Hi Everyone! I am really excited to be blogging about my wedding journey. My fiancée and I got engaged back in December 2011 and our wedding date is set for August 17, 2013. I know it’s quite a ways away, but it’s never too early to start thinking about ideas. Additionally, my cousin Maureen is getting married in October of this year and I am one of her FOUR maids of honor!
I intend to share all the ideas from her wedding planning and my own, along with the other weddings I'll be attending in between. One thing you should definitely know is that I have "champagne taste" with a "beer budget" so I’m ALWAYS looking for the DIY route! I'm hoping that this will help some of you brides out there!
So let’s get this journey started shall we? Before we even delve into engagement invitations, save-the-dates, and wedding invitations, let’s talk about the oft-forgotten element: The envelope... I’ve seen many different types... Everything from box construction to woven-straw. The cost depends on the type of material and it can get pricey.
I've found that the way you actually dress an envelope is with the font, calligraphy, or handwriting you put on it and I’m going to guess this is the last thing that everyone thinks about! This design can make it anything from casual to formal, traditional to whimsical and there are endless possibilities. One new thing that I have been noticing on invitations is the style of the return address. You can pick out a really nice font on the computer and create a beautiful label, or you can have labels made with a cute icon on the side.
Here are a few examples (BTW you can easily type in rubber stamp wedding return address in Google and get so many vendors for these types of things):
Custom labels can be found on Zazzle.com and Etsy.com
One unique thing I have seen (and have actually had a hand in creating) is a stamp. You can have your return address written in whatever handwriting you like, or even typed out, and then have that turned into a stamp. With that, you can choose what color ink you want to use and where you want to place it (either in the upper left hand corner or the back of the envelope). Etsy.com and Zazzle.com have some of my favorite designs.
Examples of some custom stamps
Now, I’m all for supporting the artists that create these wonderful products, but sometimes it’s just something that doesn’t fit in your budget. And printing fonts off a computer can get generic. So another suggestion for accomplishing this is to write out how you want it to look, or ask someone you know with really nice handwriting. You can have the stamp made from this writing. Staples can do this for you, and so can rubberstamps.com. Personally designing the return address can cut the cost of the stamp in half and makes it one of a kind!
Experiment, try it out, look up other designs to get ideas for your own return address stamp. In the end, you’ll have a nice piece of art you can use over and over again…remember, you’ll be sending out invitations of all sorts, thank you cards, Christmas cards, baby announcements…the list goes on. This is something that you will be able to use over and over again, at least until you move!
