This weekend I wanted to buy a wedding magazine to look at while I watched football. I was hoping to get a new issue of The Knot but couldn't find one. So instead I decided that I would get Martha Stewart Weddings since I was hoping to do a lot myself. Here are all of the joyous things I discovered!
::Ribbon is your friend::
She had the amazing idea to make a guy's boutonniere out of silk ribbon! It actually looks really good and not cheap or tacky. I'm thinking of doing this for the Groom and Groomsmen. It is different and a nice way to make the men standout but still match. I gave it a try with some test ribbon and it turned out pretty well. I used a fabric glue and that kind of showed through, so I might try using thread instead. Oh, and fabric glue pretty much dries like cement. I can't get the pin that was holding it together out anymore.
She also made hanging balls out of a bunch of ribbon. A lot of weddings have those balls of flowers - but those are really expensive! So she took the same design for the boutonnieres and put a few together and then messed it up a little to make a ball! It looks so good. I'm thinking of having those hang off the aisles at the wedding ceremony. Cute, cheap, and won't die!
::Paper, paper, and more paper::
She had the cutest favors where there were 3 peices of square chocolate each individually wrapped in a foil and then a decorative peice of paper was wrapped around them. It was just normal scrapbook paper but half of a heart was cut out and pressed open to give the appearance of being a full heart! I am almost certain that we will do a variation of this for the wedding. It is just too darn cute!
I have recently decided that I would like to do escort cards. Originally I was going to have a board telling people where to sit and then have there seats assigned, but this is just too Bridezilla. There were a couple of times where the escort cards were pinned on to a board of some sort and were organized alphabetically. I loved this! I think it is a fantastic idea! I'm thinking I will do this and maybe have the boards leaning in a sheet of baby grass. I don't know about the grass aprt, but I am sure about the board part.
::A whole new love for fabric::
Along with the escort cards, there were some that had holes cut out of them to reveal a strip of fabric that amtched the cloth on the table number board. It was super cute and coordinated.
I had already seen this done but it is still fantastic. Instead of just doing a book for the guests to sign, how about a quilt? I am going to have squares of fabric cut out and ready for guests to sign. My guestbook attendants will be at the ready and keeps squares pinned to a board to make it easy for people to write on them. I'm thinking of just using a sharpie because fabric pens can be hard to use sometimes.
::Who knew seating arrangement could be fun?::
MarthaStewartWeddings.com has little gadget online that allows you to import your guest list and then add them to seats. You can create any size room and add tables and chairs to the room. Then you can actually assign seating! It is so slick! I am in love with it. I can't wait until all the RSVPs are in and I get to really use it!
My current list of "Wedding Planning Needs" in no particular order is...
1. TheKnot.com
2. MarthStewartWeddings.com
3. Target planning binder
4. Groom
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Monday, January 12, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Do-It-Yourself Invitations
One of the not-so-new trends in weddings is DIY invitations. I decided to take this route for my wedding for three reasons:
1. I thought it would be cheaper
2. Pre-made invitations just didn't fit the feel/theme of my wedding
3. I love using InDesign and Photoshop
Cost
So far it has been more cost effective to design my own invitations. I will be printing 150 invitations for a total of 250 guests. I will be printing my invitations at a local printer - Insty prints - and they are very easy to work with. The invitations include: 5x7 invitation, 4.25x5.5 RSVP card, 4.25x5.5 directions card, inner envelope, outer envelope, stamps for invitations, and stamps for RSVP card.
When I was creating my budget I was only thinking about the cost of printing and the stamps for the invitations themselves. I completely forgot about envelopes and stamps for the RSVP card! This very much threw off my budget, but it still all has come to a very reasonable price.
My suggestions: Think through everything that is included in the invitation when budgeting, purchase forever stamps for invitations (they may not be as cute but if stamp prices are going to rise soon it may help cut out a few bucks), make the RSVP card a postcard because stamps are sheaper then, and remember that time=money (you may save money out of your pocket but the time it takes to make the invitations might be more valuable at times).
Theme
I am VERY happy with how they turned out and I know that the time spent making them was well worth it.
I feel that they fit the theme of the wedding well and they give the guest an idea of the formality of the wedding. It says that they wedding will be fun, springy, and slightly formal. At least that is what people I ask say it says.
Both the RSVP and the Save-the-Date card had a similar feel. They both have the lines on the top and bottom of the card. I always use the same font with the same colors. I am stingy when it comes to my fonts - anyone who knows me really knows how true that is!
My suggestion: It's your wedding, don't just settle for something.
Adobe
I have never officially taken a graphic design course but I like to think that I know enough to be able to design something spectacular. Adobe makes fantastic programs and they are not too difficult to learn. I have been using photoshop since I was little and InDesign isn't too different from that. Likewise, if you are used to Illustrator, InDesign is also similar.
My suggestion: Use what you know to make your DIY invitation. Whether that be stamps, scrapbook, fabric, or your computer. If you don't know any of these very well I am sure you can find a class nearby on any of these!
1. I thought it would be cheaper
2. Pre-made invitations just didn't fit the feel/theme of my wedding
3. I love using InDesign and Photoshop
Cost
So far it has been more cost effective to design my own invitations. I will be printing 150 invitations for a total of 250 guests. I will be printing my invitations at a local printer - Insty prints - and they are very easy to work with. The invitations include: 5x7 invitation, 4.25x5.5 RSVP card, 4.25x5.5 directions card, inner envelope, outer envelope, stamps for invitations, and stamps for RSVP card.
When I was creating my budget I was only thinking about the cost of printing and the stamps for the invitations themselves. I completely forgot about envelopes and stamps for the RSVP card! This very much threw off my budget, but it still all has come to a very reasonable price.
My suggestions: Think through everything that is included in the invitation when budgeting, purchase forever stamps for invitations (they may not be as cute but if stamp prices are going to rise soon it may help cut out a few bucks), make the RSVP card a postcard because stamps are sheaper then, and remember that time=money (you may save money out of your pocket but the time it takes to make the invitations might be more valuable at times).
Theme
My theme or feel of the wedding is clean and slightly modern. My colors are mostly white (clean) with orange and pink accents (modern). Here is what my invitations ended up looking like.
I am VERY happy with how they turned out and I know that the time spent making them was well worth it.
I feel that they fit the theme of the wedding well and they give the guest an idea of the formality of the wedding. It says that they wedding will be fun, springy, and slightly formal. At least that is what people I ask say it says.
Both the RSVP and the Save-the-Date card had a similar feel. They both have the lines on the top and bottom of the card. I always use the same font with the same colors. I am stingy when it comes to my fonts - anyone who knows me really knows how true that is!
My suggestion: It's your wedding, don't just settle for something.
Adobe
I have never officially taken a graphic design course but I like to think that I know enough to be able to design something spectacular. Adobe makes fantastic programs and they are not too difficult to learn. I have been using photoshop since I was little and InDesign isn't too different from that. Likewise, if you are used to Illustrator, InDesign is also similar.
My suggestion: Use what you know to make your DIY invitation. Whether that be stamps, scrapbook, fabric, or your computer. If you don't know any of these very well I am sure you can find a class nearby on any of these!
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