Miss Aardvark, Beaver Dam, WIAge and Occupation: 23, Assistant Product ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Business Analyst Engagement Date: May 28th, 2011Wedding Date: April 2012Venue: St. Philip Catholic Church/Arcadia Brewing Co.About Me: I am a resourceful lady who love surprises and adventure. At the same time, I value traditions, family and friends. I like to make crafty messes, sometimes, clean them up, and do pretty much anything outdoors. The Mister and I are pretty avid cyclists---we have nine bikes in our home right now...and one motorcycle! We both enjoy eating food we can't pronounce (language doesn't really matter) and going places we've never been. We currently reside in rural Wisconsin, enjoying the cheese and beer it has to offer, and getting outside whenever we can!
Any minute now someone will be opening their mailbox, (not their e-mail box either, their real live mail box) and they will see this:
Of course the stamps will be canceled and the address won’t be blurred out (I hope!).
In case you cannot tell, this is a super-secret-bees-only-sneak-peak at our invitations—full pictures and how-to coming soon! Read more…
Miss Dalmatian, Nashville, TNAge and Occupation: 23, Pediatric NurseFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, Computer Engineer and Entrepreneur Engagement Date: April 13, 2011Wedding Date: May 2012Venue: Historic CedarwoodAbout Me: I am a Northern girl from Chicago who is planning a wedding filled with Southern charm in Nashville, Tennessee. I love dogs, the White Sox, Full House reruns, and anything with ruffles on it. Mr. Dalmatian is my computer-genius problem-solving fiance who is constantly teaching me new things and making me a better person. We live with our adopted pup Echo, who is very excited that his parents are getting married!
Let the invitation games begin! No, we are not getting married until May. Yes, we just sent out our save-the-dates. Yes, the wheels have already started turning about our DIY invitations. I have a plethora of inspirational design ideas to share with you, but let’s start with a jumping off point: my first invitation-related purchase!
Let me start by briefly explaining my shopping habits. I love online shopping. I also love a good deal (almost as much as Mr. Dalmatian does). Thus, flash sale websites are right up my alley. In case you couldn’t guess, I also love weddings. So when I heard about DressRush.com, a site with daily deals for brides (and others too), I was all over it.
Now, let me briefly explain what I envision for our invitations, and pretty much every other detail of our wedding: Read more…
Mrs. Sunhat, Dyer, IN Age and Occupation: 32, Tax AccountantFiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Landscape ForemanEngagement Date: September 25, 2010Wedding Date: December 2011Venues: St. Andrew the Apostle, Fiesta PalaceAbout Me: I'm a Midwest girl who grew up in the country and now works in the big city! I love cooking, entertaining, reading (addicted to my Kindle) and going to the movies. I don't miss an episode of Hoarders and I start cleaning every time I watch! My profession doesn't call for much creativity so wedding planning has been a great outlet. Mr. Sunhat and I met online three years ago, cheer for rival MLB teams and share a home with our dog, Wrigley. We are planning a traditional, Polish, Catholic wedding with lots of DIY elements and some fun surprises. I'm so excited to be married on New Year's Eve and we can't wait to ring in the new year as husband and wife!
On Tuesday, October 18th, the U.S. Postal Service announced that on January 22, 2012, the cost of a first-class mail postage stamp would increase from 44 cents to 45 cents. Now while a one penny increase may not seem a lot, when you are mailing hundreds of STDs, wedding invitations, and thank you cards, it could have an impact.
When I created my wedding invites, I knew from the start that my postage would be more expensive due to the 6 x 6 size I chose. Mailing a square envelope costs more. What I didn’t think about was that the gorgeous card stock we used was a little heavier than most invitations. Put those two together and you have one heavy and oddly sized invite.
When I took an invite in for a preliminary weigh-in, the postman had a yikes look on his face when he saw how much it would be. I honestly think he was scared to tell me! I told him I knew it would be pricey due to the size but I was not expecting over $1.00 a piece! Thankfully I have saved a ton of money in other areas of the wedding so this isn’t going to hurt our budget, but I still don’t like the idea of having to pay that much either! Oh the price of fabulous invites. Read more…
Miss Fox, Washington DC/Havre de Grace, MDAge and Occupation: 26, Massage TherapistFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Field Support EngineerEngagement Date: April 18, 2010Wedding Date: June 2012Venue: Vandiver InnAbout Me: I’m a dancer turned massage therapist who was born and raised in New York. Alas, true love has brought me “south” where I still maintain my penchants for pretty shoes, wine, crossword puzzles, cherry blossoms, and the Mets. I own more sunglasses than a normal person should and don’t eat red meat (though I make up for it by eating my weight in sushi). I tend to be a big planner who likes to get things started early, but generally end up being indecisive and procrastinating when it comes down to it. I have a (not so) secret crush on Chris Carrabba, but my loyalty and love ultimately goes to the future hubs, of course! Together, my Foxy man and I love to discuss (read: debate) politics and current events, have Mario Kart and Scrabble duels, and just laugh. A lot. We’re hoping and planning for a laid back, fun, summery, rustic vibe to our June wedding that will be genuinely “us” – that is, if we finally make some decisions. Huzzah!
Miss Warbler, Long Beach/MalibuAge and Occupation: 24, Quality Assurance EditorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Handheld AdministratorEngagement Date: December 7, 2010Wedding Date: April 2012Venue: Calamigos Ranch MalibuAbout Me: I’m a Korean BBQ loving, cheesecake enthusiast bride living in the LBC! By day I write and edit for an online search engine marketing company. By night I am a volunteer food taster of all that is delicious. I am fortunate to be marrying an amazing man who loves me and my quirky ways. I love food, books, indie music, and Harry Potter. We are planning a small, intimate wedding up in the Malibu Hills with our closest family and friends. With the help of my wonderful fiance, our loved ones, and red velvet cheesecake, our wedding will be glorious!
Hello, blogging buddies! It occurred to me after my stamp-snafu post that it might not be abundantly clear to everyone what hand cancelling is. So, here’s a quick snippet on hand cancelling.
Miss Warbler, Long Beach/MalibuAge and Occupation: 24, Quality Assurance EditorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Handheld AdministratorEngagement Date: December 7, 2010Wedding Date: April 2012Venue: Calamigos Ranch MalibuAbout Me: I’m a Korean BBQ loving, cheesecake enthusiast bride living in the LBC! By day I write and edit for an online search engine marketing company. By night I am a volunteer food taster of all that is delicious. I am fortunate to be marrying an amazing man who loves me and my quirky ways. I love food, books, indie music, and Harry Potter. We are planning a small, intimate wedding up in the Malibu Hills with our closest family and friends. With the help of my wonderful fiance, our loved ones, and red velvet cheesecake, our wedding will be glorious!
With our business cards tucked safely away inside the envelopes, I drove to the post office. I was on the hunt for the new Garden of Love stamps. I was in luck! My post office had just gotten them in that week. So I did what any bride would do and bought five booklets.
Miss Sweet Cream, PhiladelphiaAge and Occupation: 26, Public Relations Account ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Outside SalesEngagement Date: July 4, 2010Wedding Date: October 2011Venue: Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church / Rosebank WineryAbout Me: Born in the ‘burbs of Philly, it took some time living in the Big Apple to realize that I’m a girl who likes her roots. That’s why the mister and I bought a 1950s house on a charming street not too far from our childhood stompin’ grounds. This could also be the reason why our hometown is the scene where we are planning our super sweet, totally charming, BBQ-for-supper wedding that I never knew I always wanted. I DIE over DIY projects and live for vintage, heartfelt inspiration. I obsess over all things mid-century (from forks to furniture). Love is… cartoons and flea markets, and I am known to whip up a mean banana cream pie. I met the Mr. in grade school and after that boy took me for a spin on the handle bars of his BMX, I knew that things would never be the same again. Besides lovin’ my Mr., I also love to plan, sew and create, and that’s just what I’m doing as I navigate through the details, creating a laid-back day that oozes charm; one that will go down in (at least our) history as the Best. Day. Of all time.
Just as I get ready to share the final final versions of the invites that I teased you with, I just had to put something out there to make sure that I didn’t cross the super-crazy-yes-I-know-that-I’m-a-mad-psycho line in wedding planning.
As you will soon see, our invites wound up needing a bit more postage than the typical invite. This was A-OK by me and I kinda had a hunch this would happen. That’s why I took my first one to the post office to get weighed before buying any postage.
Now I realize that some things like stamps can send some brides into freak-out mode and others (count yourself one of the lucky ones) to not care so much.
I originally swooned over the whole idea of using vintage, non-canceled stamps.
Mrs. Snow Cone, Pittsburgh/Johnstown, PAAge and Occupation: 23, Public Health Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, EngineerEngagement Date: April 9, 2010Wedding Date: August 2011Venue: OMOS Church ceremony/Sunnehanna Country Club receptionAbout Me: I’m one of the lucky ones---I met my future husband at the ripe old age of 13, started dating him as a mature woman of 15, and have been enjoying the ride ever since. Here we are, 8 years later, living in Pittsburgh, planning a "homestination" wedding in the place our school romance began---Johnstown, PA. I thrive on talking a mile a minute, eating my weight in chocolate, and internet shopping. I love a lengthy to-do list almost as much as I love a healthy amount of chaos in my life. Mr. Snow Cone and I watch countless episodes of Friends and The West Wing on repeat, root for rival college sports teams, and make each other laugh each and every day. We’re putting together a small-town wedding with a big personality and a classically modern (or modernly classic?) look for 250 of our closest family and friends. It’s been 8+ years in the making, and sometimes I still can’t believe I’m finally getting to marry my high school sweetheart!
…but there’s one specific detail I don’t care about. As in, I don’t give a flying you-know-what about the finished product revolving around this detail. As long as it serves its function, we’re cool. It could be the ugliest thing on the block, as long as it does its job. So what wedding detail doesn’t excited a single bridal bone in my body? Stamps.
I’m slowly but surely preparing to send our invitations out into the big, bad world (more on that to come soon!). Read more…
Mrs. Cinnamon Bun, Calgary, AlbertaAge and Occupation: 26, Stage ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Theatre TechnicianEngagement Date: June 22, 2010Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Calgary Opera CentreAbout Me: I'm a life-long crafter and bookworm living in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. Some of my loves include Lord of the Rings, Sherlock Holmes, knitting, opera, musicals, Etsy, baking, and of course, Mr. Cinnamon Buns. We're keeping our wedding close to home---the venue isn't very far from our house, and we live within walking distance of 6 bridal salons. I'm using the wedding as an excuse to try out every craft project I possibly can, with the endless help and support of my fiance.
Invites fit to send to royalty, for less-than-royal prices!
Before the cost breakdown, here’s a quick date breakdown because I always wanted to see examples of what was mailed when I was planning:
We sent out our save the dates just over 6 months before the wedding. Everyone got one, even relatives that had known for 5 months beforehand when and where it was.
We sent our invites 3 months before the wedding.
We set our RSVP date 4 weeks (just under) before the wedding.
Mrs. Jaguar, SydneyAge and Occupation: 27, Primary School TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, IT ConsultantEngagement Date: August 8, 2009Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Curzon HallAbout Me: I'm an Australian girl who is a self-proclaimed nerd, loves all things stationery and would be lost without books, music and the internet. Mr. Jaguar and I have been together for the past eight years and he finally popped the question last August. Hurrah! We currently live in Sydney, Australia with our adorable cat who thinks he's a person. We're a couple who likes to multi-task: we've been planning a wedding abroad, a permanent move from London to Sydney, and preparing to build our own home all at the same time. Travelling makes me giddy...as does Mr. Jaguar, of course!
When it came to figuring out wedding invitations, I was at a complete loss as to what to do. First things first, I am a stationery nut. I worked part-time in a scrapbooking store while in my first year of university, and I’m not kidding you when I say that I still, to this day, have a massive stash of craft goodies in my cupboard. I don’t scrapbook much these days (no time!) but man, I have a random little collection of cute papers and stickers that the 17 year old Miss Jaguar really, really loved.
At first, I figured I would save some money and go down the DIY-route: buy some nice cardstock, get busy with the printing and make ‘em pretty all by myself… but then, I ran out of steam. By the time I bought the supplies I would need to make them, plus the time I would’ve needed to run them through our ancient (and very temperamental) printer, it just wouldn’t have been as practical or as cheap as I’d have liked. My next option was to print some out through Vistaprint or Zazzle, but when I worked out the price of what I’d need for a set of 80 invitations (let alone response cards), the price was still higher than I expected.
I wasn’t even going to bother researching letterpress invitations, because I knew it was completely and utterly out of our budget. At this point though, I was getting desperate. Read more…
Mrs. Cinnamon Bun, Calgary, AlbertaAge and Occupation: 26, Stage ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Theatre TechnicianEngagement Date: June 22, 2010Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Calgary Opera CentreAbout Me: I'm a life-long crafter and bookworm living in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. Some of my loves include Lord of the Rings, Sherlock Holmes, knitting, opera, musicals, Etsy, baking, and of course, Mr. Cinnamon Buns. We're keeping our wedding close to home---the venue isn't very far from our house, and we live within walking distance of 6 bridal salons. I'm using the wedding as an excuse to try out every craft project I possibly can, with the endless help and support of my fiance.
Time to talk a little about all the mailing that comes along with a wedding. The cost of postage stamps racks up pretty quickly, so what is a bride with far-flung family and friends to do? Really, the answer is going to be different for everyone, so here is what we worked out for ourselves.
We sent our save the dates at Christmas time, tucked into people’s Christmas cards. It meant we sent a few more Christmas cards than we would have normally, but that was still less stamps than mailing Christmas cards in one go, and save the dates in another.
Mrs. Brooch, Arlington, VAAge and Occupation: 25, Writer/EditorFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Front Desk ManagerEngagement Date: October 3, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: Oxon Hill ManorAbout Me: I’m an indecisive girlie-girl with a motor mouth, can-do attitude, and knack for making others laugh. I dream of becoming a best selling novelist like Elizabeth Gilbert or Julie Powell (a girl can dream, right?), and love long road trips, a beautiful countryside, music, blogs, books, and all things vintage/thrift/antique/or homemade. I’m a Virgo, i.e. overly sensitive, emotional, and critical, and there’s no such thing as short and sweet in my world. I want to say and do it all. Mr. Brooch grounds me. I point where to go and he figures out the way. He’s a pragmatic fancy-pants who enjoys video games and movies. We both adore our mutt, Rocky, and spending time with our amazingly supportive family and friends. We’re planning a garden wedding with a formal reception with lots of whimsy and unique, Southern-inspired details.
I’m ready to reveal our invitations to you (FINALLY), but I want to talk about the horrible experience I had getting stamps for them first!
I really wish this post was about how helpful the folks at my local post office are, but unfortunately, that’s not the case. Rather, my mom, Mr. B, and I were all given misinformation on several different occasions that ultimately resulted in (what might as well been a dagger to my heart) mismatched stamps on our wedding invites! Not just any mismatched stamps: the King & Queen of Hearts and the Polar Bear stamp. Ugh.
Let’s start with the back story: My step mom mentioned “the love stamp” to me one day in passing. It stuck out to me as something I definitely wanted to get (even though I had no mental picture of what this stamp looked like) and I told Mr. Brooch about it.
I went to the post office a few days later and the person I spoke with supposedly showed me all of their stamps. She lookedconfused when I mentioned “the love stamp,” and Mr. Brooch got the same reaction when he went asking about it at a different post office. Read more…
Mrs. French Toast, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 29, Marketing & PRFiance's Age and Occupation: IT geek by day, self-proclaimed handyman by nightEngagement Date: October 2009Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: Palm Event CenterAbout Me: I’m a city girl at heart who moved to the suburbs a year ago. Now I’m adjusting to life with a front lawn, nosy neighbors, cooking attempts, and making sure the garbage pail is pulled out on time every week! When I’m not traveling, Mr. FT and I enjoy marathon sessions of Law & Order: SVU, snowboarding, photography, spoiling our 3-year old yorkie-poodle Mokka and disagreeing over what music to listen to in the car. We’re planning a small winery wedding while incorporating some cultural elements into the day as a nod to our Chinese backgrounds.
Take a look at this photo and then bury it far, far into your mind.
Let’s pretend the 17 cent Ram stamp wasn’t even next to the pair of kumquats, because it’ll make me feel much better. I’ll never understand why USPS doesn’t have nice, neutral looking stamps. I just know that if you plan on getting the wedding rings (44 cents) or wedding cake (61 cents) stamps, you should order it in advance from usps.com. Don’t make the same mistake as I did thinking that you can casually walk in and buy pretty stamps to your heart’s content.
I brought 25 of these babies to the post office yesterday. When I asked the clerk if the invites could be hand-canceled, she gave me an exasperated look and said it would cost an additional $1.00 each.
Mrs. Zebra, Providence, RIAge and Occupation: 24 Marketing/Costume DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 26 Management/Firefighter Engagement Date: December 12, 2008Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: The Providence BiltmoreAbout Me: I'm a small town New England girl with an affinity for procrastination, crossing the proverbial line, and putting her foot in her mouth. I'm a lover of history, all seasons, sewing and Incubus. I design costumes on the side for my old high school's theatre department, which is where I met my sexy man. Our motto for our Big Fat Lebanese/Portuguese/Irish near-300 person wedding is "the more the merrier"! We are marrying in a Catholic ceremony and are hammering out the details of our Victorian-inspired reception.
Well, in an effort to be funny, I made a little mistake. Actually, it’s not a mistake because it was fixed easily enough and our invites look totally badass now. They aren’t so cookie cutter anymore.
Okay…so you want in on my super funny, whoopsie-inducing, joke?
Mrs. Hippo, New York City/Dallas, TXAge and Occupation: 34, Event Planner for a Non-Profit Fiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Finance ITEngagement Date: August 8, 2009Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: Samuel Lynne Galleries and Marc EventsAbout Me: I’m a thirty-something bride living in New York City and planning a modern-ish wedding in Dallas, Texas. I love trashy reality television (Jersey Shore, anyone?), online shopping, Sunday brunch, Central Park, and random celebrity spottings on the streets of Manhattan. While I love NYC, I miss good Tex-Mex, my college friends, central A/C, and being in close proximity to a Target. I’m thrilled to finally be planning an event that’s not work-related and to be marrying my best friend in what I hope will be a unique and personal ceremony followed by a reception with plenty of good food, good drinks, and dancing (regardless if it’s good or not).
I’ve spent my days off around the holidays working on our wedding invitations. They will be mailing out in mid-January, so I’ve been printing and cutting and gluing (oh my!) a little at a time for weeks now. I’m finally at the point of assembling everything together, and like many a bee before me, I am sadly disappointed with my stamp options…not for the actual invitation (I haven’t gotten that far yet), but for our RSVPs.
See, we’ve decided to go with RSVP postcards instead of traditional RSVP cards and envelopes. The 16-cent postage savings wasn’t what helped me decide. It wasn’t the savings by not having to purchase RSVP envelopes, either. Those extra few bucks were just a bonus. I really just liked the idea of an RSVP postcard. I’ve been to many weddings, and I’ve never RSVPed on a postcard. I figured most of our guests hadn’t either, and I’m willing to bet that very few, if any, of our guests have researched wedding trends, so they will be fooled into thinking I’m completely innovative and creative by inventing the concept of an RSVP postcard. Sweet.
Just like Mrs. Jellyfish, I quickly discovered that the United States Post Office makes only one 28-cent postcard stamp. One. This lovely looker:
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
