Going DIY with our invites was the only option on the table. But, I have to admit, I didn’t really DIY. I had others DIY for me.

I decided that those print-your-own invite kits, just weren’t my thing. They were boring and generic. Not to mention that my printer has since crapped out on me. It couldn’t handle a simple document let alone 100 pieces of card stock.

I gave my graphically inclined maid of honor, who is also my sister, a task to design our invitations and RSVP cards. I gave her a monogram I got for free from the Wedding Chicks, the color scheme and the wording. The rest was up to her.

When she was done and I printed out the file, I was so thrilled with it, I cried.

I sent the file off to FedEx Kinkos for a test print. I wanted to check up on their workmanship before giving them my money. A few hours later, I got a call from Adam who informed me that the test print before the test print had come out very blurry. Turned out, the file was set to 72 dpi. Oh…you mean that’s not high enough? Neither my sister or I knew that {See the tips below for more info}. She redid the invite and it was resent to FedEx.

Despite FedEx being slightly more expensive than Staples, I decided to give them my business based solely on the customer service that I received. It would have been really easy for Adam to print me out a card, have me drive down to the store and then charge me  $1.25 for the blurry print. Instead he worked with me. And, when I finally did the test print, he didn’t charge me for it.

My only problem was when I was stuffing the envelopes, I found two completely blank pieces of cardstock, which I’m assuming got stuck in the printer somehow. Since I was smart enough to order more than I needed, this wasn’t an issue. And I’m not bitchy enough to complain about it.  Since I still have Italian wedding announcements to get printed I might mention it just so they can be on the lookout for a potential problem, but there won’t be any ranting or raving from this customer.

And, without further ado, here are our wedding invitations.

I was recently having a conversation with a good friend about the wedding and she announced that she was bringing a mutual acquaintance as her date to the wedding.I was quite alarmed because we’re about 6 weeks away from sending the invitations out and she’s already picked a +1. It’s a problem because we have a tight budget and our venue has a maximum capacity of 150, which we’re at about 146. The person she’s planning to invite is someone I wouldn’t invite to the wedding–and it’s not someone she’s been dating, it’s a friend of hers that we both went to school with. I hope that when she gets the message when when we send the announcements. But with our budget and venue restrictions, I’m worried I’ll have to make it more clear. Not to mention I’m not sure I really want to have the “plus one” there anyway.

Any suggestions on how to make it clear to our guests that a plus one isn’t necessarily acceptable, and  how to let my friend down easy?

As I mentioned before, I really love the way our invitations turned out: elegant, yet unique.  When I sent them out this pas week, I was really excited to start hearing from people as they received them in the mail.  The first people who got theirs (because I sent this particular one out early) were my parents and their reaction was so positive that even my father got on the phone to comment about how great & unique they were (its pretty unlike him to notice these things)!  Now that they’ve all gone out, we’ve heard from so many people about how unique and ‘us’ our invites are – I’m even more pleased with them than I was before.  Mission accomplished!

…from the White House!!!  That’s right Buds and Blossoms, Periwinkle Dude and I received a special treat in the mail from Mr. Post Man.  Want to see what it was????  Why it’s…

… a congratulatory note from President and Mrs. Obama!

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Man, choosing invitations is hard work! So many types, styles and designs from which to choose. And so much lingo to learn…flat-print, letterpress, thermography, etc. etc. etc.  How do you find the right one? Good news…I’ve narrowed it down to 2 choices, one from Paper-source.com and another from blushpaperie.com:

Palm Invitation from paper-source.com

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Everybody knows that your save the dates or invitations set the tone for your wedding and is the first glimpse of your big day for your guests.  What I have started to notice is that the route you take for choosing these important “pieces of paper” really says a lot about your wedding planning style.  Are you the “Creative DIY” bride, the “I can take it on alone” bride or the  ”I need help” bride? I honestly haven’t figured out which one I am yet, but I think I might be a bit of each…ok, well maybe not so much the DIY bride, I knew from an early age (actually, kindergarten when I couldn’t color in the lines like everyone else) that I just didn’t have that gene. This is where I have come to my road block in the invitations search.

Do I rebel against that inner child and go DIY, do I spend hours searching the internet for something already made or do I go to a professional and have them create something for me.  Each has their pros and cons.

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Who’d of known there were so many types of invitations! It’s amazing the choices you have. Raised print, flat print, die-cut, deckle edge, vellum, parchment, z-fold, and accordion….my head is spinning! Although this is a great list of terms and descriptions, it’s still tough to know what looks best and what to choose.  Like eInvite.com says “Your wedding or party invitation and accessories set the tone for your special event firmly establishing your style and taste. It is the first official message about the event, which a guest will receive from you, so make it special.” Whew! That is a lot to live up to!

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I have mentioned this before, but as it turns out, my older sister is also engaged at the moment. Yes, things are hectic in our family with two weddings in 2010, but since I have so much time to spare in my planning, I’ve been lucky enough to be able to spend some QT working on events for my sister’s wedding.  Currently, we are putting together her shower in March. The shower will take place at a hotel in D.C. for high tea.

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So a friend recommended that I look into Jessica Klepac for invitations. Not only are these invitations amazing looking, but they are also very affordable!! Would you believe I’ll only be spending about $40 on my invitations? Granted, I only have a few to send out, I still thought this price was great. Here is a picture from her portfolio:

Is her work not fantastic? You can ask her to design something for you and she will ship them to you wherever you are. I contacted Jessica and she was great to talk to and very nice. I’m going to be using her for our save the dates and our invitations. I will definitely post pictures when those are available!

Its been a while since I posted “DIY Wedding Invites Pt.1: The Layout“. I have since gotten back all of my invite pieces from printing and have completed and mailed all of them. Here is my process to get to the final product!

My wedding invitation

While I was waiting for everything to be printed, I made sure I had the final supplies to complete the invites so when I did get them back I could get to work right away. I still needed:

- Permanent adhesive roller
- Refills
- Faux sealing wax
- Wax seal
- Postage stamps

I decided to assemble them bit-by-bit so I wouldn’t be overwhelmed trying to complete them all at once.

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