Postage Increases – Tips

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.

Birthday/Anniversary Surprise…

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!

 

Themes & Motifs

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!!

The Atlantic Beach Club, Middletown RI – Venue Profile #2

Well, it’s time for venue profile  number two! When thinking of another venue to profile I figured it was best to start with friends who were married around town and thankfully quite a few have  been married in and around Newport!

Our friends Jon and Kim were married at The Atlantic Beach Club in Middletown, RI. (For all the contact information check the bottom of this posting.)

The Atlantic Beach Club sits directly on the beach in Middletown. They were able to hold both the ceremony and reception there. Ideally the ceremony was to be held outside on the lawn overlooking the ocean however the weather didn’t cooperate and plan two went into action with the ceremony being held indoors.  Kim and Jon love the water and with the ocean just behind the property they were able to have some nice photos taken on the upper deck using it as a perfect backdrop. (The roof even acted as an umbrella so all stayed dry). 

The open dinner/dance space allowed for guests to either dance the night away or if they left their dancing shoes at home they could relax at their table and watch others show off their dance moves. Large windows also offered perfect views of the ocean outside.

 

 

All in all this was the perfect venue for their special day! Even the rain couldn’t detract from it!

Photography of wedding by David Greenier
Music by the band Brass Attack  

The Atlantic Beach Club
55 Purgatory Road
Middletown, Rhode Island 02842
tel: (401) 847-2750
email: atlanticbchclub@aol.com
www.atlanticbeachclub.com

Style Me Pretty } wow!

I  just received some fantastic news….Katlem Design & Invitations was chosen to be featured in Style Me Pretty’s Little Black Book of Preferred Vendors. For those of you not familiar with Style Me Pretty, it is a wonderful website and blog chock full of valuable information for anyone getting married…..and it’s oh so stylish as well. In fact, you should check it out now.

It’s one of my favorite blogs and I go there regularly for inspiration and to just read about other fine weddings from around the country. The Little Black Book is a sub-section of the blog where they list preferred vendors hand picked from around the country. Each category is limited to 3 vendors and Katlem Design & Invitations was lucky enough to be chosen for the Newport, Rhode Island category. What an honor!! I am flying high this weekend!

Thank you so much to all my wonderful clients over the last couple years and to Jen for all her amazing insight and help!

Real Wedding #1 } Gaiya & Kevin } OceanCliff Hotel, Newport, Rhode Island

This is the first in our series of “real weddings” where I’ll be featuring couples we’ve have the good fortune of working with over the past year. We’ll reveal our involvement in their wedding as well as some of of the other vendors they chose for their special day. These couples have also shared with us a little bit about themselves and about their wedding that you might find helpful in planning your own special day. Read on for our first feature!….

 

Gaiya and Kevin
Married at OceanCliff Hotel, Newport, Rhode Island
July of 2008

Our Involvement: Invitation set,  custom place cards, custom table cards, programs, thank you notes

We had the pleasure of working with Gaiya & Kevin this season. They were getting married at OceanCliff in the summer of ‘08 and came to Katlem early on in their planning process. Coming from a trade show background Gaiya was very organized in her planning which made it easy for us to just start tossing ideas around for them. They had an idea of what they wanted and we collaborated together to build on their ideas. We ended up coming up with some elegant ideas for the invitation and some unique and fun ideas for the custom place cards and table cards. They were a pleasure to work with and we had the best time designing and making their items for them!

Other notable vendors:
Photographer: Samuel DeNoto Photography
Florist: Flowers by Semia
Music: Island DJ (Marc Scortino)
Caterer: food provided by OceanCliff

 

 

Q&A with Gaiya & Kevin:

How would you describe your experience with Katlem Design & Invitations?
Working with Katlem Design & Invitations was absolutely fantastic! We wanted a unique design for our invitations, programs, table cards, escort cards and thank you notes and Kate and her team brought our vision to life. They produced several proofs for us and were incredibly patient with changes that we requested. Their designs and creativity are by far the best!! They definitely went the extra mile for us and we can’t wait to work with them again on future event invitations or print productions!

–Gaiya & Kevin Berube

What was the most memorable moment of your wedding?
It’s a tie between seeing my groom waiting for me at the end of the aisle and the moment my groom and I shared when we watched all of our favorite people in the world dancing at the end of the night and having a blast!!

What would be your advice for couples just starting the planning process for their wedding?
Develop your budget, FIRST! Second, produce your timeline/checklist to keep you on track.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?
No way! It was the best time of my life!!

What words would you use to describe yourselves as a couple?
Ridiculously in love.

Shows } Newport Bridal Show } OceanCliff

This past Saturday, Feb 21, Katlem Design & Invitations participated in the Newport Bridal Show which was held at Rosecliff and OceanCliff in Newport, Rhode Island. We had a booth at the beautiful OceanCliff Hotel and got to take in the nice ocean views while chatting with brides (and grooms too) for the afternoon. Below are some pictures of the Katlem booth from the event!

 

Upcoming Bridal Show Event

Katlem Design & Invitations will be participating in the Newport Bridal show this Saturday! Come check out our booth at OceanCliff Hotel! You may win one of the door prizes including $100 off an invitation order!

Adventures in home remodeling

I bought a magazine over the weekend and read a cool article about a young couple who purchased a older home a few years back and embarked on an adventure to remodel and update it while posting their journey on their blog. It was a great article and an even better blog. There are tons of great photos, design ideas and tips, and there is cool stuff available for purchase as well. Check it out at www.thisyounghouse.com. It might have even inspired me to get back on track decorating our own home!

Check out my Etsy Store

Morning Everyone! Well, I’ve been on Etsy for a little while now selling a different type of item than my usual custom stationery (although I’m starting to get more and requests for that) so I figured I’d post a shameless plug about my Etsy store this morning! If you head over there and peruse my store you’ll find a wide assortment of unusual wedding and shower labels, return address labels (circular I might add), shipping labels, and theme inspired family trees. I’ve been having a great time chatting with people all over the country and even Switzerland! There are also plenty of wildy talented folks who sell their hand crafted items on Etsy. It’s a wonderful resource for an unusual, personal, and hand  made gift item.

Thanks!

Kate