Wedding Photography: emariegraphy.com
It is Wednesday once again, which means it is time to talk about Weddings once more.
Today, it is all about the paper goods. Everything from the Save the Dates to the Wedding Invitations, and all the items in between. I can not wait to take you through all the paper goods that helped make my wedding so special to me.
Save the Dates
When first looking for Save the Dates I knew I wanted to go with a magnet, I felt like this was the best option. It is simple and easy and can easily be put on the fridge so your guests won’t lose it and it is easily visible. I also loved the idea of having one of our engagement pictures as the background. We went with simple wording on the bottom of the Save the Date, as we wanted the picture to shine.
Looking back we ordered way too many. At the time of ordering we had yet to finalize our Guest List, so we went ahead and purchased extras, way too many extras. This was our biggest regret. My one tip would be to finalize your Guest List and only get a few extras just in case, this way you are not spending extra money on something that is not needed.
Our Save the Dates came from Ledgewood Fine Stationary, we had discovered them in a local shop and loved everything we saw so we decided to get in contact with them. Working with Frances on many of our wedding items was so easy and convenient. She definitely made the process as smooth and simple as possible, which means everything to a Bride-to-Be.
Wedding Invitations
I LOVE our Wedding invitations. They really are everything I could have possibly ever wanted in an invitation. When looking through examples of Wedding invitations, this particular one stood out to me. It was so different but encompassed all the details I wanted to be present in the decorations on Wedding day. The floral wreath, along with the M in the middle was a common theme throughout many other paper goods and even the Photo Booth that was used at the Reception. Each Wedding invitation came with a matching response card, an envelope (already addressed) for the response card and a blank envelope for the whole combination.
If you are looking to save a little bit of money, like we were, I recommend addressing the Wedding invitations yourself. I originally wanted each of them to be hand written, but after finding out that only a few took over an hour to do, I realized that was not going to be the best way to go. Turning to Google, I searched for fonts that I thought would look good to address Wedding invitations. I found one for around $12, and decided that I would use this to address all the Wedding invitations that were not completed yet. Printing the names and addresses straight to the envelope was not only easy but also a lot quicker than hand writing each one. It also helped save some money since I did not have to pay anyone else to do them.
Wedding Programs
Wedding Programs are such a great item to hand your guest so that they know what is going on. Our Wedding Programs were double sided and included information about our Ceremony on one side and the Wedding Party on the other. When preparing our Wedding Programs we worked with our Officiant to determine the order of the Ceremony, along with our Musician to determine music so that both could be included on the program.
Each wedding I have been to recently included the wedding party and I loved this because not everyone knows who all the Bridesmaids and Groomsmen are. At the bottom of one side of the Wedding Program we also included the address and directions to our Reception location. Since our reception was about 15 minutes away from our Ceremony we felt this was a good addition and helped several of our guests.
Like the Save the Dates, we ordered way too many programs. At a wedding not everyone picks up a program, sometimes only one member of the family will grab one, and sometimes none will. I would definitely recommend not ordering too many more than the amount of guests that have R.S.V.P’d. This will save you a little bit of money, and you will not end up with a bunch of extra wedding programs. Although make sure to save yourself a few as a keepsake before the wedding to ensure that you get one.
Thank You Cards
During Bridal showers, lingerie showers and at the wedding you will receive many gifts. Thanking those who chose togive you something special is extremely important. And what better way to thank them than with adorable thank you notes. Our thank you notes continued the theme of our wedding invitations and programs and matched perfectly. Being able to not only use these thank you notes to thank those who supported us on our special day, but knowing we can continue to use the left overs notes in the future since they were not wedding specific.
My biggest suggestion when it comes to making thank you cards is to avoid making them wedding specific. Obviously using the same color theme, or design is good, but putting the wedding date or saying “The wedding of” is a good thing to avoid in the case you have several extras. This way you will be able to use them for anything in the future since they are not wedding specific.
Wedding Favors
Wedding favors can be many things. Anything from cute bags of candy, to koozies, to cups. Of course, this is not required but it is always nice to give a little thank you to all your guests for helping celebrate this exciting time in your life. For our wedding favors we decided to go with plastic cups. We felt that this was something that people would enjoy as a small memento from our wedding day. We used a clear plastic cup and included a gold wreath, cursive M, and our names to decorate the outside. They turned out great. Using the same thought process as the thank you cards we chose not to make them wedding specific just in case we had leftovers.
Wedding Napkins
The most traditional aspect of a wedding seems to be the Wedding Napkin. I personally had no idea that this was so important until meeting with Frances Ledgewood and discussing all the items needed for wedding day. Obviously this is definitely something that could be passed up, but I am very glad I chose to go with them. We chose a baby pink napkin with a gold wreath, and a cursive M, along with our names, Katelyn & Joshua. They are so simple, but add that extra little element that I wanted them to. And now that the wedding is over and we have extras we are able to use them for events in the future. I can not wait to see what we decide to use them for.
Working with Ledgewood was fantastic. Each of these items were everything I wanted them to be and the process of making them a reality was easier than you would think. I definitely recommend finding someone that is easy to work with and can help all your dreams become a reality. I personally loved being able to meet with Frances in person right off the bat and go through each and every thing one could need at a wedding. She was really great at suggesting different items that I might not have otherwise thought about and I really appreciated that. After meeting once in person we were able to keep in contact through email, this made the process very streamlined and organized. Each time we discussed an item, she would send a proof to make sure that it was exactly the way we wanted. We would check the spelling and make sure everything was correct and give her the go ahead. And not too long after we would meet and pick up the finished product.
Overall, I do not think that I could have asked for a better save the date, wedding invitation, program, favors, or napkins. Everything was perfect, and coming from a perfectionist that is a big deal to me. I loved it all.
XO
Katelyn Moshier