Invite Reveal

It's been almost a week since we sent out our invitations, and since I'm already getting responses, I'll go ahead and give you a peek at them! Now if you remember anything about Mr. S and I, you will know that we work together for a company that designs and prints greeting cards. Needless to say, we had no problem designing and printing our invites.

Invitation - personal image

Response Card - personal image

Outer Envelope - personal image

I chose not to have Mr. S print them on the formal wedding stock they have in the print shop. I also chose not to have them printed in thermography, a printing process that raises the ink on the paper. I don't really have an explanation as to why I did not want to use these options, when they are so readily and easily available to me. The only thing I can think of, is that those types of printing make me think of traditional, formal weddings. And our style is nothing like that. So instead, I chose to print the invitation and response card on Stardream Crystal paper, by Gruppo Cordenons. Their Stardream line is one of my all-time favorites to use for so many things. The Crystal paper is an iridescent white stock, that can look anything from white to silver depending on the angle you view it from. Luckily for me, I have many contacts in the paper-buying world, and was able to get a pack from my favorite paper rep for free! Just one of the many many perks to being in this business :)

A close-up of the paper stock, with added contrast so you can see the iridescent effect - personal image

The envelope is just plain white. No liner, nothing fancy. I used the data-merge function in InDesign to lay out the names and addresses, which pulled the guests' information from my guest list spreadsheet. I also printed our return address on the back flap.

Finally, I chose the USPS's Vintage Seed Packet Forever Stamps. The USPS has some really nice "weddingy" options when it comes to stamps, but my love for gardening and flowers won over the traditional roses and hearts.

Vintage Seed Packet Forever Stamps - image courtesy USPS.com

Grand total spent on our wedding invitations: $46.00 for the stamps. Yes, that's it. I could have gone all out and done some really neat designs, pockets, layers, etc. But even with my connections we would have spent at least $200 or more on something like that. In my mind, it just wasn't necessary.

You may have noticed that our response card doesn't have an envelope. That is because I chose to do an online RSVP for our guests. After reading mixed reviews from other brides who have used this process, I decided to also give guests the option to call me directly to respond. Many of them already have our contact info anyway, so sending a quick text or making a call doesn't seem too out of the ordinary for most of them. I've already received back 24 "yes" and 6 "no" responses. So at this moment, we are at a 75% acceptance rate. I'll keep you posted on those numbers through the next few weeks.

Until next time, happy planning, and keep it frugal!

Miss Spaghetti