Bridal Guilt

So I saw a fabulous post on Weddingbee that I felt like I must share with you. If you are planning your upcoming nuptials, you may be wrestling with many of the below right now:


1. I feel guilty that my parents are paying for the majority of our wedding and are just so freaking nice about it. Never once have they made me feel guilty about it…and so, I feel guilty about it.
2. I feel guilty that I let myself get stressed about wedding-related minutia. 99% of my concerns are petty, first-world problems.
3. I feel guilty that bridesmaids are supposed to pay for dresses, presents for shower / wedding, bachelorette stuff, etc. I should pay THEM- a lot- for keeping me sane(ish) since my pre-teens.
4. I feel guilty that my fiance is like, seriously, the sweetest man on the planet, and I am just a biotch sometimes.
5. I feel guilty that we decided to have the wedding in (X)-city because it’s more convenient for us.
6. I feel guilty interviewing multiple vendors and having to reject all but one.
7. I feel guilty about getting legally married, period, because it’s not fair that we can and others can’t.
8. I feel guilty that my wedding dress was expensive, yet I’m still considering a reception dress.
9. I feel guilty that I’m only inviting family and close friends.
10. I feel guilty that the parking around our church is not great.
.
You may feel like a total headcase right now, but please know that you are not alone. What are you feeling guilty about right now?

Cute office stuff: Heart Hole Punch

How cute is the Heart Hole Punch. Perfect for planning ahead for Valentine's Day. Plus, you'll end up with heart shaped confetti when you are done that you can sprinkle around the copier.  Snag one to adorn your desk here. 

Techno: My Wedding DJ App

I wish this app had been available when I got married. We had an iTunes wedding. Yes, there are lots of nay-sayers out there, but it CAN be done. I think the biggest objectives are that you don't have someone to make announcements and if things run long or if events need to change you are all messed up. Well, don't let them scare you, you can be a DIY DJ and this app can help perfectly.

The My Wedding DJ App can be downloaded onto your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. There are 2 modes to it:  Music Plan and Player. Add, edit, and arrange music for your special day using the template categories or create your own. I have a feeling this app could be used for a lot more than weddings as well.

There are many features built into this app that will help you address timing issues, so that your wedding music doesn't run away from you (starting the Bouquet Toss while you are still in the buffet line). And it can be easily interrupted, repeated, put in requests, waits, etc.

Like I started off saying, I know you can pull this off with a little preplanning. I rented some speakers and and mic and hooked it all up to my laptop. Then, we had 2 musically-inclined friends watch over everything and make the announcements for us. 

The My WeddingDJ App is available thru iTunes for $4.99. You can also find out more info here. 

Nice Package: Pi'lo's reusable favor containers

How cure are these eco-friendly gift holders from Pi'lo?

It's that time again!

(source)

It's December 20, that means that I have taken off my "Christmas Card Season" hat and I'm putting on my "Wedding Season" hat. While we are busy with wedding orders year round, the concentration of them come in between December thru June. So much so, that we have to plan vacations, events & pregnancies around wedding season to be able to focus all of our energy to production. But, all we can say is that 

WE LOVE WHAT WE DO!

Cute Shoes!

Must have these shoes. Talk about a fabulous DIY project!

Shoestring Wedding

So we attended a wedding this weekend that we would classify as a "no frills" wedding. Two college kids just very much in love and ready to get married. They had a very shoestring budget, and you know what? It was just beautiful.

Truly, all you need is just 2 people and that piece of paper and you are married. Cassie and Tracy spent their money wisely and had a lovely wedding. There were some things that they obviously splurged on that were important to them, but cut the non-important things.

At the ceremony, there were no programs, aisle runner, pew bows, flowers, or rice, bubbles, etc. However, they chose to get married in a beautiful old church that had a lovely vaulted wooden ceiling.  There were no hired photographers or videographers. But there were 3 family members stationed at specific areas of the church to catch all of the action.

The reception venue that they chose came with tulle and twinkle lights already strung across the high ceiling. The tables also came with white table clothes. So they added table runners and tall vases filled with splitpeas and tall flowers. No favors, no place cards, no menu cards. However, They had some wonderfully delicious food that left us all stuffed. We also enjoyed the open bar as we danced the night away.

So, to sum up, even though I am in the wedding business and this goes against what I do: Make sure you know what is important to you and your guests and put your money there. The rest is just fluff.

We Were Featured: Silver & Square

CoyPhoto featured our Silver Plumes wedding invitation set on this great treasury.

Cute Cake

How cute is this cake ? So lovely. | via Martha

Decorate your Door

This gorgeous cornflower yarn wreath from Itz Fitz would serve as an inviting welcome to any guests who might come a knocking.  What a sweetly wonderful way to end summer.

What We're Working On: Meghan and Michael's Wedding Invitations

Meghan created her own unique design by taking elements from several different wedding invitation designs that we offer and coming up with this fabulous piece. The colors and the orange palm tree make us think heat wave. We are in love with this invitation in our shop right now.

Cake Bling

For the bride and groom that are just itching to make their escape to this honeymoon to start their "Happily ever after" this wedding cake topper would be perfect. This week only thru Friday, September 3, 2010, take $5 off the price of this cake topper.

Drive off into the sunset, or in this case your wedding cake, with this fun, novelty cake topper. Little tin cans decorate the car in "Just Married" style. Hand painted procelain.

Presently the Bride and Groom Cake Toppers are available with skin tones and hair colors only as shown.

Size: 3 1/4" Tall

What We're Working On: Ashley and Rick's Wedding Invitations

Ashley chose our Eat, Drink & Be Married invitation design. These are definitely invitations with attitude! Bright white stock on sparkly rouge backer and envelopes.

Cake Bling

This is by far one of our most popular cake toppers! It is so comically cute. It could be used for the wedding cake or on a shower or groom's cake. Note that this set is available in Caucasian and Non-Caucasian versions & can be mixed between the bride and groom. It can be your's this week for $5 OFF the regular price just by ordering thru us now thru August 27, 2010.

This takes the saying "Gone Fishing" to a whole new level. Fun and playful, this cake top can be used with equally playful tied bundles of tiered cookies or currently popular cup cakes . Hand painted porcelain.

We Were Featured: Red & Yellow

Red & Yellow Catch A Fellow (Or A Crafter)


Our Coral Reef invitation was featured in this lovely treasury by Plaidplay.

Cake Bling

This so romantic cake topper is $5 off now thru August 20, 2010 when ordered thru us. Just contact us to order or let us know if there is another style you are looking for.

A romantic walk on a beach or  a casual backyard wedding... this relaxed cake topper is a simple, fresh approach to the traditional wedding couple. Hand painted porcelain Presently the Bride and Groom Cake Toppers are available with skin tones and hair colors only as shown. Size: 5" H

Pretty Pinwheels

A fabulous wedding decor idea popping up is using pinwheels to line the aisle. We think this idea is just so cute for an outdoor wedding. Our absolute favorite Pinwheel designer is Twirlie Whirlies. She has the most stunning designs!

Cake Bling

Did you know we sell cake toppers as well? We'll be posting some of our favorites. Just contact us to order. This week's feature cake topper is $5 off when ordered now thru August 14, 2010.

Romantic Bride and Groom Couple Lounging on the Beach Wedding Cake Topper

Complement your romantic beach setting with a beautifully crafted and equally enchanting cake topper. Exquisitely detailed down to the heart drawn in the sand with her delicate finger. Hand painted porcelain. Presently the Bride and Groom Cake Toppers are available with skin tones and hair colors only as shown. Size: 5" X 3 1/2" X 3 1/8"H

Pretty Boutonnieres

While  browsing thru Etsy, I found some great not-so-traditional boutonnieres that I just had to share with you today.

Where to find them:
1) pompandplumage  2) hairbowswonderworld  3) littleyellowbirdie   4) TheBlossomShop
5) frittsrosenow 6) PeacockPixys 7) PixelandHank  8) iDoWeddingWares
9) rule42 10) magartspartycrafts  11) SurroundingsOnline  12) mosey

Alphabet Soup: C is for...

Okay, it's been awhile since I've done Alphabet Soup, so it's time for the letter C. Submissions to be featured come from the comments that you leave at the bottom of this post.

So remember, if you want to join in the fun, please make a comment below. If you would like to submit an item for our next letter, D, please leave a link in your comment. Have a great week!

FALL CRAFTING CONTEST

We are so pleased to announce our Fall Crafting Contest. The Supply Kit's are available here.

Deadline for ording the kits are August 31. However, the kits are limited, so they will likely run out before then. So order early! Deadline  for photos of your submission is September 20. 

Complete Rules:
If you'd like to test your scrapbooking, stamping, paper crafting skills, this is the challenge to do it.

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AND FOR THE WINNER:
1.) The winner will have their photo of their submission and link to their etsy shop promoted throughout our site. The winner will also be featured on our facebook fan page and on a post in our blog.
2.) $15.00 CASH deposited to their PayPal account.

All contest entries will have their entry photos displayed in a contest photo album on our facebook page.

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RULES:

For the contest you will purchase this listing (small costs to cover handling fees and supply cost) and receive the following supplies...

- 1 Chocolate Brown Favor Box
- 3 Shimmery Cardstocks in Wicked, Tangelo, & Bronze
- 3 Strips of Halloween Themed printed cardstock
- 1 foot of lace, ribbon or twine
- 3 embellishments
- Batfetti!

(embellishments, printed papers and trim will vary between each kit to provide variety to the entries.)

You will need to use a minimum of ONE of the shimmery cardstocks and the favor box. Everything else is extra and you may chose to use them or use your own supplies. You may make your trinket box to be fall themesd, halloween themed, as a party favor, to hold a spooky gift, or anything else you can dream up.

Provided in your kit will be a copy of the instructions to submit photos of your submission.

I will accept votes via facebook and through the Etsy Community but ultimately I'll make the final decision using factors such as, final photo quality, originality, and overall design appearance.

Custom Fingergprint Cutting

Lori Danelle uses her paper cutting prowess to create custom designs from your own fingerprints. Holy detail, Batman. {via Design Crush}

Wood Tree Swing

How perfectly sweet would this be as to incorporate into an outdoor wedding or as a gift for a couple for their new home? Available from ReidcraftShop 's Etsy shop.

Inviting the Queen

So yesterday, I wrote about how to invite the President to your event and get a signed greeting. But what about inviting the Queen of England? Follow all of the same steps as described in yesterday's post but instead write to this address:

The Secretary to Her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth II of England
Buckingham Palace
London, England
SW1A 1AA

Invitation Tip: Never send a wedding invitation to the Queen directly (only to a secretary). Non-British citizens will not receive a response.

White House Greetings

Did you know that The White House will send greeting cards signed by the President of the United States to commemorate special events, accomplishments or milestones free of charge to U.S. citizens? We always tell our brides to send an extra invitation to The White House to get one of these special greeting cards in honor of their wedding day. However, The White House sends out greeting for lots of special occasions. To request a greeting card from the President, just follow these guidelines from the White House Greetings Office:

U.S. CITIZENS ONLY. The White House will send greetings to United States citizens only, for special occasions as outlined below.

ADVANCE NOTICE REQUIRED. Your request should be received at least six (6) weeks in advance of the event date. (Greetings are generally not sent after the event date, except for wedding congratulations and newborn acknowledgments.)
ANNIVERSARY GREETINGS. Anniversary greetings will be sent to couples who are celebrating a 50th, 60th, 70th or later wedding anniversary.
BIRTHDAY GREETINGS. Birthday greetings will be sent only to people turning 80 or older or veterans turning 70 or older.
OTHER GREETINGS. A limited number of special occasions other than birthdays and anniversaries exist for which the Greetings Office will send appropriate recognition to United States citizens. These occasions include important life events such as:

• Wedding (send your request after the event)
• Baby's birth or adoption of a child
• Retirement after at least 30 years on the same job
• Eagle Scout Award
• Girl Scout Gold Award
• Bar/Bat Mitzvah or equivalent religious occasion

REQUIRED INFORMATION. Please include the following in your reqeust:

• name and home address of honoree(s)
• form of address (Mr., Ms., Mrs., Dr., Miss, etc.)
• exact date of occasion (month, day, year)
• age (birthdays) or number of years of marriage
• your (the requestor's) name and daytime phone number
• any specific mailing instructions if other than to honoree's address
• Wedding (Include couple's married names and current or new address)

The way that we tell our brides to address their wedding invitation is such:

The Honorable & Mrs. Barack Obama
The White House, Greetings Office
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500

What We're Working On: Jodi & Jasper's Thank You Notes

Yesterday, we should you Jodi & Jasper's Wedding Invitations. Today, we wanted to share their matching thank you notes.

What We're Working On: Jodi & Jasper's Wedding Invitations

This is a simplified version of our Coral Reef wedding invitation design, where we took off the pocketfold to make a flat, layered invitation using Classic Ecru, Pout, and the Regalia pattern. We also did matching Thank You notes which we will show off to you tomorrow.

What We're Working On: Diana & Bryan's Wedding Invitations

Diana chose our lovely Whispering Flowers invitation design. We used Ecru Micah for the Booklet Pocketfold, Indigo for the backer and envelopes, and Classic Ecru for the inserts and invitation. Diana chose our DIY option where we print & cut the pieces to size and she was able to assemble them herself. We offer a discount off the price if you choose to assemble them yourself.

DIY: Balsa Wood Place Cards

This place cards would be a gorgeous addition to any outdoor or floral & nature themed wedding. Full instructions for you DIY brides via peach mailbox.

What We're Working On: Ragon & Steven's Thank You Notes

We are currently in production for Ragon & Steven's Wedding Invitations, but we shipped out their Thank you notes early to them so that they can use them for shower presents.  TIP: We always recommend that instead of actually saying "thank you" on the front you use your names or monogram or images instead, that way they can be used for other correspondence as well.