I’ve posted three new invitation suites to the website….Head on over and check them out!! More to come soon! Make sure to click on the “show me the photos” link for photographs of the actual invitations.
Thanks!
Kate
We had the pleasure recently of working with a client who is living in CA but getting married in MA. Her family lives in MA so it was a group collaboration in order to get the invitations designed, produced and mailed out. The couple wanted something simple and elegant but that reflected the ocean, sea and they really liked the idea of using a starfish graphic once they saw it. We used a Gatefold® enclosure from Envelopments® as a backer for the invitation layer itself and all the supporting cards sat inside and were secured by a vellum wrap printed with the bride and grooms name and wedding date. We also carried the fonts & graphics to the envelopes, taking care of all the guest addressing for the couple as well. The provided a complete package with a cohesive look that was both simple and elegant!
I had the great opportunity to design something a little bit new and different for a friend who recently got married in Massachusetts. They wanted something that reflected their love of the beach and ocean while not using something so graphic as say a starfish or seahorse or something along those lines. So we set out to find something a little more personal to them. Low and behold we decided to use a photograph for the focal point of this seaside invitation and therefore it made sense to highlight where they were having their reception….Clarion Nantasket Beach Resort…..and Nantasket Beach. This invitation begs to be seen in person as the photo are printed on metallic photo paper and really pop when the light hits them just right. After much trial and error with the background and moving rocks in and out of the the frame (thank you Photoshop!) we got the perfect mix of readability and beauty.
Last year my mother-in-law wanted to throw a little party for my father-in-law’s 60th birthday and wanted it to be a surprise. She wanted to have some sort of theme that he would like and thought that a fun loving Jimmy Buffett type theme would fit the bill since he loves the music and is a sailor. So, she set off to plan the party and asked me to come up with some invitations. Nothing too fancy she said, as she only needed about 8 of them and needed to get them out relatively quickly. So, I decided to use papers already on hand but wanted to do something a little bit special so I decided to create a logo of sorts for his invitations that we also used to order a T-shirt and to make signs for the food tables. He loved it and the party was a great success. 
I decided it was time to post some save the date cards that we have done over the past year or so….we can do many different styles and these represent just a few! Save the dates can coordinate with your wedding stationery as the Atlantis save the date did or they can be a completely different design in order to keep your wedding stationery under wraps until your ready to unveil your colors and theme. This is all keeping in mind of course that you are in fact sending a save the date in the first place which is not absolutely necessary! I’m a stationery designer and didn’t send one for my own wedding…granted we planned the event in about 7 months (when a perfect venue calls there is no passing it up)!
Today I thought I’d post a couple photos of place cards and table cards Katlem Design & Invitations created for a fall country club wedding. These place cards and table numbers happened to coordinate with the couples wedding invitations but there is no hard and fast rule about that.
You can find these items on my website under the “Fallin for You” set.
Happy Tape comes from Japan and is now available for purchase online in the U.S. It is available in all sorts of bright and interesting colors perfect for coordinating many DIY aspects of your wedding! From favors to decorations to place cards there are many possibilities for this fun tape!
Available from Happy Tape. You can also check out their blog for more ideas on how to use this fun tape!
Recently postage went up….again! Here are some facts and tips to make choosing and mailing your wedding invitations a little bit easier.
A first class stamp is now $0.44. These are mainly for your response cards unless you are planning a more low key affair or are making use of a wedding website for much of your information. Another popular option are reply postcards.
The cost of a postcard stamp is now $0.28. Reply postcards also cut down on the amount of paper (no envelope needed!).
Most people will need the standard wedding stamp which has gone from $0.59 to $0.61 unless of course you are mailing anything square…we’ll get to that in a minute. The $0.61 stamp will cover most invitations that include a few enclosures and/or the popular pocket or pocket-fold. If you are mailing a square invitation of any kind the post office will add a surcharge of $0.20 to your item (up from $0.17). That means if you’re invitation normally would have cost $0.61 if it were rectangular it will now be $.81. If you are doing say a square save the date that if rectangular would have cost $0.44, it will be $0.64 to mail. In the grand scheme of wedding planning an extra $20 on 100 invitations for postage is rather small potatoes but you don’t want to be surprised when showing up to the post office with your beautiful invitations!
The best thing to do before stamping all of your invitations is to take one fully assembled set to the post office and have it weighed to be sure you are purchasing the correct postage.
I had the pleasure of working on a delightful project over the last week! I got a phone call with a fun request to create a package for a couple who was celebrating their 20th anniversary and the husband happened to also be celebrating his 50th birthday.
The woman who called me had the idea to give them a weekend at their home to include all sorts of fun events culminating with a party over the weekend. So, it was my challenge come up with the design to pull this all together. An itinerary of sorts was created outlining the weekend of events and invitations for the weekend party were also included. It all had to go together and be packaged in such a way that it could be presented to them as a gift.
I think it came out great and it was a lot of fun to do as well!
Want to have some sort of theme for your wedding or invitations but just can’t come up with something? Below are some ideas (and their meanings) that might help in your planning.
Acorn = life beginnings
Anchor * = hope, stability
Apple = fertility, love
Bamboo * = lasting friendship, devotion
Bee * = faithfulness
Bird * = soul
Bridge * = transition from one life to another
Butterfly * = the soul, joy
Chrysanthemum = happiness, longevity
Daisy = innocence, purity
Dove = life spirit, soul
Evergreens = eternity
Feather = truth
Fern * = sincerity
Fish * = a pair portrays the joys of union and marriage
Fleur-de-lys = hope, affection
Gate * = entrance into new life
Holly * = good will, joy
Horsheshoe = good luck
Ivy = constant affection, friendship, fidelity
Knot = union
Ladybug = luck
Lotus * = past, present, and future; love
Maple Leaf = emblem of lovers
Palm Tree * = blessings
Peacock * = love, desire
Peony = love, good fortune, happiness
Pineapple * = fertility, hospitality
Pine Cone = good fortune
Rose = passion, desire, joy
Shell = life, love, marriage, good fortune
Starfish * = divine love
Sunflower = infatuation, longevity
Tree * = the life principle, diversity in unity
Tulip = perfect love
One of the easiest ways to spice up your invitation is with a motif. If you are carrying it through your wedding planning all the better but certainly not necessary. A motif can carry through all your stationery products including the save-the-dates, invitations, programs, table cards, place cards, etc…you get the picture.
Including all the examples above think of something that represents the two of you as a couple and that provides some meaning to you. You might also be inspired by the season, locale, or even an interest that the two of you share together.
Below are some examples of coastal motifs that can be used alone or mixed together to create a unique invitation for a seaside wedding.
Katlem Design & Invitations has many motifs already on hand to choose from (those ideas above marked with a “*” are motifs we have on hand) but if you have a new idea in mind we’re always up for a new challenge!!
