This is where I tell you all about planning my own wedding. After all, if I'm publishing all these Real Weddings, it's only fair I share my trials and tribulations. Read the rest of my wedding diary here.
All the bride-guides tell you that stationery is super-important because it's the first indication your guests get of your wedding style. Now it's really easy to just put that down to gumph, and say to yourself that no one really cares what the font looks like on your invite, but I LOVE stationery, so I'm choosing to believe this particular bride-guide rule. As a consequence I have spent hours and hours looking at the various different styles and colours and fonts. I've considered the wonderful world of letterpress, and quickly turned away from it on account of expense. I've looked into DIY, I've searched Etsy, I've looked at the US stationery blogs Oh So Beautiful Paper and Paper Crave, and I still haven't decided what I'm going to do. There's just too much good stuff out there. My brain is full to busting of paper, and I'm still only halfway to deciding. On my good days, this is all part of the pleasure of planning a wedding. On my bad days, when I'm feeling broke, it's just another thing to stress about. Today was a bad day {£600+ on a plumber's bill - ouch!}, so I'm deliberately writing this to get my creative joy back.
I quickly decided against the generic British wedding invitation. They're gorgeous, they're classic, but I'm all about being original, so I'm in the market for some serious creativity. Letterpress stationery uses heavy card, and presses the font into the paper, before filling it with ink. It creates the most gorgeous effect and looks expensive, mainly because it really is super pricey. We're talking £6 an invite. So that was out. I love the idea of lots of little tags and accessories and stamps, so that opening the invitation is a bit like unwrapping a present. Check out the pictures {above} from MaeMae Paperie, and you'll see what I mean.
My emphasis is on a natural, garden feel to the wedding, so I'm drawn towards the more rustic, eco-friendly paper. However, I also love sage green, and the shutters of the Chateau are green, so stationery in that shade would be a hint towards the location. Wood is a major trend this season, and I'm all for using different materials to keep your guests guessing. You see - too many choices already!
Follow Studio {below} is probably my favourite stationery boutique right now. It's an Australian outfit, and they use these glorious sludgy colours and organic fonts. The only problem is the expense. It works out as £4 an invitation, and that's before all the extra stationery. But then again, it would be a beautiful collection designed by a talented graphic designer. Indecision-agony!
The budget alternative is to print my own. Or at least, to print some of the accessories. I'm really keen to create a welcome pack for my guests, with an info booklet and other bits and pieces, like a personalised Do Not Disturb sign for their hotel door the morning after the wedding. Along those lines, I recently purchased my first printer - an HP OfficeJet 6500, and I'm going to be having some fun practicing. If printing is easier than it looks, then I may well buy a DIY invitation set, and go it alone. I've been looking at Download & Print for their free invitation suites, and Mae Mae is planning to do her own collection too. My article for Before the Big Day on printables is here, if you want to find out more.
I'll leave you with my two wild cards {above}. They're nothing like my other ideas; one is purple, and the other startling blue. They don't fit in with my theme, but I love them too much to let them go right now. I'm super-keen on the wax seal - wouldn't it be exciting to receive an invitation in the post with one on the back. Exactly the sense of anticipation I'm trying to create for our wedding.
Have you chosen your stationery yet? Please do leave a comment about how you made your decisions! What did you go for? Send me a pic, and I can put it up on the blog, or big up your stationer here.
