45
(10% discount for 10 packs or more)
4Bar envelopes in Night: 15 packs @ 2.70 each = 40.50
4Bar cards in Night: 6 packs @ 2.75 each = 16.50
4Bar cards in Superfine soft white: 12 packs @ 2.48 each = 29.76
A6 cards in Superfine soft white: 6 @ 3.75 each = 22.50
A7 folded cards in Night: 8 @ 7.00 each = 56.00
Mrs. Tiramisu, Annapolis, MD/MaineAge and Occupation: 26, HealthcareFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Project Manager/Real Estate Management grad studentEngagement Date: May 15, 2007Wedding Date: July, 2008Blogging Since: March 4, 2008Venue: Oceanfront lawn and tentAbout Me: I was born and raised in Maine, now living in Annapolis, Maryland and planning a hometown wedding from afar. I’m nothing short of obsessed with wedding planning, and am loving the do-it-yourself madness that has now taken over my life! As for me, I’m a craft-loving, martini-drinking, girly-girl who loves traveling, photography, my schnauzer, and above all, spending time with Mr. Tiramisu.
I’m taking a break from my double-stick-tape-covered invite assembly marathon to finally post these! Now that they’re done, I’m actually a little nervous to show them off… I’ve been working on them for so long! I’m excited to stop thinking about them and just finally get them mailed out.
Drumroll please…
Unassembled
(click to enlarge or scroll down for the grand tour)
Mrs. Toucan, BostonAge and Occupation: 25, Full-time Research Assistant, Part-time Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, ActuaryEngagement Date: February 18, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: November 07, 2007Venue: St. Catherine of Genoa, Jin Asian Cuisine RestaurantAbout Me: I’m a Gemini to the extreme. On one side, I’m a girly girl. I read countless bridal and fashion magazines, and have an obsession with keeping up with the latest Hollywood gossip. On the other side, I’m a sports fanatic. Despite being a full-time bride-to be, full-time research assistant, and part-time student, I’m also a full-time Red Sox fan from spring training to October, and a full-time Patriots fan from mini-camp to February. I devote almost as much time researching my for fantasy football team as researching for our wedding!
I feel so super behind on all my “paper projects” (hello, unfinished/not-even-started programs, escort cards, table numbers, thank-you cards), yet at the same time I’m so unmotivated to start them. I don’t know what it is. I should be in panic mode. Anyway, the other night, I decided I wanted to gocco something.
Mrs. Tiramisu, Annapolis, MD/MaineAge and Occupation: 26, HealthcareFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Project Manager/Real Estate Management grad studentEngagement Date: May 15, 2007Wedding Date: July, 2008Blogging Since: March 4, 2008Venue: Oceanfront lawn and tentAbout Me: I was born and raised in Maine, now living in Annapolis, Maryland and planning a hometown wedding from afar. I’m nothing short of obsessed with wedding planning, and am loving the do-it-yourself madness that has now taken over my life! As for me, I’m a craft-loving, martini-drinking, girly-girl who loves traveling, photography, my schnauzer, and above all, spending time with Mr. Tiramisu.
My invitations are almost done! I did all of the inserts first, leaving the invitation itself to gocco last. I did all of my inserts (Reception card, RSVP card, and website info card) on 4-bar sized paper, which is small enough to fit on my PG-5 Gocco print pad, making registration very simple. For all of the inserts, I simply lined the corner of the card up with the corner of the print pad, and everything came out perfectly centered.
The invite itself, however, was on A6 sized paper (4.5 x 6.25). I definitely wish that I had the PG-11 with the built-in registration guides when it comes to stuff like this, but it was twice the price of my machine! Here’s my very simple method for making your own registration guide for slightly oversized paper.
Step one:
From the paper you want to print on, trace and cut out a rectangle in the size of the print pad (4.5 by 6.25). Make sure it’s perfectly centered (if you want your printed image to be centered).
Mrs. Cream Puff, San Francisco Bay AreaAge and Occupation: 25, IllustratorFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Merchandise PlannerEngagement Date: May 27, 2007Wedding Date: August, 2008Blogging Since: February 7, 2008Venue: Ceremony at Crissy Field and Reception at the Green RoomAbout Me: I never dreamed about my wedding as a little girl because I was too busy playing in the mud or pretending to be Martha Stewart–but now that it's here, I'm having a fabulous time DIYing everything in sight! We’re planning a very fun multicultural wedding (I'm Jewish and Mr. Cream Puff is Chinese), filled with as many personal details as I can muster.
My friend Kathy got married last year and had a beautiful wedding. Kathy is super funny, and one of her great ideas cracked me up: she decided to have cocktail napkins printed with funny facts about she and her husband-to-be. Tragedy struck, however, when they arrived one day AFTER her wedding. Stupid napkin people.
Thanks to Kathy’s genius idea and my decision not to trust anyone but myself (which is surely a serious psychological problem), I will now have custom napkins at my wedding. And so will my friend Amanda. Why? Because this weekend we used a gocco for the first time ever to print fun facts on 1300 napkins. 650 for Amanda, 650 for me.
Mrs. Tiramisu, Annapolis, MD/MaineAge and Occupation: 26, HealthcareFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Project Manager/Real Estate Management grad studentEngagement Date: May 15, 2007Wedding Date: July, 2008Blogging Since: March 4, 2008Venue: Oceanfront lawn and tentAbout Me: I was born and raised in Maine, now living in Annapolis, Maryland and planning a hometown wedding from afar. I’m nothing short of obsessed with wedding planning, and am loving the do-it-yourself madness that has now taken over my life! As for me, I’m a craft-loving, martini-drinking, girly-girl who loves traveling, photography, my schnauzer, and above all, spending time with Mr. Tiramisu.
Read more…
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
I always knew I was going to design my own invites. I worked as a graphic designer for a theatre company to put myself through college. And since I am a little bit of control freak, I knew couldn’t farm the invitation out; I had to design them myself.
