Planning a destination wedding at the beach? Nothing says “beach” like sand. This hand crafted invitation is made of real sand paper! The pale ocean ribbon ribbon features a scallop shell pattern, but can be changed to match your color scheme. Not into sand dollars? The graphic can be altered to a starfish, sea horse, palm tree, conch shell, or whatever you wish. The options are endless!
As concern about our environment becomes more prevalent in our society (thankfully!), couples are looking for ways to make their weddings more eco-friendly. So short of sending out an email telling everyone you’re getting hitched, how can you announce your event all while being kind to Mother Earth? It’s not as difficult as you may think.
1. Choose earth-friendly paper for your invitations.
At myOWNvitations, our standard printing paper is made of 100% cotton (read: no trees are killed). This cotton comes from textile industry by-products that would otherwise be discarded. The cotton is milled into a thick, luxurious paper in a mill that is powered solely by wind power. The plant has even been recognized with a certificate of environmental stewardship for its Champion-level participation in Rocky Mountain Power’s Blue Sky™ program by converting its offices to 100% renewable wind power.
Recycled and handmade papers are also an obvious choice for the environmentalist bride. And don’t worry, just because they ARE earthy doesn’t mean they have to LOOK earthy. If brown kraft paper is the only thing that comes to mind when you think of recycled paper, think again. Even if you are throwing an elegant indoor affair don’t dismiss the idea of using recycled paper. Some of the most beautiful papers we have seen are actually on their second life!
2. Pare down.
Traditionally, wedding invitations sometimes tend to be a bit on the large size. But is this really necessary? Probably not. Chances are you can say all you need to say on an invitation that is A7 (5″ x 7″) or smaller. And what’s with the inner and outer envelopes? In the days when invitations were delivered by a courier, the outer envelope would usually become a little ragged and dirty en route. By having an inner envelope as well, there was at least one envelope that stayed nice. Not that the postal carriers nowadays are all that careful either, but chances are your guests will not decline to attend just because of a soiled envelope. Omit the inner envelope and save a tree!
3. Offset your wedding carbon footprint.
OK, so not everyone can throw a their dream wedding and be green at the same time. If you are one of these people, don’t sweat it! Websites like terrapass.com, begreennow.com, and carbonfund.org allow you to offset your wedding’s carbon footprint by giving back to the environment. It’s a good compromise of getting what you want, and still being environmentally responsible.
The Save the Date card is an element of wedding stationery that has only come into use in recent history, and some brides don’t know if this is something they need or not. When deciding whether to send a Save the Date for your wedding, several factors should be considered. First of all, does your wedding weekend fall on a holiday? If so, it’s a good idea to alert guests as far in advance as possible because peoples’ schedules tend to fill up quickly. Secondly, will many of your guests be coming from out of town? If the answer is “yes”, then sending a Save the Date card is probably a good idea. The more time they have to book travel, arrange for time off work, and plan for the event, the more likely they will be able to be present for your big day. Finally, are you having a destination wedding or is the location of your wedding a tourist destination? If so, giving people ample notice will increase the likelihood that they will be able to book flights and hotel rooms.
On the other hand, if you are planning a small intimate wedding with mostly in-town guests, it’s probably not necessary to send Save the Date cards. Save your money to invest in more elaborate invitations, and maybe send them out a bit earlier than usual.
If you do decide to go the Save the Date route, when should they be mailed? While etiquette dictates that invitations should be sent 6 to 8 weeks prior to the wedding, the protocol for Save the Dates is much less defined. At the very least you want them to arrive two months prior to your invitations, but how early you want to send them is really up to you. It’s best not to send them more than a year before the event (people don’t have calendars that go out that far anyway, and who wants to keep the same thing on their fridge for that long?), but once you have set a date and location for the event its probably safe to go ahead and start shopping for the Save the Date card. Since this is a more informal piece of stationery, many brides tend to go for a more casual look than they will for their actual invitations. The colors and style don’t necessarily have to coordinate with the look of your wedding since you may have not even made these decisions yet anyway. Many couples are also choosing to incorporate photos, either candid or engagement, in their Save the Date cards to add a personal touch. Whatever you choose, have fun with it, and make sure its “you”! This is the first glimpse your guests will have of your special day, and you want to make it special.
One of the hottest new trends with design savvy brides is the belly band- and don’t worry, you don’t need six-pack abs to take part! Belly bands are all the rage in invitations this year. Not only are they an affordable way to incorporate decorative papers ranging from luxurious to funky, they also are a neat way to hold all of your enclosures together. If decorative paper is not your thing, belly bands can also be created out of ribbon- think silk, satin, grosgrain, maybe even layered. To really tie things together, choose something similar to what will be used in your bouquets. For added interest, belly bands can be adorned with something that really represents your wedding day, whether that is your wedding monogram, something sparkly, or even a 3-D embellishment!
