Have fun with your save-the-dates invitations, make them completely custom

Monday, October 26, 2009

Monday, October 26, 2009

From wedding save the dates to invitations, I believe that your wedding paper sets the tone for your big day.  As such, they should be a personal expression of you and your fiance - who you are, what you love and your wedding ambiance.  Here's some great advice from Shannon, a wedding stationery extraordinaire!

Guest Post: Shannon of Southall Eden Paperie, a Nashville-based custom invitation companyOdds are that many of your wedding guests have hectic schedules and may also be traveling from out of town for your big day. With people needing to arrange vacations and travel plans many months in advance, sending them a wedding invitation 6-8 weeks before your wedding may not give them sufficient time to make arrangements to attend. In recent years, sending a Save the Date card in advance to let them know your wedding date and location is a courtesy that is becoming more the norm than the exception. And with this comes the opportunity for you, the bride, to really express yourself and have some fun!

Because this is a rather new tradition in wedding preparation, the rules of etiquette governing Save the Dates are very relaxed. Clients Lillian and Craig are having a formal wedding and are opting for a traditional wedding invitation, but for their Save the Dates Lillian really wanted to do something unique to her guests. She asked me to design something that featured their monogram on a belt buckle. We were also lucky enough to have this ADORABLE photo from the couple's engagement shoot by Photographix (taken at the Southall Eden barn!). The result was a flat panel card featuring their photo and a mixture of western and modern fonts. It is mounted on a metallic navy backer, which will also be carried through the rest of the couple's wedding stationery. The belt around the panel is made of a leather-like paper, complete with holes, while the buckle is a separate piece.

Happy couple Julie and Jonathan recently moved to Nashville for their careers (she is a news anchor and he is a neurosurgery resident at Vanderbilt). Because many of their guests will be visiting Nashville for the first time, Julie wanted to play up the urban aspect of the city's charm. Her strikingly modern lime green and silver color scheme was the perfect starting point. Utilizing her palette and creating a simplistic illustration of key buildings in the city's skyline, we designed a sleek rectangular panel on 100% cotton paper that is mounted on stainless steel looking paper. For envelopes, she chose an open-end policy envelope in silver that will also be used to mail her invitations.

Finally, fabulously fun Jennifer and Mark really wanted to let their guests to know that their wedding would first and foremost be PARTY! While they did want to keep their invitation a bit more on the traditional side, their Save the Date gave the young couple a chance to do something that really reflected their personalities. Jennifer mentioned a favorite photo she had of them at a party, and when I saw it I knew it would be the perfect starting point. We added some Hollywood lighting style lettering and the decorative clover-shaped element that they had chosen to use on their other wedding stationery. But really, doesn't the giant champagne bottle say it all? !If you do decide to send Save the Dates, here are some key elements to remember:

1. Save the Dates can be mailed anywhere from one year to six months prior to the wedding.
2. If you send someone a Save the Date, you MUST send them a wedding invitation! So make sure you have your guest list finalized before you put anything in the mail.
3. The only information you have to include is your wedding date and city, but if you are having a destination wedding or are getting married on the same weekend as a big event in your city you might also want to include hotel options.

1. Be sure to include "Formal invitation to follow" so that anyone who is not familiar with Save the Date protocol knows that they can expect more information to come in the mail.
2. Most importantly, have fun with it! This is the first glimpse your guests will have of your wedding so make it something that is really you. Your friends and family will appreciate seeing your personality shine through.

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Posted by Ashley of Ashley's Bride Guide | Filed under: Advice & Planning, Invitations & Paper Goods 0 comments »