The Wedding Invites

Choosing the style and look of our wedding invitations was one of the biggest and hardest decisions I made... seriously! I knew that these (along with the save the dates), would give our guests a first look at what to expect on our big day. I wanted them to perfectly reflect us and what we wanted from our Wedding, and I wanted them to be a little different, in both look and wording. I scoured Pinterest and blogs for weeks, and pinned all kinds of designs that varied in colours and style. Finally, I stumbled across these beautiful invites...

{via Tied Bow Inspiration}

I had finally found what I was looking for! It was the perfection inspiration to set me in motion. I took some aspects from other invites I had seen and my Mom and I worked together to create the perfect invite.

As I mentioned yesterday, I really loved the idea of creating a monogram for us that we could carry into other parts of our Wedding. So after I had picked two fonts I loved, that worked well together, my Mom designed a logo for us and then went ahead and we created the invites.

We placed our new monogram at the top, and then alternated our two fonts for the invite. I removed a couple of lines from the original wording, and we made a few small tweaks here and there. In the end I was thrilled with how they looked. I was literally so excited I sent photos to all of my bridesmaids immediately, and even showed it off to a couple of girlfriends who popped by to visit during a visit to my parents in the spring. (The photos below are of the mock up we created. The final invites had darker ink and we used the same linen textured paper as the Save the Dates.)

The final touch was the lacey edge we added to the top and bottom of the invite. I used a Martha Stewart punch that I grabbed at Michael's, and it was well worth the money spent! We've used the punch for a few different things, and I am sure I will find more ways to use it the closer we get to the big day.

{Looking at me totally giving away our full names. I never thought that the day would come!}

Once I saw the wording, the design and the paper all come together I just fell head over heels. I knew we had created my perfect wedding invites and I couldn't stop staring at them and reading them over and over again. We even took the part about "An Evening of Merrymaking and Celebration" and incorporated it into the RSVP cards. 

What made me even happier is when we started to receive feedback from our guests after they received them. They seemed to love them just as much as I did! Some sent fun little notes on their cards, which made receiving them back even more fun (seriously, what's better than receiving all of those little envelopes in your mailbox?). 

How did you choose the style of your wedding invites? Did you design them yourself, or hire someone else to do the dirty work for you? 

Our Save the Dates

Save the Dates. So important (to me anyway) in the wedding planning. This was the first project I started designing after B proposed to me. I was so excited to create something that reflected us and our relationship.

Since we had been together so long and, I feel, had a lot to share I decided that a timeline save the date would be perfect. I had seen so many wonderful ideas that really inspired me. 

{1. Library Card Save the Dates} {2. Love Story Timeline Save the Date} {3. Timeline Save the Date}

I'm not very good with laying things out on computers, and I love doing things by hand so I decided I wanted to try and hand letter our timeline. I tried a few different designs (as inspired by number's 2 and 3 above) on plain white printer paper. They turned out okay (don't look too close, there were some mistakes on years in a few spots - oops), but I never really fell in love with either of them...

By the time I visited my Mom and we really got going on my stationery, I was feeling like maybe we wouldn't do a timeline. I was frustrated with what I had created and didn't feel inspired. I showed my Mom some of what I had done and she encouraged me to run with it. She told me it was really a true reflection of us and thought it would be perfect to share our love story. It was exactly what I needed to hear, and this is what I created...

Despite a few small things I am unhappy about in it (mainly the American Flag I drew), it was perfect for us. My Mom scanned it into the computer and laid it out, leaving room for a punch we wanted to do on the edge of it. 

On the reverse side we used a photo of the two of us from our family photos with Kim James last year (our beautiful engagement photos taken by Katie Thompson weren't done yet. We actually got them back a couple of days after we had finalized our Save the Dates). My Mom added in a monogram that we created, using the two fonts I picked for our Invites. We also included a link to our wedding website, so that our guests could start looking for information like accommodations and wedding activities.

For the paper I opted for an ivory colour, since our wedding will have a bit of a vintage feel. I'm really happy with how they turned out when they were all printed up... 

This close up of our monogram gives a better look at the texture we picked. It has a bit of a linen look to it, which I loved. I wanted some texture since everything else was a flat. The monogram is one of my favourite aspects, and we carried it over onto the invites and other stationery for the Wedding.

We bought a Martha Stewart lace edge punch that we used on a lot of our stationery. Another great detail that reflects what our special day will feel like. I love it, and I love that we can keep it and use it in the future. (I imagine little girl birthday invites will be adorned with this punch one day!)

Of course, it was also fun just to share a little bit more about us for those that didn't know! 

So there you have a peek at my DIY Timeline Save the Dates. We saved so much money by designing them ourselves, and we got a nice discount printing them at the shop by Mom works at (if you're in Durham Region and have something that needs printing or even designing, shoot me an email - I highly recommend my Mom's shop!). 

There are so many great Save the Dates out there - what did you do to share the news with your guests? Did you DIY your stationery, or have someone do them for you? I love hearing about other couple's wedding's and inspiration! 

Fancy Friday Love: Wedding Stationery

Welcome to my first "Fancy Friday Love" of wedding month! I'm pretty excited about this specialty series! Instead of sharing my favourites from the web and blog land (let's be real, there won't be much blog reading in the lead up to the wedding), I'm sharing some of my favourite finds for different aspects of a wedding (clearly all scheduled in advance). 

I'm kicking off today with some of my favourite finds for Wedding Stationery...

{Kraft & Coral Wedding Stationery on Oh So Beautiful Paper}

{How fun are these neon hand lettered invites, also featured on Oh So Beautiful Paper}

{Letterpress Invites from Chocolate Buttercream}

{black & white wedding invites via Matt Blum Photography}

{Gold Embossed Save the Dates from Oh So Beautiful Paper}

{Monochromatic Invites via Style Me Pretty}

Aren't they lovely? Which is your favourite? As you can imagine, with all of this gorgeousness floating around the web, I had a hard time picking what I wanted for our wedding. In the end, of course, I'm so in love with what we ended up choosing.

Halle's Birthday Invites & Pretty Bunting

The other week I shared a little peek at the process of creating Halle's 2nd Birthday invites over on Minted. With less than 20 days until our little girl is officially 2 (cue teary eyed Mama over here), I wanted to pop back in and share our final product that I am over the moon in love with!

They turned out just as cute as I had hoped. I love the colours, quality and the thickness of the paper is fantastic. I'm so glad I opted to put the matching backer on them as well! H may be just over 14 months in the photo I used, but I love it and thought it would be perfect for the card - don't you agree?

I also ordered one of the beautiful buntings that Minted offers in their Party Decor section. Since there wasn't a bunting that matched her invites perfectly, I opted for one that would match the colours I am using for her party. What I loved most about the buntings is that you can personalize them to say whatever you want, and you can choose how you want to use the design - alternate the different fonts, or use just one. I opted for the latter option, and went for purple since most of the other decor that I have purchased so far is pink. 

As far as my wording choice, I simply went with "HALLE IS TWO!". The bunting came with some string for putting the whole thing together. I can't wait to get it all set up for her big party later this month! Now it's time to start planning the party menu!

*I was given 15 printed invites, as well as the bunting, in exchange for this post (and my previous post). All opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

Birthday Planning - Creating Invites

As I mentioned the other week, Halle's birthday is really creeping up on us quickly. I'm in the process of planning and purchasing items, and at the top of my list is invites. Mailing out invites is one of my favourite things to do. Everyone loves receiving mail, and I find a mailed invite feels more personal and thoughtful. Of course, not everyone has time to DIY up some gorgeous invites for a party and this year, that is definitely me. Luckily, I was able to work with Minted to create some really gorgeous invites for our girl's second birthday, quick and conveniently.

It was seriously hard to pick just ONE design, but in the end I just couldn't resist the confection children's birthday party invite.

The whole process was as simple as filling in my personal info, the date and time, and changing it to read "SECOND BIRTHDAY". I also opted to change the colour of "SECOND BIRTHDAY" to red. Then, by clicking on the blank spot to the right, I was able to go in and select a photo of Halle that I loved and add it to the card. I'll wait to share the whole thing with you when I share her final invites...

The front is not the only part of the card that you can pretty up though. For an additional fee you can pick a pretty back to finish up your invites. I opted to add the colourful confetti dots to the back of the invites, and I must say - it looks pretty cute...

With my back selected I had a chance to look over all of my final decisions on one page. It's here that you are able to make any additional changes to your invite's, by making a request on the page that will go directly to the designer. I like this feature, since it really let's you personalize your products more than any other website! In the case of Halle's invite's I kept it simple and, of course, only requested to have the name changed to our sweet girl's.

It took about a day for a proof to come back to me for my approval, and once I virtually signed off on everything they went to print and were shipped off. I honestly loved the whole process of selecting and personalizing these invites and I can't wait to send them out to our family and friends! 

What I REALLY love about Minted is that they work with indie designers from all over the world, giving them a chance to make their beautiful work available and grow their careers. It feels pretty great to receive a little personal message from them after you place your order. 

So, Halle's invites are ready to go out, so I will wait to share the final design until I know they have all been received.

Have you worked with Minted before? How did you enjoy the whole process, and have you done anything more to personalize an order from them? I'd love to hear what you think?

*I was provided my invites and a birthday bunting in exchange for writing about Minted. All opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

Don't Forget Dad!

We're still busy getting things in order around here, but I just wanted to pop in and remind you that 15% off at Minted on all of your Father's Day cards and gifts ends tomorrow! So head on over, create something special for Dad and don't forget to use the promo code FTFDAD15 at checkout!

Celebrate Father's Day with Minted

Dad's - they're pretty great, aren't they? I feel pretty lucky that I not only have a great Father, but a wonderful Father-in-law, and B who is the most incredible Dad to our little girl. Just like every Dad, they each do so much and I have already started to think of how to show each of them our appreciation, and I wanted to share some ideas with you!

My favourite part about celebrating Dad's, is making them something personal. Last year B got a little album from Halle, that included a bunch of photos of the two of them and reasons why she loves him. So, when I got an email from Minted, asking me to share some of their wonderful Father's Day gift ideas, I jumped at the chance. Minted has tons of great options to gift your Dad this year, including Greeting Cards, Art Prints, Personalized Stationery, Journals and more. The best part is that you can personalize each and every one of them!

The lovely people at Minted were kind enough to let me create two of my own personal cards, and mailed them to me free of charge. I was very impressed with the quality of the cards. The paper used was the perfect weight, and the pictures printed so nicely. I really loved being able to make something a little special, and the whole process is really quick and easy! 

{1. Man Who Loved Me First, 2. Picture Perfect, 3. Happy Father's Day, 4. Father of the Year}

Looking for more than just a card? If Dad runs his own business, how about some personalized stationery, or some brand new business cards? The stationery in the top right definitely makes me think of my own Dad!

{1, hello, I'm a, 2. no job too small, 3. steelfish, 4. stay in touch}

Or maybe Dad would just appreciate one of their lovely Art Prints? They have an excellent selection to choose from, with something for every type of Dad!

{48 Cadillac Art Print}

{Four Generations Personalized Art Print}

{Pirate Captain Art Print}

What I love most about these fantastic Art Prints, is that for many of them you can choose the colours and size that you want, and you can also choose to have the frame included. 

So make sure that you don't forget about Dad this year! Do something special to remind him just how great you think he is! To make it even easier for you to make Father's Day more personal this year, First Time Fancy readers are going to get 15% off on all of your Father's Day gifts when you use the code FTFDAD15. The code is good June 4th, so make sure to order fast! Happy Shopping!

*While I did receive two cards in return for featuring these items from Minted, all opinions expressed are my own. I would never share products that I didn't really love. This post also contains affiliate links. 

Asking the Important Question

I'm finally ready to share my very first wedding related project! We're working with a rather small budget, so we'll be doing as much as we can ourselves so that we are able to spend the money in the areas that really matter - like food and venue. 

After B asked me to marry him, I spent some time really thinking about my big day and how I wanted it to happen. The more I thought about it, the more I knew I would need a solid, trustworthy group of girls to help me plan, prep and get ready for my big day. Choosing your bridal party is so much more important than I ever imagined, and since these girls are so important to me and my big day, I wanted to make sure that I asked them in a special way.

I started my research for different ideas immediately, and as I am sure you all know, Pinterest is just FULL of all kinds of really fantastic and creative ways to ask your bridesmaids to stand beside you...

{1. Rifle Paper Co. - Will You be My Bridesmaid?} {2. No proper source for these paper dolls - Please help me give credit where credit is due!} {3. Paper Nest by Lesa - Will You Be my Bridesmaid?} {4. Hey Gorgeous - The Blog - DIY Project: Will You be My Bridesmaid?}

Though each of the above ideas are beautiful and unique, I decided to take a little inspiration from each of them to create my own way of asking my girls to be a part of my big day.

I could've gone and done something big and elaborate like some of those awesome "care package" mailings some brides do, but as I mentioned, I'm on a budget, so I was working with what I had... and making something easy to slip in the mail. So, out came the paper, pencils, markers and paints and away I went, creating a little notecard by hand...

As I always do when creating hand lettering, I started out putting in all on paper with pencil. This way I can erase and re-do anything I don't like. I start with my original lines and when I am happy with the way everything looks, I add in the bolding.

I had so much fun doing that hand lettering, and then adding in the little flowers. I think my flowers could use a bit more work, but I was pleased with these ones. What really made these cards special though, were the notes I wrote inside.

Each girl had a special note written to them that included special memories I had of them, and the reasons why I could not imagine getting married without them standing right there alongside me. 

These four ladies are so important to me, and all for different reasons. I'm so thrilled to have each of them stand up with me on the day that I marry my best friend and the love of my life!

How did you ask your bridesmaids to be a part of your big day? Did you do something fun and creative or did you just get straight to the point and ask the question?