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New Wedding Invitation Trends for 2011

In the coming year brides will be incorporating more organic details into their weddings, with the focus being on all things personal, hand-made, and organic. Even for the non-DIY bride, traditional artistic elements will be popular in wedding stationery.

Folk Art Style:
With current trends leaning towards more personalized, casual weddings, many couples are choosing to forgo traditional invitations and opt for stationery that is more like a work of art that represents them as a couple and their big day. Not only will we be seeing lots of more rudimentary graphics, but imperfect, hand-drawn fonts will become more popular as well.

 

Lace:
Lace is certainly not new to weddings, but it is definitely on the hot list for 2011. Intricately cut papers such as doilies will be very popular. On more simplistic budget-friendly stationery, lace graphics will add the same feel of romance and delicateness.

Stitching:
While most trends tend to repeat themselves over the years, sewn invitations are brand new to many of us. Hand or machine stitching is an unexpected element that adds a creative, personalized touch to wedding stationery, and brides who are looking for a unique "wow" factor are totally digging it!

Thanks to Jonathan Campbell Photography for the lovely images!

Jennifer and Flint: A Classic Outdoor Nashville Wedding

Photography: Ace Photography
Venue: Southall Eden
Planner: Premier Wed
Catering: Tom Kats
Flowers: The Enchanted Florist
Lighting: JD Lighting and Sound
Rentals: Music City Tents and Events

Top 5 Most Heinous Wedding Stationery Etiquette Blunders

I'm what you would call a "progressive" wedding stationery designer. I don't  subscribe to Emily Post and I don't believe that wedding invitations have to arrive in a double envelope with an sheet of vellum, but I do encourage brides to always be classy and thoughtful, even if they throw tradition to the wind in other aspects. That being said, here are the Top 5 Most Heinous Wedding Stationery Etiquette Blunders, according to me:

 

5. Addressing wedding invitations with Avery labels.

Yes, its easy and cheap. No, its not acceptable. You are announcing your wedding, not sending a holiday card, and you want to introduce the event with a personal, classy tone, regardless if you are having an informal wedding. I'm not saying its necessary to hire a calligrapher to address your invitations. A bridesmaid with nice handwriting can do it. Or you can have them printed in a nice calligraphy font. There are even beautiful labels that coordinate with wedding stationery that are acceptable for even the most up-scale events. (And yes, these labels are very popular, despite the fact that your mom may hate them). But white office labels printed at home on the bride's computer will not do.

4. Sending invitations out AFTER the RSVP date has passed. Sometimes it becomes necessary to send out invitations in batches to make sure you don't exceed your venue's capacity. This is understandable. However, please make sure that you give everyone at the very least 2 weeks to respond. Nothing says "You're on our B list" like getting an invitation when the RSVP date is 2 days away or has already passed.

3. Not sending an invitation to someone you sent a Save the Date to. Many times couples send out Save the Dates before they know a lot of details about their wedding. So what happens if you find out you can't have as many guests as you originally planned? Well, don't put yourself in that situation. If you are not completely sure how many guests you can have, only send out Save the Dates to those people who you absolutely know you will invite. Once you are sure you can invite more people, just send out your invitations a little early and you should be fine. I have also had couples ask if it was ok to not send an invitation to someone who received a Save the Date but has already declined. In a word, no. Assuming the person is someone you are close with (and if they are invited to your wedding, they surely are) they will still appreciate being invited. They may send you a gift even if they can't come, and you should do them the courtesy of sending an invitation. And also, their plans could change. If they are able to come after all, you want them to feel welcome.

2. Writing in/ correcting information on invitations. I once had a bride who had to change her wedding date due to weather-related damage to the venue where the event was being held. Instead of having the invitation re-printed, she informed me that she was just going to "change the date with a Sharpie". Oh. Oh my. Even as an etiquette liberal, this almost sent me to my grave. This is your wedding. Treat it with respect. If your information changes, ask about a reprint. In most cases, if only one piece has to be reprinted (as opposed to the whole ensemble) your stationer can reprint for a fraction of the price of the entire order. And on the same note, be sure you look over your proofs very carefully before placing your order. If there is a mistake you don't catch, the responsibility of paying for a reprint is yours.

And the Number 1 Most Heinous Faux Pas

1. Including registry information with your wedding invitation. No, no, no. Do not do this. Do not do this at your house, do not do it with a mouse. Do not do this in a box, do not do it with a fox. Do not do it, Sam I am. Your wedding invitation is a way to extend your desire for the recipient to be with you on your wedding day because of the importance they have in your life. It is NOT a way to tell them what gift you would like to receive from them, regardless of whether or not they attend. Attending weddings can be very expensive, especially if there is travel involved. The decision about a gift should be left to the guest. If she wants to know where you are registered, she can ask someone close to you, or find your registries online with very little effort. "But wait," you say, "When I registered at Target they gave me little registry cards to enclose in my invitations." Yes, they did, but they should not have. Those little cards are the devil's work and should be discarded immediately. Probably shredded first, and preferably disposed of in a toxic waste container. I love me some Target as much as the next girl, but the fact of the matter is that they have a vested interest in your guests purchasing your gift from them. They have no concern whatsoever whether or not you look tacky. That part is up to you! Exercise restraint!

Shannon

Meg and Josh: Part 2

Photography: The Parsons

Venue: Southall Eden

Planning: Premier Wed

Decor: Vintage My Wedding

Catering: Unique Flavors

Flowers: Village of Flowers

Lighting: JD Lighting and Sound

Meg and Josh: A Stunning Nashville Vintage Country Wedding

Like many Nashville transplants, Meg and Josh both came to Music City to pursue their music careers. Oddly enough, their paths converged when they were both finalists on the television reality show Nashville Star. And not only are they talented singers and songwriters, they are also ridiculously talented wedding photographers in their own right! You may have also noticed that Meg kinda has a knack for decor ;) Their quaint vintage wedding in September was one our favorites to date.

Photography: The Parsons

Venue: Southall Eden

Planning: Premier Wed

Decor: Vintage My Wedding

Catering: Unique Flavors

Flowers: Village of Flowers

Lighting: JD Lighting and Sound

How to Control Your Guest List

Congrats to all you happy couples who just got engaged over the holidays! Starting to plan your wedding is such an exciting time. I'm sure one of the first things you'll realize is that weddings are NOT CHEAP and the more guests you have, the more money you will spend. So, how do you control your guest list so that catering is not eating up (no pun intended) your entire wedding budget? Here are some tips:

1) Be realistic about who you want/need to invite. If you have not seen or talked to the person in two years, you probably don't really need to invite her, even if you were invited to her wedding 7 years ago. Think about who is important in your life in the here and now, and focus on those people. Nobody wants to offend people, but remember this is YOUR big day and YOUR budget. Don't feel like you have to invite everyone you have ever been friendly with.


2) Consider having an adults-only wedding. More and more people are doing this, and it really is ok and doesn't make you an evil person! In most instances, caterers and venues consider a human being one person regardless of age. If you have a limited budget or your venue has a limited capacity, its OK to opt not to invite your co-worker's 4 year old (who won't remember or care) so that you can invite another college friend instead. If you do choose to go the No Children route, have family and friends help you spread the word verbally. You will also want to make sure the invitation is addressed to "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" only, and you might consider having your RSVP card say "___ of 2 will attend" so that the couple will understand you are only reserving 2 spots for them.

3) Have you RSVP cards printed with two different RSVP dates. As a stationery designer, I frequently do this for clients. Say your wedding is on October 1st. You send out your first batch of invitations to your family and closest friends in mid July with an RSVP date of mid August. As you receive "No's", you send out more invitations, which have an RSVP date of September 1st. It's a great system that really works, but PLEASE be careful that you do not send Batch A invitations to people who will be talking to Batch B people. That can get really tacky, if you know what I mean.

4) Remember that not everyone you invite will attend. As both a stationery designer and a venue owner, I would say 95% of the weddings I have worked on have turned out to have LESS guests than the couple originally expected. Based on my own experience, combined with some informal internet research, I think its safe to say that usually about 75% of your invited guests will attend. Unfortunately even if 100% want to come, people have work obligations, prior engagements, family commitments, and financial situations that will prevent them from doing so. So even if you're wanting to invite 300 people, its probably worth it to take a look at a venue with a capacity of 250. Also remember that some people who RSVP that they are coming will end up not showing up (which is totally rude, but that's another story...) But likewise, you may have a few people show up who did not RSVP.

In summary, remember that this is YOUR day. Of course I don't advocate being a Bridezilla, but when it comes to the guest list, both space and money make it necessary to make some tough decisions, and you should not feel guilty about it. Now open up those excel spreadsheets and get started!!

Shannon