Labor of Love #2

The invitations are in the mail - hallelujah!

In an amazing effort by KJ and myself - our invitations made it to the post office early Tuesday morning and we've had a good response that people have seen our pretty pink envelopes filling up their mailboxes already.

Warning to any soon-to-be brides out there, DIY Invitations are SUPER stressful.

They are also worth it - take a look at our completely one-of-a-kind custom

invitations:

It all started with a bag:

and inside that bag was a lot of paper courtesy of Paper Source:

I had never been to Paper Source, but its one of my new favorite places. Its so colorful inside!!

Very important in DIY Invitations: A Mom with pretty handwriting and a heart of gold, willing to hand address envelopes for hours and a time.

Exhibit A - Mom's pretty hand writing:

And I've talked a lot about BM (Best Man - NOT Bridesmaid Kris) Kris' design talents - here they are in real life:

He worked from the inspiration invitations that I ordered (but never actually came in the mail) from minted.com

BM Kris also designed a Directions Card and our RSVP Cards:

KJ took over postage and stuffing while I manned the hot glue gun to assemble the ribbons and wax seals.

Before stuffing, each invitation was topped off with a Moo Card - the idea came from the super crafty ladies of weddingbee:

And a must have for any DIY Invitation project: a fiance willing to personally lick 111 pink envelopes:

I think I've said it over 20 times in the last four days, but I LOVE our invitations. I feel bad for loving them so much, because "paper" was one of the things I was willing to let take a back seat in wedding planning. I feel they get thrown out so quickly, or lost, or like a lot of my invitations - coffee-stained. But when you put hours and hours of work into these invitations, well they kind of find this very special little place in your heart.

I sent them out Tuesday and got the first RSVP back in the mail today! I'm SO excited, so keep 'em comin' folks!

Styling my Celebration: color palette

It occurred to me the other day that I have never really explained the basics of my reception. My vision, what mood I'm trying to portray, etc. Basically, what am I trying to accomplish with all this fussing and finding?

The short answer: a "Formal yet Fun" occasion that showcases our conventional, yet lighthearted and silly, selves.

"Formal but fun" is how I would describe my dress, and that's where it all started. I wanted a dress that was traditional and beautiful, yet something that had character. Then came the wedding colors. There are actually two version's of the wedding color story. The first is 100% true and the second, while still true, is a little less embarrassing. You see, I saw a picture of this tie when I was harmlessly browsing the knot.com many years back (come on ladies, we all have visited the knot plenty of times, sans engagement rings) It was love at first sight and started my obsession with Navy and Pink

top row, third image from the left

When I actually was in the position to think about my wedding colors (and have it not be part of a daydream) I knew pink would play some part and it's obvious partner in crime would be black. However, I was leery that pink and black could take on a rocker chic look rather quickly and that's when Navy came into the picture. A darker formal color like black, but something that was just a little bit "more" than your normal black. The pink and navy combo seemed to fit the formal but fun theme, all while embracing a preppy, clean, and lighthearted wit about itself!

Since the original "tie" picture, I've found many more Navy and Pink images that have made their way into my heart - check out some of these inspiration photos

pretty programs

fantasy table scape

hot pink/medium pink with navy combo

and so concludes the story of how my navy and pink "formal yet fun" wedding came to be.