In life, I am a big believer in handmade and little details. It makes sense that in my wedding I would be even more obsessed. These save the dates took many steps and a few mis-steps but they finally came together just as I wanted. Hopefully they have all arrived at their destinations by now…
The above image shows three envelopes and two save the dates. In the actual mailing there was only one of each but I wanted to share all sides at the same time. The gravel envelopes are from Paper Source. The small return labels are by Avery & the envelope liner is Snow & Graham. To line the envelopes, I used an envelope liner template and traced and cut. Paul would have been good at this part. He can help out when it comes time for the invites.
I have spent the last two years selling lovely but conventional save the dates and wedding invitations and the truth is, after awhile, they all get boring. I wanted something different than the common "Copperplate small caps and Bickham Script" and decided on one simple font (Century) and my handwriting for key words : elise, paul and celebrate. I drew my words with a black pen on white paper, scanned them in and manipulated them in Photoshop Elements so they became images. The orange flowers were drawn by hand and then scanned in as well. Our save the date is double sided. One side I printed on cream Arturo paper on my home computer and the other I designed in Elements and then had printed in glossy finish by Vista Print. I mounted both pieces together back to back with a tape runner and then rounded the corners. They turned out nice and thick.
The front of the envelope looked pretty naked in just gray so I drew the orange flowers on the front with an orange gelly roll. I am sure there is a fun stamp that would have served the same purpose, but it was important to me that the flowers "matched" on the outside and inside. The whole flower idea came about because I just loved that orange and gray Snow & Graham paper. They are perfectly IMPERFECT. I went through lots of bad ideas for how to address them but eventually just went with handwritten addresses in a black pen. Of course the king and queen stamps made an appearance.
The back flap of the envelopes got a return address sticker that I printed at home with my parents address and our names. I realized sort of late that our last names are no where on the save the date but when you think about it, if you don't know who we are it's probably better you not come. At the last minute I stamped the date of our wedding on the back as well with a date stamp and black ink. It's probably my favorite detail.
So TA-DA! Our save the dates. The photos are a bit dull but in real life, the colors are fun. Next, I have to figure out how to pull off the invites.
A word or two on save the dates if YOU are planning a wedding… they are not completely necessary unless you have folks coming from out of town. And even then, an email or phone call can suffice. If you are mailing them out, however, shoot for about 8-6 months ahead. Always put the date and city location but don't worry about ceremony/reception time and venue. Include the words "invitation to follow" and your wedding web address if you have one. Obviously everyone who gets a save the date will get an invitation but not everyone who gets an invite needs a save the date. My venue has a hard occupancy rule and to be sure I don't go over that, I was very conservative with the number of save the dates that went out. It's much easier to invite more than it is to de-invite.
enJOY it 
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