Invitations: Designed and Ready To Go

Designing custom invitations is one my favorite things to do. To me, there is nothing more creatively stimulating than meeting a new bride, picking her brain, and making something tangible out of her wedding daydreaming.

However, with life moving past you at warp speed and wedding plans building up, you might think the idea of creating custom invitations is "quaint, but unrealistic" for your situation. I get that.  Especially leading up to the holidays, winter weddings are planned amidst lots of other factors. If you have weeks to go before your invitations need to be in the mail, listen up!

Buzzy Craftery now has a growing line of Designed and Ready To Go invitation suites - pick your design, pick your color, and put in your details. Done. These invitations are unique, bold, and filled with personality. Maybe they're not 100% custom for you (but we don't have to tell anybody that, now do we?)...

What's even more exciting? If you order a To Go suite for your fast-approaching January or February wedding, you'll receive the same quantity matching thank you notes for free!

Take a look at the first three designs in this line, all available now...

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Coffered Modern

a feminine and delicate design, inspired by the coffered ceilings of ancient rome, juxtaposed with quirky, modern loops. perfect for soft, elegant weddings taking place at historical sites or plantations.

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Garden Arcs

fresh and graphic, inspired by the curves of a japanese rock garden or the breeze in a field. perfect for organic or outdoor weddings (beach weddings too): color can take this design from bright and bold to subtle and textural.

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Wrought Iron

clean lines and a timeless personality - inspired by the intricate and impressive patterns in iron gates. the detailed borders are matched with bold type (and the ampersand!). simply beautiful weddings where less is more: go dark for impact or light for a vintage feel.

detail:
 

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Did something catch your eye? Suites can be printed digitally, flat lithography or raised thermography on heavy, super smooth cover stock. Prices range from $125 to $539 for up to 250 sets. One set includes the invitation card, response card, self-addressed response envelope, return-addressed outer envelope - and for a January or February wedding it also includes matching thank you notes with envelopes! Take a look at the pricing schedule:

All designs can be customized for your text and colors, to perfectly fit your event. If you're interested, please contact me by sending an email through the Contact tab up top!

Think Inside The Closet

Wedding season is (kind of) over for this year. So, with the lighter load of stationery projects this fall, I've had more time to spend perusing wedding blogs and magazines, finding new ideas and collecting inspiration for the events I'm planning in 2012. The best idea, to me, is to utilize inexpensive materials in unique ways. Not only does it show off some smarts and personality, but you might already have a stash of these items filling up an old closet!

I decided to arrange these ideas - some I've seen already, and some dawned on me while flipping through wholesale catalogs. I've linked to the ideas that I've already seen around, and for others you might have to use your imagination, haha.



1. I buy these kraft paper file folders for all my Buzzy Craftery client files. The idea is to print program sheets and staple them inside these folders, then put them inside an old filing cabinet at the ceremony for your guests to grab! (and you could open the bottom shelves and fill with flowers)

2. I love the look of chargers at wedding receptions - fold a napkin, put the menu on top. The best part is that the photographer can take pictures before dinner starts and the table looks set, even without the plates. However, chargers can get expensive, especially if you have hundreds of guests. An alternative would be to cut regular kraft paper into 12"x12" squares, print them with a wedding "logo" and set them down as paper placemats or "chargers." Perfect for a rustic or farm wedding, and you could even print the placemats with the dinner menu!

3. If you've ever been to West Egg in Atlanta, you'll know that they have their menus tucked inside these pronged file folders - and it's a pretty fun surprise! You could use these for programs as well, or menus. Maybe even wedding invitations, if you were willing to pay the extra postage!

4. There's no reason to keep your printing on just paper. You can take a wedding logo and screen print it on anything! I love the idea of handing out these tote bags as favors to your bridesmaids (or your wedding guests if you're ready to splurge!) You can find this design on The Wedding Chicks.

5. Another good idea is to encourage your guests to go green with these reusable grocery totes. This gorgeous design was featured on Oh So Beautiful Paper.

6. Collin and I had t-shirts printed for our wedding party, of course, for them to look like a minor league baseball team - The Love Sluggers.. haha. The Wedding Chicks released this design today for brides, but I loved the idea of giving them to our bridal party (especially giving them a fun design so they could be worn proudly afterward).



7. The classic brown paper sack. Good news - these buddies can run right through an offset printer - and that means you can print whatever your heart desires on them! If I had my wedding to do over, I would print hundreds of them and use them for favors, add them to place-settings, open them and put flameless candles inside... the possibilities are endless!

8. A cousin of the brown sack is the coffee bag. The upgrade: they can still be printed, but they also have the wire tie and a peek-through window. They are perfect for candy favors, cookies, or even cupcakes! Or, go figure, some locally-roasted coffee would make a delicious and small-business supporting favor!

9. If you want to use a box for your favors, the one that's most easily printed is a pillow box - they ship in completely flat and can run through an offset printer. I love that you can engineer the design to change or adapt once you pop the box out.



10, 11 and 12. And, the tried-and-true hankie. It is possible to print on a handkerchief, like these save the dates, but it works best if you do them on a letterpress (which can get pricey). I've seen some that were done with iron-on prints, but I don't like that glossy goop that gets left behind. I really like the idea of wrapping an invitation card in a handkerchief and twine, like this, just for a little extra something.

I think it could be really beautiful to print a classic black and white invitation to wrap in the black hankie with ribbon. I can just picture the lacy black edges against some gorgeous typography. Très chic, très sexy!

One last little sneak-peek for you, and I'll be done:

I'm working on these doily invitations for a client right now, and I'm a little too excited about them! The doilies are a fantastic choice for big impact without a big price tag. You'll see more of these invites in a few months - I know it will be hard to wait!