Miss Eagle, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Age and Occupation: 22, Medical Sciences Graduate Student / Science Instructor Fiancee's Age and Occupation: 23, NurseEngagement Date: April 2011Wedding Date: August 2012Venue: Historic Lougheed HouseAbout Me: I'm a science-geek graduate student who is studying craniofacial malformations and evolutionary developmental biology. I have a passion for DIY crafts, amazing red wine, and all-things-wedding. Together with my wonderful fiancée, we are planning a formal black tie wedding filled with DIY projects and vintage decor. When I'm not reading about science-y things or wedding blogs, I enjoy teaching science-y things to kids and trying to be Martha Stewart incarnate.
Since I’m the first one out of my friends and cousins to get married, I honestly did not know what a save the date was before diving headfirst into wedding blogs. “Save the date?” What were these wedding blogs talking about?! I always loved all things paper, but I thought wedding invitations and thank you cards were the only paper products we’d purchase for our wedding.
Boy was I wrong! As soon as I figured out that these wedding blogs weren’t talking about those kind of STDs, I was on board. Save the dates, we would have! And gosh darn it, we were going to have the prettiest STDs our friends and family would ever receive (and…enter stage left: my OCD and competitiveness).
First, I started eyeing up a classic favourite, letterpress:
I was pretty convinced, and still am, that letterpress printing is an amazing choice not only for wedding stationery, but also for day-to-day personal stationery like birthday cards and thank you cards. It is such a beautiful medium that can’t be replicated with modern digital and offset printing. But…the cost. It is so.darn.costly. The paper is expensive, the machines are expensive, the process is time-intensive (also known as…expensive!). Everything about letterpress is expensive.
I couldn’t justify the costs of letterpress for the STDs. (But I’m saving my letterpress dreams for invitations and other goodies.)
Miss Hawk, Richmond, VAAge and Occupation: 26, FinanceFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, District SupervisorEngagement Date: March 13, 2011Wedding Date: May 2012Venue: The Chapel of the Sir Christopher Wren Building, 2007 Legacy HallAbout Me: I’m an Arizona-born girl who has spent the majority of my life living below the Mason-Dixon line. The South has definitely earned a special place in my heart (alongside my Virginia born and bred fiance, of course!). We are planning a traditional Christian ceremony at my alma mater in historic Williamsburg, Virginia, followed by a rocking reception filled with Southern cooking and vintage/shabby chic details. When we’re not wedding planning, we enjoy spending time with our three dogs, going for runs together, watching plenty of football (or baseball depending on the season), and sampling new wine.
Once we had placed our order for our save-the-date magnets, I began thinking about how to mail them out. I knew that I didn’t want to just drop them in an envelope without backing of some sort. Cue my favorite craft store: Hobby Lobby. Somewhere in between choosing the perfect ivory card stock, I came across packs of 50 notecards and envelopes made of kraft paper. I hadn’t even considered kraft paper, but I instantly knew it was perfect.
Determined to make my project more crafty, I also picked out two stamps and a decorative edge punch.
Over several days I stamped and cut to my heart’s content.
Miss Hawk, Richmond, VAAge and Occupation: 26, FinanceFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, District SupervisorEngagement Date: March 13, 2011Wedding Date: May 2012Venue: The Chapel of the Sir Christopher Wren Building, 2007 Legacy HallAbout Me: I’m an Arizona-born girl who has spent the majority of my life living below the Mason-Dixon line. The South has definitely earned a special place in my heart (alongside my Virginia born and bred fiance, of course!). We are planning a traditional Christian ceremony at my alma mater in historic Williamsburg, Virginia, followed by a rocking reception filled with Southern cooking and vintage/shabby chic details. When we’re not wedding planning, we enjoy spending time with our three dogs, going for runs together, watching plenty of football (or baseball depending on the season), and sampling new wine.
Remember when I shared my save-the-date indecision? I was torn between the magnet and the postcard. I pained over the decision, worrying that postcards might get lost in the shuffle. Y’all gave me some great feedback and eased my fears. When our engagement-session photo disk came in, I went straight to work creating four different postcard-design options and threw in one magnet design for good measure. Mr. Hawk and I reviewed them, and I thought we had it settled… I was wrong.
The next morning I told Mr. Hawk that I was planning on submitting my order that day in case he had any last-minute input. (Of course he did. Why did I open my mouth?) He was suddenly concerned about the postcards. Would they get lost? Would people chuck them? He thought magnets were definitely the way to go. I was flabbergasted. I had brought up these concerns not only on the blog, but verbally. To him. Personally. More than once. (Does anyone else feel like sometimes they must be talking to a wall?) I had bookmarked several options that I liked before, but decided to do a last-minute Etsy search. I came across a couple designs that really caught my eye by Sunshine Greeting Card Co.
Miss Unicycle, Chicago, ILAge and Occupation: 23, Editor for a Web Publishing CompanyFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, MD/PhD StudentEngagement Date: March 26, 2011Wedding Date: June 2012Venue: Bridges of Poplar CreekAbout Me: I’m a writer by trade who likes analyzing pop culture, making fun of celebrities, and laughing until I cry. I’m the queen of half-assed crafts, and there’s nothing I won’t try to DIY. You can usually find me reading blogs on my laptop in front of a good Lifetime movie, wine in hand. I’m planning a polka-dotted summertime wedding to my physics geek college sweetheart, and when I’m not making stupid puns I’m freaking out about my wedding timeline.
After our engagement-session pics were in, Mr. Unicycle and I set about the arduous task of choosing a pic to use for our save the dates. I briefly mentioned here that we wanted to make save-the-date postcards and have them printed FO’ FREE from Vistaprint. It wasn’t that hard to decide on a pic because most of them were definite nos. Firstly, we hardly even got any with the banner. If Jenn hadn’t kept reminding me to pull it out, we probably wouldn’t have had any. Second of all, it was hard to read the banner in most of the pics because the wind was so strong or we were too far from the camera.
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!
Since I finally (finally) decided on a Save the Date and had them printed, I’ve still wanted to spruce them up somehow. Add some pizzazz. Some sparkle. Some…magnetism, perhaps.
I considered envelope liners, but I think I’d rather save that extra touch for the invites if I so choose. Then I considered putting the card onto a backing of some sort to give it a border, but Foxy quickly called me nuts and asked if I could “fathom the amount of hours that would be spent on a silly Save the Date” if I did that.
Psh. Men. Of course I knew. At least 1. (Or 20, with my {lack of} cutting skills.)
Then I thought about the practicality and likely display of our little cards. In a perfect world, guests would jump for joy upon receiving these little pieces of card stock and frame them and love them and never throw them away. In reality, it’ll probably end up in a pile of mail somewhere. I think a nice compromise would be to display it on the fridge, dontcha think??
But then I fretted that people may not have magnets! Or think to put it on the fridge! (I’m sure they do and they would, but just go with it.)
Miss Hawk, Richmond, VAAge and Occupation: 26, FinanceFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, District SupervisorEngagement Date: March 13, 2011Wedding Date: May 2012Venue: The Chapel of the Sir Christopher Wren Building, 2007 Legacy HallAbout Me: I’m an Arizona-born girl who has spent the majority of my life living below the Mason-Dixon line. The South has definitely earned a special place in my heart (alongside my Virginia born and bred fiance, of course!). We are planning a traditional Christian ceremony at my alma mater in historic Williamsburg, Virginia, followed by a rocking reception filled with Southern cooking and vintage/shabby chic details. When we’re not wedding planning, we enjoy spending time with our three dogs, going for runs together, watching plenty of football (or baseball depending on the season), and sampling new wine.
I made the decision a while back that save-the-dates were pretty much non-negotiable. Even though most of Mr. Hawk’s family is located in and around the Richmond area, my family is quite spread out. (California, Arizona, Georgia…need I go on?) So deciding to send them was the easy part. In what form to send them was where I got stumped. I wanted to go somewhat of a traditional route and have nailed it down to two options: the postcard or the magnet.
I kind of love the idea of a postcard. It’s more unique and a little retro, and I like the idea of being able to include a short message on the back. (Plus, they are an affordable option!) I just love this design from Wedding Paper Divas. It fits our theme and location, and it’s pretty much already in our colors!
My only concern is that they might have a higher probability of getting lost in the shuffle. If y’all are anything like me, then you H.A.T.E. junk mail. It barely makes it into the house before getting trashed. And my concern is that something as thin as a postcard might be less noticeable than a card or magnet in an envelope. I would be devastated if they inadvertently ended up in the trashcan. So, this brings me to the other option, the magnet.
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!
So you know how some people are two dress brides? Well I’m not that (yet).
I’m….
…ready?…
…a two Save the Date bride.
Yea, that happened. I told you I was indecisive. Here’s the deal:
I’ve posted a whole bunch (way to much) about how much I was (over)thinking about the STD\s. I really appreciated all your suggestions (particularly on this post); it seemed the winner was option number 1, but I started getting self-conscious about how many pictures of myself and Foxy were on there. I mean sure, we’re dreamboats, but I didn’t want it to be overkill. So I finally decided on a combination of two previously shown designs, and it looked something like this:
I ordered them from this wonderful website called CatPrint for super cheap, and a few days later I had a nice little stack of 3.5×5 cards.
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!
The next step in assembling our save the dates was creating a card to go with the handkerchief. We figured this was needed in order to give them a little bit of structure, and so that people would have the option of either keeping the card or the handkerchief, or both!
Thanks to some more design help from MOH K and Mama Dalmatian, I was ready to print the text for the cards. I printed four cards per sheet of the Kiwi paper, and used the paper cutter to cut them to the exact dimensions that I needed.
Miss Elk, City: Syracuse/Long IslandAge and Occupation: 25, Medical StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Computer EngineerEngagement Date: November 22, 2010Wedding Date: May 2012Venue: The Old Field Club About Me: I’m a Long Island girl finishing my last year of medical school in western NY, on the road to becoming a pediatrician. When I’m not studying or sleeping at the hospital, I spend my free time watching bad TV (Vampire Diaries anyone?), playing with my pooch, singing incredibly off-key (to the annoyance of Mr. Elk ), and reading Harry Potter for the zillionth time. Mr. Elk and I are planning a secular wedding infused with both Irish and cultural Jewish traditions. Only a week after I become an M.D., I will get my Mrs. degree, too!
After falling off the DIY horse with my first save-the-date attempt, I was really reluctant to jump back on the saddle and give it another shot.I started surfing the interwebs for purchasable save the dates, no assembly required.Here’s some of the eye candy I found.
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!
One of the issues regarding our save the dates (and invites, for that matter) is the actual size. When I go about designing things on the computer, I tend to disregard measurements and proportions and such; hence, I end up with a 7 x 7 design coming out of my printer when I meant for it to be 4 x 4, or vice versa (that zoom function is tricky). You get the idea.
Mrs. Mole, Los Angeles/Las VegasAge and Occupation: 29, Test Prep InstructorFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, User Experience ArchitectEngagement Date: April 2011Wedding Date: January 2012Venue: Wynn Las Vegas/Bouchon BistroAbout Me: I’m a Wisconsinite-turned-Angeleno who is planning a destination wedding in Las Vegas. I am passionate about education: I spent 23 (!) consecutive years in school, and now I work to help other people get into graduate programs. I love running on the treadmill, buying bath products from Lush, learning new moves in step aerobics, and exploring my neighborhood on foot. I am sometimes snobby about food, but I am rarely snobby about books. I read everything from Geoffrey Chaucer to Iris Murdoch to Chuck Klosterman to Candace Bushnell. My fiance and I are getting married on our third anniversary!
The famous Vegas tourism slogan is, of course: “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” This saying may very well be true for a lot of trips to Sin City. (Enough trips, at least, so that entire movie series are based on this premise.) However, given the money that I am spending on a professional photographer and our penchant for taking lots and lots of pictures, I can’t imagine a scenario where we don’t return home after our wedding with a lot of photographic evidence of exactly what occurred.
We even take pictures of us taking pictures.
So our new wedding-related Vegas slogan: “What happens in Vegas will be so much more awesome if you come too.” The trick was luring everyone there. We decided that the best way to do so was to send out some STDs.***
As soon as we decided that we were going to get married in Vegas, we realized that we could have some fun with the STDs. We also wanted to do something pretty awesome for them, especially since we were asking people to pony up for flight tickets (or gas) and hotel rooms just to see us get married. After all, this is a destination wedding for everyone, except Mr. Mole’s parents. We wanted to pay it back somehow.
We brainstormed a lot of different options for our Vegas STDs. Read more…
Mrs. Raccoon, IndianapolisAge and Occupation: 22, StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Graduate StudentEngagement Date: Christmas 2010Wedding Date: January 2012Venue: Catholic Church, Chateau Thomas WineryAbout Me: I'm a wholesome Midwestern girl, TV series junkie, professional shower singer, and Anglophile. I love my fiance, crock pot cooking, my cat Heepo, going for the gusto, and all things wedding. Mr. Raccoon is pretty sweet, too! He’s a mad scientist that loves to travel. We met my first night on campus and have been inseparable since.
Hello all! Since all of our the save the dates that will be mailed are out, I thought I’d share!
We still have a few to hand deliver and then a few more to electronically deliver. These are for our friends we were unable track down addresses for. It’s true, but it’s also code for “we ran out.”
Mrs. Raccoon, IndianapolisAge and Occupation: 22, StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Graduate StudentEngagement Date: Christmas 2010Wedding Date: January 2012Venue: Catholic Church, Chateau Thomas WineryAbout Me: I'm a wholesome Midwestern girl, TV series junkie, professional shower singer, and Anglophile. I love my fiance, crock pot cooking, my cat Heepo, going for the gusto, and all things wedding. Mr. Raccoon is pretty sweet, too! He’s a mad scientist that loves to travel. We met my first night on campus and have been inseparable since.
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!
I was left with a new set of options, all of which I created based on examples I had seen around the interwebs. Foxy was about ready to kill me and my waffle-y behavior. I mean, who’s really going to care about these besides me? Here I am, wanting it to be fun and spunky and different, when really? A nice postcard would do. And I needed to accept that.
But on to the goods. The newer set of STD options.
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!
When I decided that I actually needed to get my act together with the whole save the date STD thing (yeaa, we’re just gonna go that route), I totally hated all the old ideas I had. I mean, they were OK, but I just kept seeing so many other fun, cute, unique ideas and my originals just felt…lame. Or generic. But let’s be real…in all actuality, anything we do will likely have been done before.
::letting it go::
I was also feeling very uninspired. I’m sure I mentioned this before, but my creativity got thrown out the window when I threw my high school graduation cap up in the air.
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
Image via Etsy: designbybittersweet
