Paper Passionista

Paper Passionista LOVED being guests at our client's wedding

Bella by Arabella Papers wedding invitation

Each year Paper Passionista has the honor of working with countless wonderful brides and grooms in the selection and design of their special wedding invitation stationery ensembles. But it is rare that we are actually blessed with the opportunity to be guests at the wedding. This past Saturday night, August 27, 2011, we were honored to attend the wedding of the lovely Marie Dudley and her dashing groom, Adam Takayoshi.

Marie began working with me on invitations in April of this year, and we struck a special bond.  Because Marie, unfortunately, doesn't have a mom playing an active role in her life, she was looking for advice and guidance as she began planning her wedding.  She found out that my background was actually in wedding planning before I hung up that hat to focus on invitations and stationery, so she asked me for guidance on a lot of things over the course of the planning process. I referred her to the wonderful Rebecca James for help as a "day of" wedding coordinator, and she did hire her, but Marie and I still shared many conversations of the planning variety, and I was so flattered when she told me one day awhile back that she would be honored to have my husband, Jim, and I attend her wedding.  I told her it would be MY honor, so that is where we spent this past Saturday evening.

What I loved about working with Marie is she had a very strong vision for her wedding and she kept that vision in her mind throughout the entire process.  She didn't always know how to accomplish what she had in her mind, and wasn't afraid to ask, but she had the vision and that's so refreshing, since I speak with many brides who don't really have a clear idea of what they want.  Marie wanted her wedding to be elegant with a "princess-like" quality, and at the same time she was clear from the beginning that the spiritual part of the wedding ceremony was very important to her too.  In designing the wedding invitation there were parts of the wording and the motif of the Cross that were "must haves", and we were happy to accommodate.

Holy Rosary, Tacoma sanctuary 

Up close view of the beautiful altar area at Holy Rosary, Tacoma

The wedding ceremony was made even more special by the setting of Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Tacoma.  For those of you who are familiar with the large and old church that sits along side I-5 but have never been inside, as was the case for us, it is beautiful! We had the pleasure of being seated at the reception with the groom's great aunt who attended elementary school at the school attached to Holy Rosary many years ago, so she filled us in on a little history of the church.  Now painted in a very lovely Tiffany blue with white accents for the sanctuary she said it was not always as pleasing to the eye. Originally opened in 1891, it's been beautifully restored and upgraded. The vividly colored stained glass windows are mesmerizing! 

Marie & Adam listening intently to Deacon Michael Riggio's homily

Marie's bridesmaids (four of them) were each dressed in a different style of dress, all keeping with the pewter color pallet.  It's really nice to see a wedding where there is variety and not everything done to be matchy-matchy.  Each bridesmaid looked lovely in her choice, and they all maintained the same level of formality, while the dresses perfectly suited the wearers.  

The reception was held at the Pacific Grill events center in Tacoma. Guests in formal attire were welcomed with a red carpet complete with photos of their entrance as they approached.  Following cocktails and hors d' houvres in the reception lobby we were treated to a delicious "surf and turf" split entree of salmon and beef tenderloin in the dining room.  Marie's pink and silver color scheme was perfectly carried out with the table linens, table numbers, place cards and florals.  A traditional romantic and elegant ivory wedding cake graced the corner of the room. Many of these things were not captured by our personal snap shots, but the talented Brian Hartman of Photo Elan was on hand doing the photography so I'm sure more images will be available on his website.

This was our table (table numbers and place cards were from Paper Passionista)

Marie & Adam shortly after their arrival at the reception

A quick moment exchanged between Marie and me

Caught this shot of my hubby when we were entering the reception, decked out in his tux!

Thank you so much, Marie and Adam, for allowing us to witness your special day.  It has been a joy and a pleasure working with you.  Enjoy your honeymoon in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I'm looking forward to our next get-together when you'll be selecting your photo holiday cards from Paper Passionista.  Can't wait to see photos from the "real" photographer too!  Congratulations to you both.

Paper Passionista’s wedding stationery tips & myths

 

Smock Papers' contemporary letterpress wedding invitation

After you've set your date, confirmed the location, time, etc., the next thing you’ll start thinking about is selecting your perfect wedding invitation. Perhaps you have been hearing about “Save the Date” cards and are wondering if you should be sending those too.  Other things often pondered are what kind of look do you want, do you want contemporary or traditional? Here are a few tips Paper Passionista provides to help you make your way through the seemingly endless list of things to consider in choosing your perfect wedding stationery ensemble.

Tag & Company's photo Save the Date

Save the Date cards, though not mandatory, have become a popular tool for couples, particularly if you have a large number of out-of-town guests. Typically sent six to eight months in advance of the wedding, they may include information about lodging suggestions and any room block arrangements you have made. If you've already established a website for your wedding, this is a great time to let guests know this information so they can follow along for more information as plans progress. It is not necessary for the Save the Dates to match what you do for the rest of your wedding stationery.  Many brides select something more whimsical and less formal than the invitation, since you may not even have your entire color scheme and theme finalized at the time you’re sending the Save the Date. If you don’t do something matching you won’t run the risk of “blowing the cover” of whatever you  ultimately choose for your invitations. Many couples use an engagement photo on their Save the Date as a way of introducing each other to guests who may not have met their fiance'.  The Save the Date, in most cases, takes the place of the once popular engagement announcement.

Arabella Papers' Modern Deco invitation ensemble

What about those tissues that used to always be in the wedding invitation? Though many people think it’s part of tradition, there really is no purpose to those tissues with many of today’s printing methods. Tissues are a carry-over from the days when inks used to smear.  If you select a printing method, such as Arabella Papers’ "bell press" printing, it’s still a good idea to use the tissues to protect the print from rub-off, but for most printing methods, especially thermography and offset printing, it’s a non-issue. Other than that, tissues aren’t part of any prescribed etiquette, so don’t worry if you don’t use them.

Traditional William Arthur invitation available with inner envelopes

What about double envelopes? It was once tradition to have two envelopes for the invitation.  The outer envelope had the formal name of the main addressee(s) for the invitation, ie. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Smith.  Then the inner envelope would be less formal, perhaps using informal names of the couple, ie. Sally and Bob Smith (the lady’s name always comes first in this case), and then below that you would list any other family members who are being invited, such as children’s names.  If an invited guest is single but you wish to have them invite a significant other or guest this is where you would list that individual.  If you know the name of that person you could list them, or simply say “and guest” on a line below.  Today’s more contemporary invitations typically do not come standard with the inner envelope, and in this case you would list all invited guests on the outer envelope, with the couple’s names on the first line and then any other family members or guests on the line below.

bt elements' square Clairemont wedding invitation ensemble

Square vs. rectangle shape of invitation card.  Squares have become extremely popular, but it’s important to remember that the US Postal Service considers them an unusual shape and charges an additional 20 cents service charge, on top of your postage for weight. By the time you include enclosure cards you are usually into the second ounce of postage (currently 64 cents) so just know that you will pay 84 cents to mail a square of any size. Those who love the square will usually spring for the extra, but it’s best to be forewarned so you won’t have your invitations come back! I usually point out to couples that for a guest list of 100 invitations the extra postage for a square is $20 total, and that's not typically the piece that kills the entire wedding budget so if you love a square go for it!

To be safe, always take one packet of your invitation ensemble to the post office for weighing to be sure you put the correct amount of postage on them  before you mail them. Your stationer can't accurately advise you on correct postage since they don't have the entire ensemble in hand at the time you're typically discussing such things, so just make sure to wait until your invitations arrive and then go to the post office.  This is a great reason for not waiting too long to order your invitations, especially if you're thinking about ordering some of the personalized stamps now available for your invitations.  It is recommended you order your invitations no later than four months ahead of the wedding to avoid time crunches with postage ordering, calligraphy of guests' names on the envelopes, etc.

When ordering your invitations don’t under order. If you’re debating whether to buy one amount or the next 25 higher, don’t make the mistake of thinking, “Oh well, I can always order more later.”  When you reorder you start all over again with the pricing, and it’s VERY expensive. And many of the letterpress invitation companies begin their minimum order quantities at 50 so you’d end up having to order even more! Incremental increases of 25 at the time of original order are quite small compared to having to start the process all over again. Better to be safe than sorry. 

These are just a few of the commonly asked things about wedding related stationery.  For more specific information and questions don't hesitate to ask your professional wedding stationer.  We're here to advise and have spent many years in the industry learning etiquette and "the trade".  Ordering your stationery online may seem like a great way to go, but unless you are personally experienced at all the particulars that go with ordering wedding stationery it's best to leave this piece in the hands of professionals who can help you with wording and guiding the order through proofing and delivery.  This process should be fun, and a professional can make it so!

For a tour of many invitation styles and options available please visit Paper Passionista's Facebook photo album.

 

Newly engaged? Paper Passionista has some tips on what you should do now.

photo courtesy of aerialservices.org

First of all, a huge “Congratulations!” to you! You are entering that phase of your life that you’ve either dreamed about (or dreaded), perhaps most of your life.  There are a couple key things to keep in mind, and to put in place, as you begin pondering all the components that will make up your perfect celebration.

Perhaps one of the most, if not THE most important is to have a frank discussion with both sets of your parents, if you are planning to rely on their financial assistance with your wedding.  It is important to know, rather than assuming, what level of assistance your parents are able to, or willing to provide.  By having a meeting with your parents you will be better able to set the budget for your wedding.  The preliminary budget for your wedding should be set before you move ahead on planning anything.  Planning a wedding without a budget is like taking a trip without a map - a sure ticket to disaster and disappointment.

Before you plan a meeting with your parents, make sure you’ve done your homework.  There are plenty of online wedding planning tools for you to spend some time looking at and gathering some ideas.  Keep in mind though that most wedding planning websites are working with averages and fail to take into account the fact that every bride is an individual and will have priorities for what she wants to spend money on based on these priorities.  Obviously, because of Paper Passionista's love of invitations, I have noticed that, for example, many of these sites are way out of line when it comes to a realistic figure for an invitation budget for anyone who values quality or perhaps letterpress printing.  Make sure you develop your own list of priorities and loves before you go putting too much stock into individual line items on websites, and try to develop your budget based on your priorities.

Be prepared for your parents to suffer some sticker shock if this is the first wedding they’ve been involved in planning for 20+ years.  And if the groom's parents are able or offer to help don't be shy about accepting.  With the cost of today's wedding it is very common for the groom's family to participate much more in the funding of a wedding than used to be the case in "the good ol' days".

Another tip is don't wait too long to make your decisions.  It's easy to think, especially if you become engaged more than a year before your planned wedding, that you have all the time in the world to worry about making decisions and putting plans in place.  No matter how far away your weding may seem you'll be amazed at how quickly it can sneak up on you.  

Hiring a professional wedding planner is a great thing to consider early in the planning process.  Not only can they help guide you in determining a realistic budget, but they can be with you along the way to make sure that nothing gets off track.  With today's busy schedules having a wedding planner to keep an eye on the details is no longer a luxury for only the most affluent brides.  It's a wise and necessary choice for any busy bride, and one of the things couples comment on after the wedding as an element they're so relieved they made the decision to go with. Need help hiring a professional and qualified planner? I'm happy to help you with suggestions.  Just give me a call at 206.909.9567 or send a quick email to info@paperpassionista.com. When I learn more details about the kind of wedding you are looking to plan I can help steer you toward just the right planner(s) best suited to your needs.  As a long-tme member of the Association of Bridal Consultants, and one of the founding members of Wedding Network USA, I'm in touch with many professionals in the wedding industry and can help point you in the right direction.

Good luck in your planning!  It's such a fun time and I wish you the best.

 

Did you see the Checkerboard wedding invitation on Good Morning America?

Good Morning America features story about "The Kate Effect" on weddings

Just wondering if those of you who are loyal GMA followers happened to see the piece on Monday morning's show featuring ways to embrace wedding trends coming from the Royal wedding of Kate & William, now being referrred to as "The Kate Effect".  Millie Martini Bratten, editor of BRIDE's magazine, showed a copy of the new Luminesce design from the BRIDE's fine papers collection produced by Checkerboard.  If you missed the story here's a link so you can watch it and check out all the ways people are going about creating their own version of a royal feeling wedding.  Here's a closer view of the invitation referenced, and you may see it in person by contacting Paper Passionista at 206.909.9567.

"Luminesce' collection from the BRIDE's fine papers collection by Checkerboard