Yesterday’s wedding grad Gemma (who I am only a little bit in love with), said this about her DIY paper experience, “I totally fell in love with the idea of a DIY wedding, and decided to make all the wedding stationery. To kick this off I went and learned to make stamps so I could hand-make all my save the date cards. They turned out beautifully, everybody said they were lovely, and they took bloody ages. AGES! So I quickly ditched the idea of making my own invitations in favour of getting some from the internet.” Which is a nice reminder that DIY paper can be fun, but DIY paper can also be crazy. That said, David and I spent all sorts of time and love on our invitations, which ended up mattering a whole lot to me (so much so that I’ve never blogged about them in detail, because they seem that personal, but I’m sharing some pictures of the process with you today). So, for some of you, your wedding paper will not matter at all, and for others of you, it inexplicably will. So this week we’re launching into a little APW series on wedding stationary. And to kick it off, we have the official APW introduction on paper by Alyssa, in collaboration with me (what can I say, half my book is due this week, I’m not writing posts, I’m asking for help). So let’s do this thing.
{Part of Meg’s invitations, drying}
Hey y’all! Alyssa here and I’ve been charged with a very important task: to talk to you about paper.
I am very serious about paper. I love it. I ADORE it. If Paper Source had a credit card, I’d be selling my body on a street corner somewhere to keep me in card stock and embossing powder. A whole ream of 100% pure cotton, 24 lb. ultimate white? A 25 pack of A2 Stardream envelopes in Opal? I want to spread them out and roll in them like a puppy.
Except I wouldn’t dare. Because that would injure the paper.
I realize that not all of you feel like this about paper. Okay, probably nearly all of you aren’t cuckoo for cocoa puffs over paper. But you’ll probably have to deal with it while wedding planning. Save the dates, invitations, placards, place cards, signage, thank you notes – you may use all, some or none of this stuff in your venture to the altar. (And if it’s not your thing, why haven’t you been here already??) And per usual, APW is here to give you a little dose of reality on that which is the oh so lovely, paper.
So let’s chat. We’ll be featuring a couple of How-To’s in the next couple weeks from APW readers who DIY-ed their wedding paper sets, but how do you even decide which way to go? Like any other vendor or expense, you and your partner need to decide what you need in regards to paper. Don’t do it because you’re supposed to. Do you love the idea of save the dates? Do it. Do you not get them and giggle every time you see someone abbreviate it to STD? Don’t do it. You both also need to decide how much you’re willing to spend within your budget on paper, this might affect what you do with and what you don’t. And then once you decide, STICK WITH IT. Do not get swayed by prettiness and if you fall in love with something more pricey, adjust your costs elsewhere to accommodate it or find something cheaper. You absolutely, positively must have letterpress invites? Cut costs by using electronic STD’s (hee….) Or just call your d*mn Grandma. There is a reason that Save The Date’s are a recent invention. (Hint. They are unnecessary, if sometimes fun.)
A few points on paper that are important to remember:
- You will be told that your invitations will set the tone for your wedding. This is a very nice idea. It’s also crap. Getting the date and directions correct are more important than the ink matching the exact tone of your bridesmaids’ dresses.
- Stick to your guns, this is not your only opportunity to have pretty paper in your life. If you fall in love with a vendor whose rate for 200 invites is too much, I bet they have stunning personalized cards in sets of 25 that you can use as correspondence after your marriage. Do not have a meltdown about not being able to afford letterpress or gorgeous designer invites. Because in the end, it’s just paper and it will be embarrassing when your husband brings up that time you teared up after working up the figures for Vera Wang invites. (Not that I know anything about that. *ahem*) Go with a good vendor that can get the job done and then don’t think about it anymore.
- Engraving is wonderful and what your grandmother thinks is fancy. It also takes a long time and is only practical for large amounts of printing. Thermography can be the way to go for smaller weddings; it gives the look but is more cost effective. (Though if we’re honest, sometimes the paper warps with Thermography, and your husband is like, “what is this called again? It looks funny.” Sigh.)
- Gocco is pretty, fun and less prevalent than the internet would have you believe. It’s great if you have the time, supplies and abilities to do it. But if you just had to google Gocco, you don’t need to do it. Learn it later when you have more time. And the technology hasn’t already gone bust. By which I mean, do it in 2008.
{Meg’s Gocco project takes over her kitchen. In 2009}
- Same thing goes for any kind of DIY-ing your invites. Know what is also DIY? Printing your own without having to design them or get glue all over your carpet.
- Letterpress is stunning, beautiful, visually striking and just the thought of it makes me drool on my keyboard a little. It is NOT, however, your road to salvation. Make sure it is in your budget because letterpress is pricey. (As it should be. It’s an art.) Use letterpress because you think it’s amazing and you want to support the artists making it, not because you think you should. Because a great majority of your guests won’t know or won’t care that your invites are letterpress. Most of them will run their fingers across it, go “Ooo, pretty,” and then stick it on the fridge and forget it. And your grandmother will tell you that you should have had them engraved.
- Know what really and truly matters? I mean, if any of this matters? What matters is the paper (and the design, if we want to talk nitty-gritty.). You know how you can go to a party and see someone in the newest, trendiest and most expensive style, and you think, “Nice. I like.” But then they stand next to someone in a well-tailored classic outfit that fits them perfectly and you’re stopped in your tracks? That’s the difference between any of the above styles on lower-quality paper and then digital printing on good paper. As Meg says, “If you splurge on paper, you could write it in crayon and it would look good. So digital printing on good paper? It’s a win. It’s the paper that matters. You want something like this. Your printer will hate it. You will love it. My business cards are on nice paper, and that’s the first thing people say about them.” She also said letterpress wasn’t Jesus, but 100% cotton paper was Jesus. [Feel free to insert your own deity of choice in the previous sentence. Because 100% cotton paper? Religious experience.]
In summary? Decide what you need in your life, stick to your budget, and make sure it’s on good paper (and well designed. But again, that’s in the eye of the beholder). And don’t get caught up in all the hoopla about paper and weddings. 20% of your guests will save your save the dates/invites, and most of them will be related to you. The rest will probably lose it and call your mom two days before the wedding to verify the time. Keep that in mind.
Pictures: By Emily Style. Design of Meg’s invites by the lovely CEVD.
