Paper Perfections: resourceful bride

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Real Bride Guide

Our first debut of
“Real Bride Guide”
highlights
Kristen and Dusty!

A very classy couple who will be saying their I dos "Old Hollywood" style.

Just when you think pulling off this lavishly unique wedding style may be hard to do…just wait until you hear the very practical advice Kristen has to offer to all you fabulous brides looking for a bit of hope behind your wedding preperations.

Final Count-Making your List work for You.
We have overestimated just to be safe.
We were also sure that our catering choices where hefty potions per person (we are doing action stations monitored by chefs – so we have passed appetizers and a burger station, a mashed potato bar, pasta bar etc).
My future hubby is 6’5 and his family of men like their food! I hate being hungry at a wedding – we wanted to avoid that!

What’s your bridal style and what are some unique ways you plan on adding your unique touches throughout your wedding?

My bridal style is old Hollywood, romantic and elegant. We are having our guests wear black, yet there won’t be a cinch of black at the wedding.

We are having whites, creams, ivories and blush pinks with large champagne urns with ostrich feathers and large vases on our tables with hydrangeas, Valencia roses and champagne curly willow. I’m also big on linens! White Chair covers with white sashes and floor length table cloths are a must! We also have special lighting and our reception is in an old big courthouse (the landmark center in st Paul) so it fits the warm romantic feel we are going for. We are incorporating the old Hollywood, gone with the wind feeling, by having a specialty cocktail hour with dean martin, frank Sinatra playing.

Our January wedding is at 6pm so the reception won’t be until 715, and in Minnesota it is dark by then! So we want to make sure our large big space had warm lighting and a billion candles!

Do you prefer custom made or pre-fabricated wedding stationary?

I’m not sure, I’m having a really hard time with my invitations, I get ready to order them online, and back out because I’m not sure of quality, final product look etc. I’m worried the layout won’t look right, or the paper will feel cheap or something may be misprinted with them! I want my invitations to set the mood for our formal wedding without breaking the bank.
I’m very visual! I absolutely recommend buying samples and asking sisters/friends etc (my sweet future hubby says he likes everything, so that doesn’t help me much!) I ordered tons of samples – I even paid for some! I’m sure glad I did because they narrowed quite a few vendors out. Ladies you will want to TOUCH your invite – trust me! I never thought I would care so much about what they would look like but it’s a true investment like you said before and invites really set the tone for your wedding, you want to set the stage beautifully!

Be Budget Wise: Have fun and stick within your budget – don’t go one dollar over, it won’t feel good! Seek tips from experts, and really look into hiring a planner – you will be so happy you did!
Free Budget Planning guide: If you are interested email me and I will be glad to send you a free budget guide that fits neatly in your purse to help kee you in check.

Tips to an Enjoyable Day:

Hire a wedding consultant.

If it’s not in the budget for the entire wedding, make sure you have one for the day of. Your wedding isn’t a day where you want your mother worrying about the details. Make it special for everyone in your family – don’t forget someone has to clean up and manage your big day – why would you want your mother or sister to have to worry about that.

I wanted to make sure my whole family felt like it was a destination wedding (no worries, or lugging things around – just enjoying the special day). I have gotten a lot of compliments and gratitude from my close family members. Now, they can be with me at the spa, relaxing and getting ready instead of arranging my flowers. For me, we had one from the beginning and she has MORE than paid for herself with all the amazing deals she can find us. We had a less-than-average budget for our wedding, yet she has planned it so it will be like a gala event.

Real Bride Guide- Ashley & Maureen

From the minute Ashley and I started planning our wedding, we knew that we wanted a personal touch to come through in many of our wedding elements. The problem... neither of us is crafty. Not even a little bit. Enter stage right..... amazing Etsy seller, Sarah. I immediately fell in love with her shop on Etsy and knew our invitations had to come from her. After a few emails back and forth regarding our theme and colors, I received a gorgeous sample invitation and just knew This. Was. It.

Sarah worked diligently to get our invitations turned around in a very short time frame. I dropped the ball on deadlines, but she didn't miss a beat. The compliments on our invitations have been rolling in since we mailed them out. Sarah captured everything we wanted to convey about our Big Day: romance, elegance and love. Our experience was more than we ever expected - thank you, Sarah! We'll be back, that's for sure!

~ Mr. & and (almost) Mrs. Garry

Ashley & Maureen's Final Design

Bridal Bliss GiveAway

In celebration of an all new fall wedding season, we’re excited to feature a distinctive giveaway that's designed specifically with you, a one-of-a-kind bride, in mind! Here at Paper Perfections, we like to think of our brides in terms of their own personal style. Whether you're

Classic

Relaxed

Alternative

or Modern

each bride has her own unique flair. So put some of your own style into those details that shows off a bit of your panache. We’ve selected items from some of the best vendors to help make your memorable day even more wonderfully “you”

See Rules Below

Up for Grabs:

1. What bride doesn't need a little somethin'

blue?

The Sweet Sugar Beet is giving away this trendy, medium sized, cosmetic bag. Perfect for all your wedding day essentials--cosmetics, make-up brushes, mints and more! It’s made with designer Amy Butler’s Coriander Ivory cotton material and fully lined with a dark teal solid fabric.

The Sweet Sugar Beet has a wide variety of clutches and cosmetic bags that would make a perfect gift for your bridesmaids! The best part is that you can select a different fabric for each girl’s unique personality!

By: SweetSugarBeet- Designer of Modern Clutches and Cosmetic bags.

SweetSugarBeet—Bonus!!! "Free" Shipping offer: During the 2 week giveaway timeframe, make any purchase from the SweetSugarBeet and receive Free Shipping on your order. Place the code "Something Blue Giveaway" in the notes to seller box upon checkout. Once payment is recieved your shipping will be refunded.

2. Your choice of custom cards
“Will you be my Bridesmaid”. This set of 4 also comes with a matching "Maid of Honour" request. Perfect way to invite your bridal party in a very special way.

Your choice of style. Modern, classic, relaxed or alternative. I will work very closely with the winner to ensure they match your decor/style.

By: Mrsdstahl- Designer of Modern Wedding stationary and greeting cards

3. This simple yet sophisticated necklace was made with freshwater pearls tenderly wire wrapped to a silver ring and hung from a sterling chain. Finished with a lobster clasp the necklace measures 18 inches long.

By:Silvermoon-Designer of classic, semiprecious jewelry

Most of Silvermoon's pieces are simple, classic designs made with quality semi-precious gemstones and quality freshwater pearls, although she is highly skilled making more elaborate wire wrapped pieces.

4.
Bath Bombs After your big day is done, what better way to show your appreciation for all the hard work your bridesmaids went through than by giving them the spa treatment?
These 4 ounce personalized bath bombs will let them soak their stress away in luxury, and best of all, YOU get to customize everything about it! Winner will receive one personalized bath bomb per member of her bridal party (plus one for herself, of course!)

By Bathgasm - Designer of custom bath & spa products

The classic bride will leave her groom breathless with a simply stunning article .--Respects tradition and opts for simple elegance.
The relaxed bride will offset her wonderfully fun and laid-back personality with equally vibrant item.-- Feels most at home celebrating with family and friends at a down-home outdoor reception in her parents back yard.
The modern bride will wow in a delightfully fun and very trendy piece.--Knows how to put a fresh spin on old favorites and often choose to forego the customary for the unconventional.
The alternative bride will find a fantastically funky way to put a spin on all she does.

To Enter: No two brides are just alike so the designers of these delightful treats want to hear what kind of bride you are!

Review all 4 of the designer’s shops (from giveaway items above) and find the item from each shop that best describes the manner of bride you are. Leave a comment on this post about your unique bridal style and be sure to tell us exactly how you plan to make your personality shine through to your I-Do's. We will select four winners: one classic, one relaxed, one alternative and one modern bride. Each will win one of the 4 items above.

Giveaway ends Tuesday, September 22, 2009 at 11:59PM. All four winners will be chosen by random; using the random calculator on random.org. Be sure and check back on the 23rd to see if you are the winner. If your name is posted be sure to contact us with your contact info so we can send your winnings out to you.

Thank you for your participation and we wish you all the best!

First Up-Save the Dates

Save the Date Cards are announcements that inform your guests of your future wedding in order to keep your special day free.

They are essential in the following situations:

1. If many of your guests are traveling to your wedding

2. your wedding takes place on or around a holiday

3. you are planning a faraway destination wedding

4. Your wedding will take place in a seasonally busy or tourist locale, where the flights and hotels perhaps book up early.

They are generally sent at least 4-6 months prior to your wedding but, if you are planning a destination wedding, for example Hawaii it is strongly recommended that you send them 12 months in advance if not longer.

For seasonally busy and tourist locales or on or around a holiday it is best to send them 9-12 months in advance. Your guests will then have ample time to make all the necessary arrangements needed to be a part of your special celebration and may even extend it into a vacation of their own.
Use your imagination, Save the Date Cards are not meant to be formal. There are many design options available. You can have them match your wedding invitations, magnets, brochure style, post card size, multiple layers, booklet style; you can add a picture of you and your fiancé, or embellishments to add a personal touch.

Here are some guidelines on what your cards should state, your names, date of wedding, city or town and state of where wedding will take place.

Also, because Save the date Cards are a recent trend and many that have not attended a wedding recently may mistaken them for the actual invitation be sure to include something along the lines of, “Invitation to follow”, “Invitation and details to follow”, “Invitation will follow” this is usually placed at the bottom of the card.

If you need to keep your guest list to a minimum, make a list of close family and friends whom you want to make sure will be able to attend and mail them a Save the Date Card, you do not need to send Save the Date Cards to everyone you are inviting but, every guest that receives a Save the Date Card must also receive an invitation.

You could also use this time to recommend to your guests additional information to help facilitate their planning such as airline, car rental, hotel, information on things to see and do in the area and surrounding areas, special events, theatrical shows etc.

Go the extra mile and acquire group discounts by calling specific companies and seeing if they offer group discounts.

When two families join together; Consideration is key.

Wedding Signs- Sweet Considerations

Often times a wedding consists of shifting guests from one place to another in order to culminate this day of celebration. If you are a thoughtful bride looking to make these transitions as easy as possible I would like to introduce you to a wooden sign maker experienced in the customization of such a dilemma.

Signs By Diane a delightful shop of wooden treasures

Many signs for weddings that you see are flimsy paper signs. Not the case with her artistic flair and touches of old world innocence. Hers are, made to order, wooden signs that come in a wide variety of designs and colors. They add to the overall decor of a wedding with tasteful elegance and are sure to last you many years as a token from this momentous day.

She can make it possible for you to display your wedding sign in any way you may need to.

Whether you need it staked to mark a turn off, ribbon to hang, or even propped in a key location; she is able to make these delightful signs into quite resourceful additions to helping your day run smooth.

With special care always taken in the upmost consideration of each, individual, customer.

“I answer emails and convos within 24 hours (usually right away!) and like to communicate often if necessary with my customers so I know exactly what they want.”

To reassure you of what you have placed an order for photos of the finished product are taken before it is shipped out so the customer can see it and there won't be any surprises.

“I offer full customization. You can match the color of a sign to a bridal party's colors. “

Want something a bit more detailed?

She is able to add special touches such as attaching mirror hooks to the backs so a bride can add ribbon to coordinate with her colors and use it for easy hanging.

Also able to paint the backs as well as the fronts of all of my wedding signs because you never know where they will be displayed and I like to cover all bases. It's nice to have the backs have a finished look as well as the fronts.

“I recently made a sign for a bride who is getting married in Hawaii and wanted a tropical look. I added a starfish to one end of the sign for her and we kept the tropical beach theme going for her wedding."

As anything customized from a store can often be a bit unfriendly on a budget this is not the case with her. Prices are reasonable and very fair! To include reasonable shipping prices.

"Most signs I ship using FedEx which I find to be very and I've never had a problem with then.”

A tip If I May:

Thread ribbon through the hooks I provide on the backs of the sign for easy hanging. Coordinate the ribbon with the bridal party's colors. Signs can be hung on hooks, trees or sit elegantly on either a short or tall easel. For a staked sign add a big bow just under the sign where the stake and sign meet. It looks gorgeous!

Guestbooks that- WOW

Guestbooks are one of those things at a wedding that, amongst the excitement, can blend in to the background. Often, people don’t invest much time or thought in what the guestbook will look like or how it will be presented. However, the guestbook is one of the lasting memories that you will have from your big day.
Let's face it, getting your guests to sign a wedding guest book can be difficult. Waiting in line, trying to decide what to say . . . it's an outdated tradition!
However, Savvy brides are finding new ways to spice up the old custom by making it fun and creative for guests.

Below you will find some elegant ideas with a modern twist to help you hold onto those sentiments you wish to never forget.

If you are looking to get your guests out of having to stand in line and enjoying their time, you could have cards already at their seats to be dropped in a central location such as the gift or viewing table or any other spot of your choice in which you anticipate high traffic.

1. Consider Containers: an antique birdcage, fishbowls, decorative vases and boxes. Each of these can be decorated accordingly to match your decor and placed suitably in plain view rather than lying flat and often out of view.

2. One card-Two uses: Another idea for a guest book makes use of your place cards. Guests can write little messages on the backs of their cards and drop them in pretty glass bowls. Later, cut the cards in half and display both your guest’s name next to the card with their message. This will make a beautiful and meaningful scrapbook. Store your wedding invitations, your place cards, and any other stationery item or keepsake to help you remember this day.

3. Take a Wish- Leave a Wish: Very unique and quite resourceful.Instead of a guest book, two apothecary jars labeled “Make a Wish” and “Take a Wish” let guests write down their wishes for the happy couple and pick up a sweet sentiment from the bride and groom.
Find a container that will hold your wedding wishes. In this example, an antique birdcage is used, but there are many other options that will fit your wedding style. Large craft stores carry many things that could work for this. They usually have a large selection of different shaped glass vases and containers. Use some creativity. For a garden themed wedding, a tin watering can would look great. For a more modern approach, a colored glass cube vase would fit the theme. The possibilities are endless.
Step1
Make a small decorative sign to put by your "guest book" that will explain it to guests. Your guests may be used to the more traditional guest book so they might not immediately know what to do. Write it yourself if you are skilled in photography. If not, print it on a high quality thicker piece of card stock in a decorative font. It should be short and simple. Something like "Make a wish for the happy couple!" works great.
Step2
Cut up pieces of decorative paper into small rectangles. 3" x 4" is a good size and can be easily cut from a 12" x 12" sheet of quality scrapbook paper. This paper can be purchased at specialty scrapbook stores as well as discount craft stores. Set them out next to your container with a few nice pens. Use different colored ink to spice it up. If having an outdoor wedding don’t forget some sort of paper weight to place on top of each stack like a rock or glass figurine.
Step3
After the wedding, reading the little personalized notes from your friends and family is a wonderful experience. These little scraps of paper can be used in a variety of ways. You can arrange them into a collage on mat board and have it framed. Another idea is to use them throughout a wedding scrapbook.

4. For Wine Lovers: A Wine Bottle Guest Book! How cool is this for those wine lovers out there, this is a great way to memorialize those guests at your wedding. I could see the bottle sitting in an elegant bookcase 40 years from the day of your wedding. A felt tip “skinny” marker should do the trick. Be sure to practice first with different tip styles.

Tips from brides:

“I came across a wedding guest quilt online the other day and everything fell into place. Our colors are black, white, ivory and gold so we're going to have 5" squares of white fabric and black fabric markers. The 5" squares will have a frame drawn on them in chalk to show people where they can write (4" square).
After the wedding, and the purchase of a quilting hoop, we will sew the squares along with smaller ivory and gold squares together in a quilt pattern and make a quilt with a black border and backing.

“My cousin did a coffee table book of local artists from Savannah (where her wedding was located) for her guest book. People signed whatever page they wanted to and wrote sweet messages. They couple then displayed the book on their home coffee table and if people pick-it up to look they see all the nice messages left by their guests.”

“For memories that never fade, invite your guests to record their presence at an important gathering by signing their names on the voluminous Grand Signature Bowl with its accompanying Sterling Silver Scribe. The scribe has a special diamond tip that writes on glass, and comes with a card demonstrating how to hold the pen.”

“I like the idea of creating a picture book on http://www.blurb.com/ or some other kind of publishing website and just add pictures, but leave some pictures blank for signatures”

“WE are doing the photo book as well. But instead of everyone taking their own pictures with a Polaroid we are going to designate two people to take pictures of the guest as the arrive at the reception. I will then have my guestbook already laid out with a spot for comments and then save room for the picture that I will insert at a later date. I hope this helps!”

“I love this idea soooo much that I am doing the same. I picked up a book of pen and ink sketches if Siesta Key, FL done by a local artist. I will then have ask my guests to write messages on the pages they want. The book is not a formal glossy hard cover book but a 8x12 paperback book of about 80 pages.”