Wedding STD's

This week I am happy to report that we can cross our Save the Dates (or STD's as we like to call them) off our list!  What I thought would be a simple project somehow turned into a 2 + month project.  When we mailed these out on Valentine's day, I finally started to feel like we are making some progress.

We wanted to do something original so we asked a family friend to draw an illustration for us. We couldn't be happier with the way they turned out!

Now onto the other half of my dress!

Did you design your own Save the Date? How did they turn out?

Going Postal the Pretty Way

As we get close to sending out our Save the Dates, I have been looking for ways to jazz up our mailing (and cut some corners). An address stamp seems to be a must these days and luckily Etsy has so many wonderful customized options to choose from.

Sources: 1, 2, 3 & 4

Sources: 1 & 2

 Of course cool postage is also on my mind. I found tons of amazing vintage postage on Ebay, Champion Stamp, Kenmore Stamp Co. and Invites by Jen. I am usually great at finding deals, so the though of paying double the price just for a pretty stamps if hard to justify.

Sources: 1, 2 & 3

Sources: 1, 2 & 3

 Luckily and surprisingly to me the United States Post Office actually has quite a few unique stamps to choose from, so I think I will probably end up going with one of the following options.

Source: USPS.COM

How did you get creative with your mailings? Do you know a great resource for reasonably priced vintage stamps?

Lock-in the Date!

This next year is shaping up to be a pretty action-packed year for us.  Not only is my fiancé’s brother getting married about three months before us, but a couple of my good friends are also tying the knot next summer.  Not wanting to miss out on any of these weddings and pre-wedding festivities, getting our Save the Dates out is at the top of my wedding to-do list. Of course, selecting a Save the Date design may not be as easy as I had thought. With so may clever and fun Save the Date ideas out there, the pressure is certainly on to come up with something unique and creative.

Source: 1, 2

Below are a selection of DIY ideas I found, ranging from stamps, fingerprints to just hitting print and tying a bow (might be more my style).

Source: 1, 2, 3, 4

Since the majority of our guests will be traveling from out of town, I also like the idea of incorporating our state/wedding location into the cards.

Source: 1, 2, 3

My engagement ring is a gorgeous vintage ring, so I have also been playing around with more of a vintage feel.

Source: 1, 2, 3

And, since we did meet on Match.com (more than 4 years ago...wow how time flies), I have also thought about incorporating matchbooks into our Save the Dates. Maybe a little too cheesy, even for me though.

Source: 1, 2, 3

So, there you have it, so many ideas to choose from! How did you decide on your Save the Date concept?

STDs – no not that kind

We are just about nine months out from our wedding and slowly but surely knocking things off of our to-do list. We booked our photographer last weekend (more on her later, but I am in love!) and the next thing I would like to tackle is our Save the Dates (aka STDs!). I know not everyone sends out STDs, but as my fiancé’s family lives in the Midwest and my family is on the East Coast, they are an absolute must for us. We want to give our guests plenty of time to plan for a trip out to San Francisco, especially since this will be the first trip out to CA for many of them. Now here’s the tough part – choosing an STD. Man, it is hard! There are just too many beautiful options out there. I do love STDs that feature the couple (and of course the engagement pictures that you likely paid a pretty penny for).

But, I would really like to get ours mailed out sooner rather than later and I am not sure how quickly we can turn a photo shoot around along with creating the actual STD.

So currently I am leaning toward STDs that highlight San Francisco. As I mentioned, we are inviting a LOT of out-of-towners to our wedding. And we want the city of San Francisco to shine right alongside us on our big day. We hope that all of our guests fall in love with this city as much as we have and utilize our wedding as an excuse to visit one of the best places in the world (can you tell I like this city?).

I especially love ones that have a more vintage feel.

And how cute is this STD that highlights the BART System (that's Bay Area Rapid Transit for you non-locals).

Oh and I am leaning toward postcards. I like that they emphasize the travel theme (and who’s kidding who, let’s save a dollar where we can!).

I would love to know your thoughts on the above. Did you send out a Save the Date?

Credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Cutest Save the Date Ever!

I know I’ve been writing about Save the Dates a lot lately, but I have one for you that takes the cake. This adorable Save the Date was conceived, designed, created and animated by my amazing friend and bridesmaid Allie. It’s pretty much the cutest thing I’ve ever seen and I think you’ll agree.

Her fiancé proposed with a series of riddles that she had to solve in order to get keys that opened a series of locks on the box that held the ring. So the subtle game theme is perfect.

http://vimeo.com/34388060

How cute is that?! It has also been so fun having a close friend planning a wedding at the same time as us. We share blogs, ideas and have even visited bridal shows together. It's been great bonding time!

I still haven’t decided what to do for our Save the Dates and have been playing with a bunch of ideas. Anyone else have great ideas or doing something this wonderfully outside the box?