August 15, 2008To Invite With A FrangipaniA frangipani on an invitation signals a bright, summer wedding. Using the bold pink and white or pretty shades of pinks, it’s a sign that summer celebrating is on the menu! Here’s some of the best Australian offerings
The Invitation Company Frangipani Collection
Alannah Rose Forever Frangipani
Invitation House Frangipani Delight
Poppiseed Design Summer Blossom
IDove Design Yellow Frangipani
August 8, 2008ABC Of Weddings: S Is For Stationery
Sweet brides can often swoon over shoes, shirts and take extra care with skin care for their sepia snapshots and take stress relief while choosing their stationery. ~ An invitation is said to be the first signal of the atmosphere of your wedding. There are many different elements that can make up a wedding stationery suite. What to use for your own wedding is entirely up to you, with the only absolutely necessary items being the wedding invitation and thankyou card. But there are so many more pieces that can add a special touch or make things a little easier on guests. Here’s a guide to picking your stationery: Engagement Invitations/Announcement
Mayfair Engagement Invitation by Poppiseed Designs An engagement is worthy of a celebration! Invitations to an engagement celebration can be as formal or as casual as you’d like. This is the start to the world of wedding stationery! Save The Dates
Hitched Save The Date Card by Minted Save the dates are a great way of letting guests know your wedding day well in advance to allow them to save for plane fares, book hotels and make arrangements for children and pets. Save the dates are especially important if you are marrying on a holiday weekend, inviting a lot of out of state or international guests or choosing a weekend (such as a Grand Prix or a festival) where your wedding will be competing with other events (and thus guests will be competing with hotel bookings!) Pre Wedding Celebration Invitations
Grater Kitchen Tea Invitation by Effi Georgia Although showers, kitchen teas, hen’s parties and buck’s parties are often thrown by the bridal party or close loved ones. The invitations are an important part. They’re also a lot of fun! Wedding Invitation
Deveril Invitation by Bella Figura Options for colours and styles of your wedding invitations are only limited by your imagination (and budget!) It is often the custom for the invitation itself to be placed inside an inner envelope which is then placed in an outer envelope. The inner envelope is printed with the names of the guests invited to the wedding. The outer envelope has the name and address written on it, and protects the inner envelope from being soiled. This is very traditional, and for modern couples, a single envelope is appropriate. Wedding invitations are sent out 4-6 weeks before the wedding. Reception Cards Autumn Leaves Reception Card by Wedding Paper Divas In very formal circumstances, the reception details may be placed on a separate card to the wedding invitation. This may also be used if the recpetion is at a different location and there is not enough room to place the information on your invitation. RSVP /Response Card Catherine & John’s Suite by Ceci New York The RSVP or response card is a newer part of the wedding stationery suite (previously guests would use their own stationery to respond) However nowadays it is considered helpful to guests to provide a card for them to indicate whether or not they will be attending. The card can be blank and simply titled RSVP or can provide check boxes for attendance, number of guests attending and menu choices. You may even choose to provide a stamped, addressed envelope to make it even easier on guests. Maps
Map from Paper Impressions If the locations of your wedding are difficult to find, or you have a lot of guests unfamiliar with the area, a map isn a great way to help your guests find their way. Programs/Order of Service
Damask Order Of Service Cover by Pretty Inviting These can be as brief or extensive as you’d like. You may include names of members of the bridal party, readings, hymns, directions to the reception venue – as much information, or as plain and simple as you’d like! Escort/Seating Cards
Ornate Band White Place Card: Bamboo by Wedding Paper Divas Escort cards are much more common in the USA than they are in Australia. Normally displayed during cocktail hour or at the entrance to the reception, each guest’s name is put in alphabetical order (traditionally on a small envelope, though you can be much more creative!). Inside the envelope, or on the card, is the guest’s table number. Escort cards are used to guide the guest to their table. Escort cards are a great way to have fun with your wedding theme- there’s a lot of room to be creative! Seating Chart
Love Light Seating Chart from Alannah Rose Stationery An alternative to escort cards, the seating chart allows guests to find their names and their table assignment at a quick glance. Seating charts are often displayed at the entrance to the dining room of the reception on easels or hung on the wall in frames. Place Cards
My Love Place card by Poppies For Grace Designed to guide the guest to their seat once they are at the table, the place card sits above the plate (or if you’re a little more creative, on the plate, on the chair or beside the plate) and uses the guest’s name. If you have guests with the same name, using their surname will be helpful. Favour Tags
Moon and Star Box by Gravity Design Studio Often accompanying your gift to guests, the favour tag can match the rest of your stationery. It may include a personal message to the guests as a whole, or try a handwritten personal message to each guest for an extra special touch. Menus
Bronze Bead Menu by Cottongrass From a five course dinner to a simple service of chicken and lamb to guests seated adjacent to one another, it’s always nice for guests to get a full description of what you’re serving them! Let’s face it, by the time the food comes, guests are usually pretty hungry and it tantalises their taste buds! Table Numbers or Names
Table Numbers from Poppy Letterpress Used to advise guests of their table and can be as decorative or as plain as befits your scheme. Thankyou Cards
All That Glitters thank you card by Paper Marc A definite must, thank you cards can be printed in the same style as your other stationery. Etiquette dictates thank you letters should be sent within two weeks of receiving the gift. However honeymoons often throw this awry so two weeks from your return is suitable. Added to all of the above you may also have:
If you can afford it, hiring a calligrapher to address your envelopes and personalise invitations with your guests names will add a luxurious touch. There are also many different types of stationery available (including ‘Do it Yourself’ options if you have the time or are especially creative). Printed
Hollywood Nights by Alannah Rose Stationery Known as offset or flat printing, this form of printing can be done on a variety of cardstocks including plain and shimmer. Printing such as this allows you to be creative with your design as there are few limitations. You are also able to easily add embellishments such as ribbon later. Letterpress
Lovebirds by Artisan Press Letterpress stationery is beautiful and there is something luxurious about running your fingers over the inked text that is pressed into the paper. It can be expensive due to the printer having to set up a new ‘plate’ for each design. Thus personalisation of guests’ names is often not feasible. Engraved
Harvest by Louella Press Engraved invitations are created using an engraved plate or die onto which paper is pressed. This creates a raised effect and requires thick cardstock. A costly option, it nevertheless creates a very special hint of the style and ‘quality’ of the wedding. Themography achieves a similar effect and can be cheaper. Specialised (personalised) invitations
Invitation by Angels Dreaming Some companies use other materials as well as paper, such as silk flowers, beading, fabric and ribbon to create invitations. Do it Yourself Depending on your skill level and the amount of time you have available there are many paper stores who will be able to provide you with the materials to create your own invitations. This can be an arduous task and may not always work out to be cheaper. To obtain a professional feel you may have to buy specialised cutting implements, embellishments and expensive paper. But it can be lots of fun and will really reflect a personal element. You can be really creative with your wedding invitations. Some unique ideas include
August 5, 2008Bella FiguraIf you read wedding blogs from around the world, chances are you’ve heard of Bella Figura. I’ve spent many hours on their site perusing through their different designs- from botanical to modern to vintage look and classic. The designers really spend their time creating gorgeous stationery for your wedding.
A US based company, they began in 2002 and have been creating gorgeous letterpress creations ever since. They’ve just had a few fabulous wedding bloggers such as Vane from Brooklyn Bride, Kathryn from Snippet & Ink and Abby from Style Me Pretty curate their own favourite invitation sets. Check them out here
The other really great thing is that Bella Figura are committed to helping the environment. They donate 1% of their sales to environmental causes. (The sample packs curated by the wedding bloggers will have 100% donated). They take part in community events, are 100% wind powered, carbon neutral, use recycled materials, support public transport, use 100% cotton paper for all their invitations and the list goes on! You can read more about the way they’re making their business eco friendly here. Bella Figura have a number of special offers too! Mention the ‘Plant 50 Trees’ promotion, make a donation to plant 50 trees and you will receive 15% off your Bella Figura order (through August 31st, 2008). Read more here A Free upgrade to a larger invitation size (F-8 or 7.25” square) throughout 2008 (through December 31, 2008). Read more here
The girls at Bella Figura have let me know they love working with Australians and that they will ship to Australia! Shipping on sample packs is US$30 for a 6-10 day service, US$65 for a 1-3 day service and if you choose to design your invitations with them shipping for invitations is US$130 July 25, 2008Poppies For Grace Launches Wedding Site
Australian stationery designers Poppies For Grace have just launched their wedding stationery website. Poppies For Grace provided the invitations for Erica (Girl With A Satchel) and James’ wedding which I featured earlier this year (click here to check it out). Already creating gorgeous stationery such as gift tags, bookplates and even sweet bird paper mobiles. The girls have designed an online store just for wedding stationery! Available in six designs (Babe, Honey, Sweetheart, Suga, My Darling and My Love) couples can mix and match the ranges. All of which are eco friendly using recycled paper and vegetable inks.
Sample packs are available and the Poppies For Grace girls can also custom design other items for your wedding day such as seating charts and maps. The invitations have a beautiful eclectic, homemade feel to them and would be perfect for couple who likes a cosy but stylish look. July 23, 2008A Map Of Your WeddingThere’s always guests at a wedding who don’t know where they’re going and could use a little help. Wedding Mapper creates custom wedding maps- even for Aussies! It’s a little nicer to give guests than a blocky computer printout and it can also include other points of interest in a fun way. This is my little mock wedding map. Let’s pretend Mr Polka Dot & I were getting married at St Paul’s Cathedral located in Melbourne city, our pretend wedding guests would then head to the Melbourne Aquarium for our ever so stylish reception. We recommend to guests that they stay at The Langham Hotel on Southbank. I can email the link to the guests or put it into my wedding website ( like the mockup above) I can input extra venues like the airport, the after party and restaurant recommendations with a note of explanation. Perhaps its a weekend wedding- in which case I can also provide points of interest such as Mr Polka Dot’s favourite museum or my favourite park. It’s easy to use (and setup!) and even the most computer illiterate guest will be able to find their way around. Guests are able to see the descriptions and photos I input and can also get directions from venue to venue. Wedding Mapper works from Google maps so allows guests to see the whole city and zoom in and out. There are also many tutorials on getting the map right for your invitations, or you can pay to have it artfully designed. The site isn’t just limited to helping guests out though. As the busy engaged couple you can plot your florist, wedding planner and even hairdresser on the map and seek directions, there is also a community to chat to other brides, though for Australians there isn’t much action happening. Wedding Mapper is completely free, though some extra features are available for a fee, it’s so easy to setup it’s worth a try! |
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