Wanna see something neat? (In my biased opinion!)

Cyd from The Sweetest Occasion sent me a link to my invitations on the Bella Figura blog.

Click here to have a look!

Stamping the invitations

Still on our honeymoon, so here are some pictures of us assembling the invitation envelopes!

You saw Wade putting the stamps on the envelopes on April 6th.

Here's the pic again:

And here is what the envelope looked like when it went in the mail:

We chose these astronomical stamps:

(Source)

Canada Post seems to publish floral stamps in March of every year, which is appropriate for spring as well as for wedding invitations!

(Source)

These rhododendron stamps would have worked nicely for wedding invitations. However, just days before stamping the invitations, the astronomical stamps came out. Literally, 3 days (1 business day) before we sent out the invitations.

But we didn't chose the astronomicaly stamps because they were brand new. We chose them because we liked them. First, I love astronomy. When I was little, I wanted to be an astronaut. I love to look at the stars and learn about the universe. I thought they were perfect reminders of my childhood, hours spent staring at the stars and learning about the constellations and planets. Second, Wade thought these stamps looked neat. Good enough for me!

Plus, most invitations going out this spring will probably have the rhododendrons in them. Our wedding invitations will be different for many reasons, including our design, but also because of these astronomical stamps!

Calligraphy

Following up with the invitation teasers here and here, I will continue writing about the invitations.

I must clarify two things. First, I learned rudimentary calligraphy in grade 5 (1992). Second, I have a good memory. So, I put my calligraphy skills to work (which I have practiced intermittently over the past 17 years) for addressing the invitations.

These aren't anything spectacular. I think they're amazing for the cost! (Calligraphy is usually expensive! This was free ... Well, I had to get a set o f calligraphy pens, but luckily I asked my mom for them for my birthday.)







Names and addresses were blocked to protect the "innocent". Please forgive the amateur blanking out.

Our Invitations

Hopefully, when this post is published, I'm in or near France airspace. I really hope that's where I am! I wrote this post months ago - seriously - so you can read about things I did in the wedding planning that I didn't want to post about during the wedding planning.

I teased you with hints about the invitations here and here, I will continue writing about the invitations.

Here's a little fun while I'm away. Picking up with the invitations!

I chose to go with Bella Figura because they are truly eco-friendly, they are close (reducing my carbon footprint from shipping) and highly recommend by others (Cyd included, who blogged about this great shop well before she had even applied to work there).

Here are our invitations:




I'll read your responses when we get back around June 27th. Okay, we have to unpack and relax, so it might be a few days.

Hand Cancelling

Wade and I sent out the invitations today. I asked the post-mistress to hand cancel. A brief look crossed her face (that clearly said that hand-cancelling sucks), but the look quickly passed, and she readily agreed to do it. I offered to help if there was any way I could (evidently, there is not).

Thanks, unnamed post-mistress!

Here's Wade & I stamping the invitations:


With Canada Post, it takes 2 days for delivery within the province, 3 - 5 days out of province. They will be picked up tomorrow, which means that guests can see them as early as Thursday ... as late as Thursday next week (I think Good Friday and Easter Monday are both federal holidays).

Yay!

But you're still not seeing any invitation pictures on this blog until I'm on my honeymoon. Check back after June 6th!

Picking Up The Invitations

Tonight, our wedding invitations were hand-delivered by Cyd. We met in Watertown, New York, about half-way for both of us.

Here we are getting the invitations:

Here's Cyd and I talking:

A nice picture of us, with our (okay, my) eyes open on every try, for once:

Wade bringing in the invitations to their new (albeit temporary) home:

Me showing the invitations some love:


P.S. Happy Birthday, Cyd. (I always knew you were a fool! ... I couldn't resist after you told me everyone says that on your birthday.) Seriously, Cyd, have a great birthday.

Seamstress

I need to contact a seamstress. Not any seamstress. The seamstress who will alter my dress and modify my veil. There's a seamstress above the downtown Kingston bridal shop (from here on called "the bridal salon"), but rumour has it she's twice as expensive as a seamstress who works out of her home but does an amazing job. This elusive seamstress is recommended by the uptown bridal shop in town (from here on called "the other shop"). And I need to figure out who this lady is.

I need to get off my lazy bum, and call the other bridal shop, and ask who they recommend. I didn't buy my dress from them - actually, I didn't buy my dress from either spot, but we got the bridesmaids' dresses from the bridal salon.

When I was looking for the bridesmaid dress, I was at a local bridal show. I went up to the other bridal shop's booth. One lady asked when my wedding date is, she realized I must have my dress. I told her I was looking for bridesmaid dresses, and I felt like I was dropped as she pretty much turned away when she realized it wasn't a big money maker. So they left a sour taste in my mouth.

P.S. Tomorrow, I pick up the invitations from Cyd, blogger, Bella Figura employee and coordinator extraordinaire. Yay!

But you don't get to see them ... but you already knew that I'm not sharing the invitations on the blog.

Can't. Hardly. Wait.

Remember the invitation teaser? No? Well, it was small. Here it is another teaser (but this is your last sneak peak):


Well, they'll be ready on Monday! (Imagine me saying that in a sing-song voice.)

Cyd will be guarding them, no doubt with her life. I'm going to pick them up on the week-end ... but ... might not make it to the week-end. (Sorry, Cyd - do you mind if I show up mid-week? I might not be able to wait!)

P.S. That was the last invitation teaser. You won't see any more hints on the invitations on here until after I'm married. I have to save something for the scheduled posts while I'm on my honeymoon to France, after all! (Wedding guests, you can expect to see these in your mail box in about 2 weeks ... assuming everything goes to plan! No promises.)

Ooh ... Invitations!

We got our first proof of the invitations yesterday. It's not finalized, but here's a sneak peak (...and all you get to see):

Addressing Wedding Invitations

As usual, Meg at a Practical Wedding stirred what seems like everyone's thoughts in her post on Addressing Wedding Invitations (and staying a feminist).

I agree with the spirit of her post, but I would do a few things differently. So here's my post on the subject!

Here is my interpretation of how I address envelopes:

• When the couple has the same last name, it is listed as "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" on the same line.
  
• I do not typically name couples as "Mr. and Mrs. John Smith" because I do not like to identify women through the identity of her husband. She has a name, too! I would list "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" or if I knew them well, just "John and Jane Smith" or "Jane and John Smith" (depending on if I know the couple as "John and Jane" or "Jane and John"). (Unless, of course, I know the woman prefers to be known as Mrs. John Smith. But I don't know any women like that.)
  
• The woman's name is listed first when the couple has different last names, because of the old expression that ladies come first. At least, that's why I think it is.
  
• Two women married or in a common-law relationship? I would either list the person I know best first or list them alphabetically. Ditto for two men. (Of course, if their names don't fit, I would put them on two lines, but that's only if the room's tight!)
  
• A couple with different last names? Technically, I believe the etiquette book I've read says that if they're married - the names are on the same line, but if they're not married - their names go on different lines. Personally, whether they're married or in a common-law relationship, I'd probably list them on the same line. Unless they didn't fit on the same line! So "Jane Jones and John Smith" or "Ms. Jane Jones and Mr. John Smith"
  
• A woman who's a doctor in a relationship? I'd list "Dr. Jane and Mr. John Smith". Or if different last names, I'd list it as "Dr. Jane Jones and Mr. John Smith". (Or just "Jane and John".)
  
• If I'm sending mail to a little boy, I do send it to "Master Smith", because I think that's a cute title for little boys (under 12). If I'm sending mail to a little girl, I send it to "Miss Smith". When I send it to two sisters, I write to "The Misses Smith". I can't recall off-hand how to address it to two brothers, but I think it's "The Messrs. Smith" or "The Masters Smith".
  
• For unmarried adult women, I typically send it to "Ms Smith" unless I know she prefers to be known as "Miss Smith".

Honestly, if my name was Jane, I probably wouldn't change my name to Smith. And I certainly wouldn't name my son John Smith! :)

And that's my response to Meg's post! Feel free to comment, or write your own post on how you do it!

Invitations

These are the invitations (with some variations, of course) we're going to get:

They're from Bella Figura and they haven't been ordered yet. I had entered a contest to win $350 on Snippet & Ink, but I didn't win. My odds were better than the lottery, but not quite as good as Bridechka's first giveaway. I would have used the money to purchase the response cards. Since I didn't win, out of financial necessity, I'm going to "DIY" the response cards. I'll show you that project when I do it.

Tuesday on etsy week: Invitations and other Paper Elements

Today, I am going to focus on invitation options on etsy. I'm currently looking at ideas for the rehearsal dinner expectations. I think I have figured out that I would like letterpress for the wedding invitation, which is expensive, but so luxurious and stunning! (More on that another time & day.) However, I don't have the money (or rather, the desire to spend that much) on rehearsal dinner invitations, too. So I'm going to focus on budget-friendly potential rehearsal dinner invitations available on etsy.

If you want to look something up, such as "rehearsal dinner invitations", start by looking up exactly what you need. Maybe it's out there! But you should also follow up your first search with a similar search. DO NOT look up "invitations": you'll get a million hits. But look up similarly-themed items: "save the date invitations", "bridal shower invitations". Some of these items could be customized to be a lovely rehearsal dinner invitation. You could even look up keywords such as "quirky invitations" or "elegant invitations", depending on what you want.

Some of these potential rehearsal invitations could easily become an elegant wedding invitation. Hmm ... something else to think about (whaaaat ... more decisions! But my brain is FULL!)

The first card and invitation designer also happens to be Canadian-based. Black Cat Concepts is based out of Aylmer, and sells quirky and fun invitations ($44 for 25 invitations) like this: Black Cat Concepts promises that everything is customizable, so this invitation could easily be modified for a rehearsal dinner! Bonus: this seller does NOT charge extra shipping, so you pay the price you see!


This designer is another Canadian: Card Creator is based in London (Ontario)! The bridal shower invitations (left and right) are $1.40 each; the pool party invitation in the middle is $1.20 each. Every invitation is cutomizable, so I could easily turn any one of these three invitations into a rehearsal dinner invitation. I don't know how I could use a pool party theme for a rehearsal dinner in early June. Maybe I could rent an indoor pool ... I'll have to think about that and get back to you.












Cheer Up Cherup is a designer who creates these quirky invitations. Although these invitations are for bridal showers, she could easily customize something based on these designs for a rehearsal dinner. At $1.75 / invitation, the price isn't too shabby!












Today's final Canadian designer is Diane By Design. This invitation costs just $1.75 each, and is a very cute Save-The-Date. On her etsy shop, Diane says she LOVES custom orders, so I'm sure she could turn this Save-The-Date design into a rehearsal dinner invitation!

Janee's Elite Designs is one of the more expensive options that I'm featuring ($3.75 per invitation), but that doesn't mean these are the most expensive invitation out there. Trust me, prices can go waaaay up. I just can't justify spending $10 per invitation for the rehearsal dinner or a bridal shower. These are lovely, three-dimensional, slightly quirky invitations:

This designer, Nifty Pear, welcomes customizing invitations and paper products. These invitations are $15 for 12 invitations:


In fact that might be a safe assumption for most sellers on etsy: because everything is handmade, most sellers are willing and enthusiastically able to create custom pieces of work!

Case in point: these bridal shower invitations are available at $12 for 12 invitations from Razzle Dazzle Designs. However, the seller welcomes custom designs for any occassion. So in this case, think of the shop as examples of what she can do. If you're looking for the stereotypical bridal shower invitations - this is a great card. But if you want something different (or you look nothing like the bride on this invitation! I don't have that bum!), just ask! From her "shop description", it looks like she wants to do custom work! If you don't want the stereotypical invitations, just ask! I couldn't use this design for a rehearsal dinner (ha, Wade would love that), but I'm sure we could come up with something that we'd both like.
Tuesday's hint: when ordering items from another country, investigate what (if any) the taxes / duties / import fees will be, and factor that into the cost. There's nothing worse than spending $100 on items, to have it arrive with a charge of $45 in duties. The cost of these fees depends on the country of origin (as far as I can tell, the US costs the most) and the method of shipping (anecdotally, I have heard USPS charges the most). If you're ordering from a domestic seller, you may get charged taxes, or you may not, depending on how that seller works. These are all questions to ask that may affect your budget!

The traditional wedding ... is it necessary?

I don't think that it's the traditions that make a wedding. I think the most important thing about a wedding is that a couple commits to each other in front of loved ones. Whether it's an intimate wedding at the family home or cottage or a formal ballroom soirée for 200, the single most important detail is the couple in love!

So, I don't think traditions are necessary. I, however, enjoy many traditions. I do give serious thought to every aspect of the wedding. I want a day that Wade & I can enjoy. We both want our family & friends to be able to enjoy the day, too. We definitely want to come of it with money left in our bank accounts; we are NOT going into debt for one day. But we do want a day that we'll both remember as the day we started the next chapter of our lives.

There is nothing I do because it is "traditional". We want to get married in front of our family and friends, followed by a party that everyone can enjoy! I do appreciate the symbolism of many traditions, and I give serious thought to the reasons behind the tradition.

For example, I am not going to spend the money on some monstrous cake creation. It just doesn't make sense to me to spend hundres of dollars (that is what they cost today!) on a cake that 10 people will try. Most people avoid cakes at a wedding because they don't usually taste good! So I'll have a cake that is yummy. I have had lots of pieces of cardboard cake. The best cake I have ever had at a wedding was baked by the bride herself - go Teresa - from a Betty Crocker mix! It was a great cake! And while I like the idea of cutting a cake together, it's not because of the symbolism of fertility from the Roman times, but the idea of sharing everything for the rest of our lives.

I also like the look of a traditional invitations. All invitations I've received are not traditional. Believe it or not, all weddings I have attended were preceeded with a funky and colourful invitation or a folding pocket-style invitation. Yet, I love the look of a more tradition invitation. And I have fallen in love with the look and feel of letterpress invitations, even if it is more expensive than other invitation printing techniques. I don't know if I'll decide to splurge on letterpress invitations, but if I do, here's some of the styles that have caught my eye:

Source: Marsville Letterpress

Source: jkl Creations

Source: papeterie

Source: Bella Figura Letterpress