I also had to post a few other pics of the lovely couple – the roses and the balloons – these little touches just work so well. Fantastic photography by Adrienne Gunde check out her blog for the rest of this shoot.

I found these pics via Green Wedding Shoes one of my favourite wedding blogs (its well worth a read if you don’t know about it already).

As soon as we got engaged I knew I would want to make all of our stationery myself. I started thinking about ideas almost straight away but as I was in the middle of my professional exams to become an Architect, I didn’t start making them until my exams were over and I had passed, which was in March this year, almost a year before the big day.

However, this didn’t stop me collecting everything I needed to make the Save the Date cards. Having looked at hundreds of ideas in magazines, on blogs and wedding websites, I knew I wanted to incorporate different layers, purple card, vellum paper, ribbon and some stamping! I decided against magnets or folded cards early on and went for a small credit card sized card which I thought would be the most simple! 

I actually bought the ribbon in Kate’s Paperie in New York, the day after we got engaged. Luckily my aunt and uncle went to New York in May this year and they were able to get me more ribbon to use on the invites! Although I couldn’t get any more of the purple card, I managed to find a company who had almost the same colour to use for the invitations.

You can find a full list of the items we used and where we got them on my blog – OurDaybyDesign

Although I really enjoyed making the save the date cards, they were so time consuming! They were only A7 size cards but this actually caused a few problems when I was trying to print onto the white paper. They kept getting stuck in the printer which was so frustrating! Of course, when it worked well it was fine! Since I wanted to use the purple card as a backing but also wanted to incorporate vellum, I ended up with the 3 layer design. I couldn’t stick the paper and card together until I had stamped the paper and let it dry which added to the time it took.

However, the most time consuming part was punching the slots to put the ribbon through which also secured the vellum layer! I hadn’t considered the thickness of the card and when the paper was stuck down it made it even harder to punch. The making memories slot punching tool I used was great but I think I expected to be able to use it really quickly like a hole punch when in reality I had to use a lot of pressure. So much so that I actually broke the first slot punching tool attachment and had to buy another full set!

So although I knew I would want the wedding invites to follow the same theme, straight away there was no chance of ribbon slot punching being incorporated again! I am using the purple card in pocketfolds for the day invites and gatefold cards for the evening invites. The original paper I used has a sparkling iridescent quality which I definitely wanted to use again, especially since the purple card and the grey backing card I added are flat matt colours. I also managed to find a different larger stamp which has the same sort of motif, as I thought the original one was too small for the invitations. I am using the same colour of ink again so that it looks the same.

Then of course, the ribbons will also be used, again at the left side of the invite so I can continue with the text on the right. I decided not to use a vellum overlay on the invites but instead started thinking about other ways to incorporate transparent paper. I considered going for a bellyband made of vellum but went off that idea when I started thinking about how I would close it neatly and the size required since the previous vellum used only came in A4 sheets! I decided to use grey ribbon for the bellyband to contrast with the purple card which works a lot better and is great since I do love ribbon! So in the end I have decided to go with vellum envelopes as that way the gorgeous purple card and grey ribbon can be seen as soon as they arrive through our guest’s letterboxes!

Despite them taking much longer than anticipated, all of the guests really liked them and thought they looked great which makes it all worthwhile! I hope they say the same about the wedding invites, which you can see a sneak peek of them below! I planned to get all of the printing, stamping, backing cards & ribbon put on the day invites before I go on holiday on Saturday but I don’t think that’s going to happen. I have done 36, with another 12 at least printed which only leaves another 10 to do. However, we still have plenty time as we are not planning to send them out until January. Looks like I will be busy over Christmas!

If you didn’t get a chance to read my previous post click to read on ‘the wedding preparations of a bride to be’ or check out some of the other posts on wedding stationery on Little Miss Wedding.

Polka Dot Brown Invites

The competition is for a lucky couple to win 50 personalised engagement invites and also a session with Myriad Genii to ‘kickstart your wedding plans’ a prize worth over £350. With weddings being so expensive its well worth an entry.

The engagement invites are designed by flutteryby-designs – I’ve had a look at their site and they do really cute invites, save the dates, menus etc – I love the ‘dotty’ ones with the polka dot design which you can have in whatever colour you choose. You can enter the competition here on the Myriad Genii site – good luck… oh and let me know if you win!

Start and Finish Stationery

Save the Date Stationery

I think that this design lends itself perfectly to Save the Date cards– so if you are looking for the DIY (and budget) option then download these, get creative and start letting your friends know to Save the Date.  I found these on the Love Obsess Inspire blog, which I have to say has lots of beautiful arty/ design stuff. Just click on this link to download the ‘awesome edible invite’ which is a PDF with all the instructions.

Julie also designs customized wedding invites, save the dates, reply cards etc from $25  which you can view through her online shop, UpuponEtsy

You can choose from a number of different wedding designs/themes and then personalize them with your choice of colour, font, copy etc. They are quite simple but I like that.  Julie then sends a high res copy back to you – you then print them or send to a printers.  Either way this is a fantastic value, stylish choice for wedding invites and stationery. Since its all done online and via email its perfect for us even though we’re based in the UK (and she is in New York). I really like the fact that theses are unique and fun but certainly won’t break the bank.

Wedding invitations

If you use this free stationery or any of Julie’s lovely designs please do send me some photos and let me know how it all works out…..

Lovely Favours is boutique design company that specialises in unusual and unique stationery, favours and table decorations – they say that everything is made to order, personalised to your taste and that ‘anything is possible’. I’m addicted already – their site is hive of amazing little finds and you can’t help but search for hours – in fact I think I am going to pay them a visit to their workshop and have an even better look!

Always on the lookout for good little finds like this – let me know if you have found any couture design companies that offer similar products

Lovely’s sister happens to be a bit of a design guru and knocked up this simple design for us which we just got made into a postcard and sent everyone – it was so easy as no need to worry about writing too much, all it needed was the address (you could even email it to save on postage and printing). We set up a joint email address and just asked everyone we invited to email us a quick yes or no to let us know they could come – quick and easy for everyone and much greener than getting RSVP’s by post.

Having a Save the Date means you can work out numbers and get a pretty good idea of who is going to make it on the day (we had hardly anyone change their mind!), without having to worry about the invites so far in advance. Its pretty simple to get someone to knock up something like this (ask them for a jpeg), then just send it to a printers and before you know it you will get something back that is totally unique and means something to you as a couple . I think in total ours cost us £80 or so at the printers and that was for over 200 – so it really is good value.
If you worried about who you can ask for help, don’t! It is that simple that many people will have the skills – I’m sure the nice boy in the design department at work, the agency that you use, or a friend of a friend will be able to put together something, if you promise to give them a nice bottle of wine in return. Don’t forget people love being involved and helping out when it comes to a wedding – I say the more the merrier!

Have you received any unusual invites or save the dates – do you think its a nice touch to bother with Save the Dates or just unnecessary hassle?