Wedding Week.

I have determined this week to be wedding week.  Just today, I received phone calls regarding spring weddings & the thought occurred to me...'it's time.'  Time for all those spring weddings to get kicked into high gear & finalize all those planning details.

So here is to wedding week!

We'll start with the envelopes.  I have an affection for a darling envelope.  I don't think the envelope should be an afterthought.  Instead it should be carefully crafted, with every detail thought out & executed to perfection.  It is the very first thing a guest will see regarding your wedding, so it should make a statement.

First, think of the size of your invitation.  This Christmas my cards were 'tea length' or long & skinny.  I could have mailed them in a plain ol' white envelope.  They would have looked like a bill you receive in your mailbox on a daily basis, minus the clear plastic part showing your address through!  Instead of that, do a colored envelope.  In this case, I used an envelope I had fallen in love with & used on my cousin's wedding.  It is colored, but also the opening flap is flipped to the side:

 

Just a simple change that makes all the difference in the envelope.

Next up.  The return address.  Have you invested in a stamp of your address yet?  If not, please do!  They are so great & make addressing almost fun.  I've had my stamp a couple years & am actually ready to get a new one, but I use it all.the.time.  It dresses up even a plain ol' white envelope when you ink it in gold, silver, red - you name it.

When I did mine, I had it custom made, but with etsy, it is so much easier now.  I've ordered several from here for a couple of different weddings.  I always end up choosing this style:

 

but she's added a few new ones, that I might have to look at for myself!

This is a great way to save some money on invitations as well.  Instead of paying to have the return address printed on your envelope, use a stamp.  And then you can use it again & again...that & it's cuter.  Both times I've done this on weddings we were stamping on pearl paper & we used a permanent gold ink -- divine.

Right now, I am obsessed with the wrap around label.  Obsessed.  And even better...IT IS SO EASY!  I'm also obsessed with Kraft paper...combine that with a wrap around label & I'm a happy girl.

 

Again, these were for my Christmas cards, but the design could be altered for a wedding.  The great thing about doing the wrap around label is it gives you the ease of the label {typing addresses as opposed to writing them} without the eyesore!  I think a white label with black type smacked on the outside of a beautiful wedding invitation is a shame.  This is just as easy & socially acceptable in my opinion.  My mom wishes this was around when I got married...instead she was hand addressing 500 invites because I wouldn't let her do labels! Thanks mom! 

These are the labels I used & my favorite thing about them is that there was no 'dead space' between the labels, so it made it really easy for me to design & print.  I've even emailed label layouts on them & had it work.

More ideas on my pinterest board...yes, I have an entire board dedicated to just the envelope.  Call me crazy, but I love it.

How To: Line Your Envelopes

Remember my quest for simplicity this Christmas?  Well part of that simplicity included lining my envelopes for my Christmas cards.  Don't ask me how this is simplifying when in fact it is more work, but I love a lined envelope!  I'd looked around online to see about buying liners for my envelopes or buying pre-lined envelopes, but no dice.  I mean, they exist, but not in the exact look or combination I wanted needed.

So I figured now {booked with custom card orders, a wedding too, 5 months pregnant & w/ the flu last week} was the perfect time to take on that little big project.

Okay, it really wasn't all that overwhelming.  Most of the time it is what I call 'tv work.'  You know, your husband is working late, kids are asleep, you pop in a movie & check something off your list?  Mind you I had 4 loads of laundry to fold, but that could wait.

Onto the envelopes!

My cards this year are purple & green...can ya tell?

 

I will show you the full envelope later, but here they are lined in a myriad of papers.

 

To get started you need to first make your pattern.  To do this, outline the exterior of the envelope on white cardstock & then cut out.  I lined mine up in the corner of the page so I didn't have to cut those 2 edges.  My mom will attest that I am a bad cutter.

 

Once you have you pattern cut out, slid it into the envelope to make sure it fits.  I was thinking I was going to have to trim my pattern down after tracing around the exterior, but not so.  You actually can just slide it right down, lining it up just below the adhesive part of the envelope.

Once you know it fits okay, start tracing & cutting out your liners on the paper of you choice.  I just bought a 'pad' of scrapbook paper from Michaels {hence the different patterns}.  It was cardstock, but not overly heavy.

I then used a glue stick to just glue them in.

And presto.  My very own lined envelopes...in just the colors I needed.

Stamp it with Style

  

As you may have picked up in my passing comments I'm working on a couple of different weddings right now and as such, I've been scouring the internet for ideas & inspiration.  My new favorite thing?  Stamps.  In case you haven't heard, I love a cute envelope.  And just as I was noodling over stamps...I got this little gem in the mail.  I knew I was friends with her for good reason.  Look at her stamp!

 

go to stamp.com to check out how you can have your picture on a stamp too.

And while I love the pictures, I might love the vintage stamps even more.  sigh.  I love the stacking & coordinating of colors & themes... 

 

 

 

What's not to love right?  Doesn't it make you want to open up that envelope & devour whatever is inside?  Yeah.  Me too.  My only thought was where the heck do you get vintage stamps that you can still use?  Don't people buy stamps to mail something...so aren't they already used?  Guess not.  Check out this etsy store & start salivating over all the options!  I mean...who knew?  Just think...vintage Christmas stamps!  It makes me a little giddy.  I just have to convince husband that that is a very reasonable use of funds!  yeah right.

And while I am not sure vintage stamps are going to make the cut for these weddings...here is another idea from envelopements...one of my favorite wedding paper suppliers. 

 

Check out all their themed stamps...so much better than that forever bell from the post office.

Sources: 

Oh So Beautiful Paper

I-do-it-yourself.com

Making an Impression.

Over the course of the last few years doing invite after invite, announcement after announcement I've formed a few opinions {okay a lot} & some tricks too.

My first thought is that if you are going to take the time to mail invitations or announcements {instead of the ever popular evite} then spend just a little time on the envelope.  It is the first impression of your event!  Receiving something in the mail {that is not a bill} is akin to receiving a gift.  And as Martha always says, presentation is 50%.  So take the time to package it beautifully.  Trust me.  It will be much appreciated on the receiving end.  And your event will probably be well attended as guests begin to get excited with just the invite.

So beginning with the return address...nowadays you can find a million different stamps that are made just for you, with your name, your address & best of all cute.  I invested in one a couple years ago & it saves my life every Christmas.  And now...I want a new one!

I found this one on etsy & love the typeset of it. 

 

go here for more like this

If you didn't want to buy the stamp, this is something you could create with basic Word skills & print on the front side of the envelope.

Another thing I love is when the return address matches the design of the invite.  It makes the package cohesive & gives the receiver a taste of what is inside.  Here are a few, that I had professionally printed, but again could be adapted & made on your own.

This last one, was a postcard for the RSVP, but you can see how it could easily find its way to the top left corner of an envelope.

A few more to get your noodles going...

 

This is another stamp & I can't find the source!  I found it using Pinterest.

 

Love the placement of this return address!

go here to see more

 

Another stamp...here.

The font on the last one is Black Jack Regular.  It is a great font & again, you can adapt it & print it from your own computer...but after doing that for one event, you'll quickly realize how handy that stamp becomes!