May 26 2009
We’re curious about what colors and themes you are featuring in your weddings. Why? We’re endlessly curious here at DIY Bride and want to know what real couples are incorporating into their big day. And, well, we’re going to be borrowing your colors/themes ideas for crafty projects and inspiration to showcase on the blog!
May 25 2009
Clipart Saves the Day (and the Date)
My fiancé and I are in the midst of a nine month engagement and we didn’t even think about Save the Date cards until we had about five months left. Oops – most wedding pundits recommend sending these out at least six months before the big day, so needless to say, we scrambled.
As a recessionista bride (and groom), we intended to do these ourselves, yet we knew nothing about the process. We just knew we wanted something with a bit of pizzazz. So we visited a fancy invitation store to flip through their sample books to get ideas. We saw a lot of vines wending their way across gorgeous cards, intricate Asian artwork, and birds perched expectantly on delicate twigs. I wondered how we could incorporate something equally stylish (and quickly!) on our own.
When we got home, I beelined for one of my favorite websites, www.clipart.com.You can subscribe to this for as little as 14.95 for one week (or 299.95 for two years) and, in that time, download an unlimited number of images. There are also free sites where you can find good albeit less extensive collections.
By searching under ‘bride’ and ‘wedding’, I found literally thousands of images: cakes, wedding bells, ball and chains and bride and groom combos in many different styles (some even carrying shotguns, yikes). I narrowed my search to only black and white images, figuring this would cut printing costs then downloaded five of the more modern and simple illustrations of brides and grooms. Together, my fiancé and I chose a duo that seemed, to us, both elegant and also a bit quirky, as if they might be featured on a construction sign. Like: Wedding Zone Straight Ahead.
Because we’re getting married at an old electrical parts factory in an industrial section of Queens, New York, we liked that these had a rather urban feeling. But if you’re celebrating at a botanical garden or at a church, or if you’re focusing on dancing, or you have some other theme going, you can definitely find an illustration that makes sense for your event.
Next, my fiancé went to town in the program Illustrator: he made a few tweaks and played with the sizing to make the file work for a postcard. We chose a font that seemed to go well with our duo (arial) and decided that, though we’re advocates of grammar, we’d go renegade á la e.e. cummings and write everything in small case.
After a few short hours and a few different versions, our cards were designed and contained the relevant info. We had them printed out at FedEx Kinkos the next day on simple cardstock. The sage green paper we chose gave them a bit of an organic feel we were pleased with. Of course, these Save the Date postcards aren’t letterpress quality. Likewise, they aren’t refrigerator magnets and they don’t put on their own laser light show, but they seem to have gotten our point across. They cost less than $21.00 (not including clipart fee or postage). And though they were created with love, they ate up very little of our precious time: in fact, it took us longer to figure out our guest list and actually get them in the mail.
The best thing is that by choosing this clipart, we unexpectedly developed the ‘look’ of many of our subsequent DIY projects. For example, our clipart couple is currently appearing on our website (also designed by my talented fiancé). This time they’re dressed in a subtle grey. In sticker form, (i.e. round laser printer labels I found at a stationery store) they are going to help fasten together the ‘envelofolds’ of our invitations. We’ve even invited them to stand atop our cake on the big day and they cordially accepted.
Using one specific image across the board like this is almost like branding your wedding. I hesitate to use that word ‘brand’ because it sounds so cold and corporate (and also reminds me of something painful that happens on a ranch), but simple clipart, at the very least, contributes to a theme and creates a nice sense of cohesion.
Along these lines, lots of couples get personalized logos designed, for example with their initials cozily intertwined. I think that’s cute and has wonderful symbolism, but if you’re pressed for time and cutting costs, I recommend this quick, easy, and cost-effective option. Let’s face it, any way you can streamline this whole wedding enterprise while still personalizing it, is a beautiful thing.
Jocelyn blogs at Current Skate of Mind and Upper East Side Informer
May 22 2009
By Christina Friedrichsen, www.intimateweddings.com
I cannot see the laundry room floor. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, given that its godawful linoleum, but it’s after 11 pm and I’m getting married. Tomorrow. That’s right tomorrow – and there’s a one inch layer of stems and leaves on my floor.
It’s the first time in my life I have arranged flowers. Unless you count the wildflowers I routinely jam into vases during the summer months. I don’t know a thing about flower arranging – and here I am arranging my bridal bouquet, the maid of honor’s bouquet and the wedding centerpieces?
I am not insane. My mother has taken plenty of courses on flower arranging and she is leading the crew, which consists of my sister-in-law, my maid of honor and me. Still, I begin to feel panic set in. Panic that it will take all night and that I’ll wake up looking like an ogre. Panic that the flowers won’t turn out. I do not let on that I am feeling this way. I focus on the task at hand.
It’s edging towards 12:30 am and finally the last flower has found its rightful home. We all breathe a happy and tired sigh of relief that our night of DIY wedding fun is not only over – it’s a whopping success. The centerpieces are beautiful, the bouquets are lovely – and I saved a bundle.
That was eight years ago. And it’s one of the memories that stands out the most about my wedding.
DIY is not the easy route. In fact, sometimes DIY can be downright painful.
“Am I doing this right?”
“Will I ever get this done?”
“Do these look like crap or am I not seeing straight because it’s so bloody late?”
“These don’t look like they do in the Martha Stewart magazine. Oops, I missed step five.”
DIY can be a struggle – even for uber creative types. Heaps of time and effort go into choosing the right projects, finding tutorials and hunting down supplies (especially if you are pinching pennies). And that’s before you’ve sat down and got down and dirty with your project.
But you know what? The feeling of satisfaction from pulling it off is like no other.
As musician and songwriter Bruce Cockburn writes: “Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight.”
Remember this as you stand on your own laundry room floor, ankle deep in stems and leaves, praying for a miracle.
Christina Friedrichsen is the author of Intimate Weddings: Planning a Small Wedding that Fits Your Budget and Style and owner of IntimateWeddings.com. She wrote Intimate Weddings after planning her own 50-guest wedding. She wants other brides to feel confident in their decision to have an intimate wedding – even if their ideas buck convention. She wants couples to feel a sense of validation and to hear about all the wonderful things a small wedding can offer them. That’s why she created IntimateWeddings.com.
IntimateWeddings.com provides brides with a slew of planning articles, as well as a place to find small wedding venues. The Intimate Weddings Blog is chock full of fresh ideas for planning a small wedding, as well as real weddings and a slew of creative DIY wedding ideas that cut costs without sacrificing quality.
May 20 2009
Photo Credit: White Aisle
The Pleasure of Your Company Is Requested
Don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the proper way to address a female friend with a live-in lover. There are many online resources that will tell you what the proper etiquette is when it comes to wedding stationery. One very popular one is the Crane’s Wedding Blue Book. And proper etiquette is of utmost importance. Keep reading for some guidelines that even Emily Post will be impressed by.
Firstly, invitation ensembles should be mailed out six to eight weeks before your wedding. If you are having a destination wedding or many of your guests are traveling from afar, I would suggest that your invites be sent eight weeks prior.
It’s a personal decision, but most traditional invitations consist of an inner envelope and an outer envelope. Make the green, eco-chic choice of leaving out the inner envelope. If you decide to go with the two envelopes, the outer envelope is addressed and stamped while the inner envelope only has the names of those who are invited to the wedding. Also a guest management tool, the inner envelope allows you to be very specific as to who is invited to your nuptials. This is an awesome way to communicate to your invitees whether they are allowed to bring a guest of not. When a guest is invited but his or her name is unknown, it is proper etiquette to only address the outer envelope to your friend “Miss Wilkerson” and address the inner envelope to your friend and her guest “Miss Wilkerson and Guest”. If the inner envelope is addressed to only “Miss Wilkerson,” this clearly means that she may not bring a guest. It is not inappropriate to address your friends and family in informal or familial terms on the inner envelope. This adds whimsy and a personal touch.
Photo Credit: Armato Design
Some other fine points to remember:
Do not use initials or abbreviations even with professional titles. Spell out first and last names, street names, apartment, place, court, avenue, number and states. Do not use an ampersand (&) in place of the word and. Mr. & Mrs. Wright is a no-no. Titles such as Doctor should be spelled out. Mr., Mrs. and Jr. is acceptable. Please be sure to obtain the correct title for clergy or military guests. Professional designations such as Esq., MD, PhD, etc. are not appropriate for wedding stationery. Sr., Jr. or III designations only appear on the outer envelope after the man’s last name. Do not write these on the inner envelope.
Children older than 18 should receive their own invitation, even if they are still living at home with the parents.
When addressing a married couple, you should always address both members of the married couple. For an unmarried couple living together, the etiquette is to address each party individually, with each name appearing on a separately line. For example: “Ms. Lisa Ferrell and Mr. Kenneth Sanders.”
All house numbers are written in numeric form except for “one,” which is spelled out. Apartment, suite and zip codes are also written in numeric form. Please only use home addressed for mailing wedding invitations.
Return addresses should be printed on the back flap of the envelope and be centered and in the same color ink that you are using for the wedding invitation. Name or names are excluded from the return address.
For a complimentary, complete guide to How to Address Wedding Stationery, send a quick email to info{at}ksherrieandcompany{dot}com and I will happily deliver it to your inbox. Whatever I can do to make your wedding tasks easier. . .
Katasha Butler is the owner of K Sherrie+Company Planning Atelier in Indianapolis. She blogs regularly at The Wedding Workroom.
May 19 2009
Part II
Which Type of Printing Do You Prefer?
There are many methods of printing that you can employ for your invites. Right now, letterpress is extremely popular, but cost-prohibitive for some couples. I must say I am intoxicated by the rich feel and texture of a letterpressed invitation. It just invokes illusions of grandeur for the wedding celebration to come. At any rate, the four methods of printing I will discuss here is: engraving, thermography, lithography and letterpress.
Engraving: The practice of cutting grooves onto a hard, flat surface that results in a printing plate (usually made of copper) used for printing images on paper, which are called engravings. Other terms often used for engravings are copper-plate engraving and line engraving. Engraved invitations have a raised print appearance. It is pressed through the paper so that it can be felt on the back of the paper. Engraving is the most traditional and formal printing option. It is the oldest printing style, as well as the most expensive.
Photo Credit: Martha Stewart Weddings
Thermography: Less expensive than engraving, thermography is very similar in that they both have raised lettering. They differ in that thermography produces a shinier, glossy finish and the print does not press through the back of the paper.
Lithography: Lithography uses chemical processes to create an image. In nerd terms, lithography uses oil and water to divide the smooth surface into hydrophobic (water-hating) regions which accept the ink and hydrophilic (water-loving) regions which reject it and thus become the background. This produces the type of printing you see used in most books today—flat and non-raised. Also known as offset printing or flat print, lithography produces sharp, clean images and text more easily than letterpress printing. It is the most widely used printing style for wedding invitations and it is less expensive than both engraving and thermography.
Photo Credit: Weddingbee
Letterpress: Letterpress printing is achieved by printing text with movable type, in which the raised surface of the type is inked and then pressed against a smooth substance to obtain an image in reverse. Since most letterpress equipment can only print one color at a time, printing multiple colors can be a challenge. The inking system on letterpress equipment is also less precise than lithography or engraving. Letterpress is an expensive, but beautiful option, as many times, each sheet of paper has to be manually fed one at a time.
Photo Credit: Martha Stewart Weddings
Visit the archives (Link: http://www.diybride.com/2008/03/31/ten-free-fonts-thatll-rock-your-invites/) in DIY Bride to see samples of different fonts for your own DIY invitations. The readability and scalability of fonts are an important consideration when choosing a printing method. In the next post, I will guide you in the etiquette of addressing your invitations to your honored (or honoured?) guests. Leave a comment and tell us what printing method you used for your stationery.
Katasha Butler is the owner of K Sherrie+Company Planning Atelier in Indianapolis. She blogs regularly at The Wedding Workroom.
May 19 2009
Photo Credit: {corrected} Dauphine Press
I looooove paper! And as a wedding planner, it’s a good thing that I do because I know that paper—aka invitation suites or stationery—sets the tone for your wedding celebration.
Today, there are so many options for a bride and her paper. You can print them at home on your computer. You can send handwritten notes, packaged in unique boxes or containers. Or you can go the ultra-classic, high society route of heavy-stock, cream-colored paper engraved with a rich, black text. I personally think the stationery you choose should reflect the personality of the couple, the ambiance of the celebration and it should also fit your pocketbook.
Photo Credit: Bella Figura
Paper suites are one of the pieces of the wedding that many brides choose to DIY. Please know that this takes lots of time and attention to detail. The last sentence bears repeating: lots of time and attention to detail. I cannot remind you enough how invitations set the tone of the whole party. However, if you want to have embellished and intricate invitations with all the bells and whistles, but you want to restrict the cash outflow from your wedding budget, you can easily DIY your invites. In these next series of posts, I’m going to share some invitation basics with you to get you started. I will finish the series with some paper eye candy that will hopefully inspire your DIY ensemble.
There were some beautiful DIY invitations made by Miss Cupcake of WeddingBee. Click HERE (Link: http://www.weddingbee.com/2008/08/13/inside-the-cupcake-invitations/) to follow her journey through making such delightful pieces. And if that doesn’t exhaust you. . .be sure to tune in for the next post!
Photo Credit: Dauphine Press
Katasha Butler is the owner of K Sherrie+Company Planning Atelier in Indianapolis. She blogs regularly at The Wedding Workroom.
Dec 03 2008
I goofed. Reader Ashley pointed out that I didn’t follow my own rules for announcing the winner of the Under $500 Bridal Ensemble contest. Instead of picking a single random winner, I personally chose 3 winners. D’oh! Sorry, friends!
To make good on my original contest rules, I’ve used Random.Org to select a random winner in addition to my picks from the other day. Using the integer generator, it chose #12. #12 corresponds to the 12th entry I posted and it was from Andrea.
Congrats, Andrea! Your entry is beautiful – very retro Hollywood glam.
Dec 01 2008
You make my life difficult, you crafty vixens! Honestly, I had the worst time trying to pick a single winner for this contest. So I didn’t. I picked 3 winners and even that was a challenge. All of the entries for this contest were so wonderfully creative, beautiful, and fun!
Each of the winners will receive a copy of The DIY Bride: 40 Fun Projects For Your Ultimate One-of-a-Kind Wedding. (Email notification is on its way.)
Winner #1: Samantha G.
I loved this one because I thought the colors were fresh, the dress was gorgeous, and the total cost was under $400. For the sleek, modern bride who loves adding unexpected details, this is a great choice.
Samantha's Entry
Winner #2: Samantha W.
This one caught my eye because it’s frilly and romantic … and about $326 for all 6 elements. For more traditional brides, this is a lovely option.
Samantha W.'s Entry
Winner #3: Emilia
For something fun, funky, and fresh Emilia’s entry is aces in my book. I love how daring and playful this ensemble is. Great dress, unique accessories. It makes a great statement.
Emilia's Entry
Nov 23 2008
Thank you to everyone who entered this contest!
With all sincerity – I am amazed at how talented and resourceful you are! I admit to buying a pair of shoes that was showcased and found some nifty ideas for Xmas gifts. 
I’ll be announcing the winner on Monday. Hopefully everyone will have had a chance to view all of the awesomeness that was turned in.
Notes:
If you didn’t get enough budget-friendly ideas, my friend Liene of Blue Orchid Designs, will be announcing the winner of her Recessionista challenge – the under $1000 ensemble challenge. Check out the details: http://www.blueorchidblog.com/2008/11/recessionista-giveaway.html
Nov 23 2008
From Marissa
Total: $306.93
See full image for sources (click above to make larger).
