Miss Scone, Napa/Kansas CityAge and Occupation: 31, RecruiterFiancee's Age and Occupation: 33, Motorcycle MechanicEngagement Date: April 15, 2010Wedding Date: July 2012Venue: Boulevard BreweryAbout Me: I am a West Coast girl that fell for a Midwestern girl. I can’t get enough of baking, projecting, family and our fluffy dog child Darby. I bake by smell, haven’t used a timer in years and years. Having a major project on the horizon and a busy schedule keep me sane. I love beer even though I live in Napa (but I like wine too, just not as much as beer). We are planning a family friendly convivial affair in Kansas City and can’t wait to share the adventures.
I tried my hardest and was only able to create one STD via Vistaprint that I was OK sending out to friends and family. A graphic designer I am not…
I kept it simple and typed everything directly into Vistaprint’s program. (In the end I probably complicated things more than necessary, but such is life.)
We’re super excited to have taken part in choosing Minted’s next generation of wedding stationery! And if you love all things Minted, right now they’re giving away $500 toward Minted wedding stationery every Thursday for the next 4 weeks…which means there’s four chances for you to win! Read more…
Miss Opossum, TallahasseeAge and Occupation: 23, Aspiring Interior Architect
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 23, Soon to be Firefighter
Engagement Date: October 30, 2011Wedding Date: April 2012Venue: The Retreat at Bradley's PondAbout Me: I am a recent design graduate and aspiring interior architect that is a compulsive list maker, a Christmas light fanatic, and an avid nap-taker. This freckle-faced Southern girl loves being on the back of a horse, hanging out at the gym, and watching SVU with her rugby-playing fiance. It is a dream come true to finally be planning a wedding (in five months) to my high school sweetheart (of seven years). While preparing to tie the knot we're also balancing Fire College, grad school applications, jobs, and precious time with our supportive family and friends. We're moving fast...but are excited about enjoying every moment of this time in our lives!
I’ve gotten lots of feedback about our invites (which means most all of our guests have received theirs), so I’m finally ready to reveal them to the Hive!
These really were a labor of love. They were time consuming and tedious, but I don’t regret it in the least. I think they turned out better than I had hoped for, and I think they are the perfect introduction to our wedding celebration!
Miss Opossum, TallahasseeAge and Occupation: 23, Aspiring Interior Architect
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 23, Soon to be Firefighter
Engagement Date: October 30, 2011Wedding Date: April 2012Venue: The Retreat at Bradley's PondAbout Me: I am a recent design graduate and aspiring interior architect that is a compulsive list maker, a Christmas light fanatic, and an avid nap-taker. This freckle-faced Southern girl loves being on the back of a horse, hanging out at the gym, and watching SVU with her rugby-playing fiance. It is a dream come true to finally be planning a wedding (in five months) to my high school sweetheart (of seven years). While preparing to tie the knot we're also balancing Fire College, grad school applications, jobs, and precious time with our supportive family and friends. We're moving fast...but are excited about enjoying every moment of this time in our lives!
Miss Scone, Napa/Kansas CityAge and Occupation: 31, RecruiterFiancee's Age and Occupation: 33, Motorcycle MechanicEngagement Date: April 15, 2010Wedding Date: July 2012Venue: Boulevard BreweryAbout Me: I am a West Coast girl that fell for a Midwestern girl. I can’t get enough of baking, projecting, family and our fluffy dog child Darby. I bake by smell, haven’t used a timer in years and years. Having a major project on the horizon and a busy schedule keep me sane. I love beer even though I live in Napa (but I like wine too, just not as much as beer). We are planning a family friendly convivial affair in Kansas City and can’t wait to share the adventures.
We have been talking about our July 2012 wedding for, oh, about 21 months now, and somehow our parents still wanted to confirm the date we are getting hitched. So we figured we might should send out STDs. (Does anyone else feel like they are in 10th grade health class when discussing STDs?) Which brings us to the whole “What do we want it to look like?” question. Initially we had hoped to use our engagement pictures for the STD, but when our July 2011 planning trip was pushed to October 2011, thanks to the working/living changes, we had to come up with an alternate plan.
For a quick peek into how we make many decisions, it goes something like this:
I obsessively research and find things that I like and that I think Sweetie Scone might like.
After collecting several dozen options I share them with Sweetie Scone.
We pare the list down to 3–5 choices.
Then we try to make something that doesn’t look like a kindergartner made it.
The best one wins.
Here is the pared down list of STD options for your enjoyment:
Miss Woodpecker, Branford, CT Age and Occupation: 27, Graduate Student/School Psych InternFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, GlazierEngagement Date: Christmas Eve 2010Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Owenego Beach ClubAbout Me: I’m a Connecticut native planning a coastal beach wedding in our hometown. My loves in life include: food, family and the fiance. I’m a planner/organization fiend, by nature and by addiction, and am obsessed with all things wedding and design. We're trying to put personal touches on everything we can in our wedding, to really make it personal to us, our family, and friends. In the middle of wedding planning, I’m also finishing up grad school, and will be starting a brand new career within weeks of our wedding. It’s going to be an adventure!
I’ve always enjoyed playing around on the computer with graphics and fonts. Most days during wedding planning, I wish I had the educational background of a graphic designer so that I could effortlessly whip out graphics in a matter of minutes. But alas, my training is in psychology, so the best I can do is to try and talk myself down after spending countless hours of unsuccessfully trying to craft graphics of my own.
But, I still have managed to have some success and fun with it. How? GIMP. Don’t get me wrong. Photoshop is the best; it has so many features and actions you can use that it’s hard to top. But at hundreds of dollars, it wasn’t in my budget (only the 30-day free trial was), and by the time my trial was over, I had done enough researching and playing around that I could transfer a bunch of what I knew to GIMP. GIMP is completely free, and while it certainly doesn’t have all that Photoshop does, it has enough to play around with. Today, I’m going to give you an easy demonstration of my wedding frame sign.
There are tons of free image sites out there. My personal favorite is sxu.hu, and I’ve been using that one for years. I found my labels for this particular project by searching for “free vector images” and then searching for “labels” on each of the websites. I downloaded a free PDF of images that looks like this:
All you need to do is search for an image that is the same shape as the one you want. I was searching for weeks for one like this one, and was glad to find it.
So for this project, you’ll need your free GIMP program and an image of your choice.
Once you have downloaded your image, you want to open it up with GIMP.
Miss Woodpecker, Branford, CT Age and Occupation: 27, Graduate Student/School Psych InternFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, GlazierEngagement Date: Christmas Eve 2010Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Owenego Beach ClubAbout Me: I’m a Connecticut native planning a coastal beach wedding in our hometown. My loves in life include: food, family and the fiance. I’m a planner/organization fiend, by nature and by addiction, and am obsessed with all things wedding and design. We're trying to put personal touches on everything we can in our wedding, to really make it personal to us, our family, and friends. In the middle of wedding planning, I’m also finishing up grad school, and will be starting a brand new career within weeks of our wedding. It’s going to be an adventure!
In the end, our save the dates weren’t bad at all. Sure, I wanted to be able to DIY every little thing myself, but in the end I decided that semi-designing them and saving most of my creative juices was just as good.
Miss Woodpecker, Branford, CT Age and Occupation: 27, Graduate Student/School Psych InternFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, GlazierEngagement Date: Christmas Eve 2010Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Owenego Beach ClubAbout Me: I’m a Connecticut native planning a coastal beach wedding in our hometown. My loves in life include: food, family and the fiance. I’m a planner/organization fiend, by nature and by addiction, and am obsessed with all things wedding and design. We're trying to put personal touches on everything we can in our wedding, to really make it personal to us, our family, and friends. In the middle of wedding planning, I’m also finishing up grad school, and will be starting a brand new career within weeks of our wedding. It’s going to be an adventure!
One of my most used wedding documents is the one I have called “wedding fonts.” I’ve been doing lots of little stationery projects…
Personal image
…and realized again how much I love me some beautiful font. Of course, because I am obsessive and crazy, I decided that I couldn’t use all of them, so I picked my two favorites and am using those for our wedding stationery, with perhaps a few more supporting fonts here and there.
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!
So wayyyyy back when I first got it in my head that we I wanted to DIY our invitations, I figured it would be cheaper than buying them. I knew it would take LOTS of man-hours but I figured the end result would be pretty inexpensive. Well, I was wrong. I was also right. You see, we ended up spending WAY more than I thought but significantly less than we would have for similar purchased invitations.
Miss Coyote, Westchester, NYAge and Occupation: 26, Administrative AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Computer ProgrammerEngagement Date: August 2010Wedding Date: June 2012Venue: Franklin PlazaAbout Me: I am an overly-caffeinated, sports-obsessed history nerd who loves a good book and hates bananas. Originally from a small town in Upstate NY, I made the move to Westchester County and never looked back! My loves include NBC Thursdays, red wine, fleece pajamas, and my amazing fiancé. Together we are planning a formal evening affair for 175 guests with a mix of new and old traditions and plenty of personal touches.
Step 1. Gather supplies. Spend about 15 minutes searching your apartment for scissors only to realize that you had already placed them with the rest of your supplies. Smack head on table and do not move on to Step 2 until you have poured yourself a nice, big glass of wine.
Miss Woodpecker, Branford, CT Age and Occupation: 27, Graduate Student/School Psych InternFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, GlazierEngagement Date: Christmas Eve 2010Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Owenego Beach ClubAbout Me: I’m a Connecticut native planning a coastal beach wedding in our hometown. My loves in life include: food, family and the fiance. I’m a planner/organization fiend, by nature and by addiction, and am obsessed with all things wedding and design. We're trying to put personal touches on everything we can in our wedding, to really make it personal to us, our family, and friends. In the middle of wedding planning, I’m also finishing up grad school, and will be starting a brand new career within weeks of our wedding. It’s going to be an adventure!
Our save the dates marked the beginning of my on-the-edge-of-Bridezilla-ness.
But once they arrived in the mail, I couldn’t have been happier.
Personal photo
Back when we first got engaged and I found out about The Wedding Chicks (they have fabulous free templates over there), I instantly fell in love with these save the dates:
Miss Coyote, Westchester, NYAge and Occupation: 26, Administrative AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Computer ProgrammerEngagement Date: August 2010Wedding Date: June 2012Venue: Franklin PlazaAbout Me: I am an overly-caffeinated, sports-obsessed history nerd who loves a good book and hates bananas. Originally from a small town in Upstate NY, I made the move to Westchester County and never looked back! My loves include NBC Thursdays, red wine, fleece pajamas, and my amazing fiancé. Together we are planning a formal evening affair for 175 guests with a mix of new and old traditions and plenty of personal touches.
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!
Now that most people have received their invitations, it’s time for the reveal! Here are our handmade, Catprint printed invites. Let’s take a look at the President’s invite.
Miss Coyote, Westchester, NYAge and Occupation: 26, Administrative AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Computer ProgrammerEngagement Date: August 2010Wedding Date: June 2012Venue: Franklin PlazaAbout Me: I am an overly-caffeinated, sports-obsessed history nerd who loves a good book and hates bananas. Originally from a small town in Upstate NY, I made the move to Westchester County and never looked back! My loves include NBC Thursdays, red wine, fleece pajamas, and my amazing fiancé. Together we are planning a formal evening affair for 175 guests with a mix of new and old traditions and plenty of personal touches.
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!
Hive, I know I dragged this out. I know, I teased you about the invitations inseveralposts. But the wait is over! I would like to invite you to, not only view our invites, but see just how they came to be (bee?)!
[Note, if you want to skip all the romance and get right to the main event, the invite pictures are at the bottom!]
First things first, I would like to give a big shout out to PaperSource, Staples, and Vistaprint. These were the three main vendors we used to put together our invitation suite. All of the unprinted paper came from PaperSource. I found their quality nice, their prices reasonable, and their colors fantastic. The little beige inserts came from Staples. They were fast, cheap and easy. I would not recommend them if you are a stickler for perfection, but if you are a stickler for getting it done adequately, I would say go for it! And last, but not least, I tweaked our save the date design to make our RSVP and had them printed “for free” at Vistaprint.
I used illustrator to lay out all of the text onto 8.5×11 paper in a way that it could be cut into four, with each text block making a square. I really wish I had Miss Eagle’s tutorial beforehand, but after a lot of trial and error I managed to get it pretty square. I then sent the files off to Staples to be printed and cut into fours. The fact that they cut everything was nice because it saved me some time, but not that much time in the end, because each invitation had to be trimmed square afterwards.
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
