3 Tips for Keeping Your Guest List Organized

Hello lovely!

We are so excited to share our tips on keeping your guest list organized, but I am going to be honest with you, the real gem of this post is the awesome download at the end! We have spent some serious time testing and tailoring it to help you keep track of all things on your guest list. 

Think about it, by the time you are done you have most likely sent save-the-dates, rehearsal dinner invitations, bridal shower invitations, wedding invitations and countless thank you notes. All of those addresses can be handled in one document. Truly lifesaving.

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our three best tips:
 

1. Customize your list:

Take a moment to consider what information you will need before you start gathering all those guest names & addresses.

Think about things like: 

• Will you be including inner envelopes with our invitations? (if so, add a separate column for those names)
• Will you be sending out separate invitations to other weekend events? Think rehearsal dinner, bridal luncheon, Sunday brunch. (if so add columns for each, and mark which guest will get what when you add in their names)
• Know someone who may move between sending save the dates and invitations? Make a column for them so you can check back before the final send-off. 

All of these can save you from having several lists, and so much time when it comes to stuffing and sending out everything. 

2. Track everything

On the download, you will see columns for all these different elements, and you may have even added more from the tip above, but all that setup will be so worth it when you have an organized list that will save you hours! 

Think of this as your command center for tracking all of your guest information. Don't just make a list for mailing, but use it to track who will be attending what and who you will be inviting to which events. 

3. Share your list

This is the most helpful part of this list, in my humble opinion, it not only is so helpful for you to know what has been sent, and who gets what invite, but it is a great tool to pass on to all of the lovely people who are helping you along the way. From bridal showers to thank yous, keeping all of your lists in one location will make keeping things together a breeze. (Well at least a lot more organized and less chaotic)

Our Timeline and Guide for Your Wedding Invites + Save the Dates

Our Timeline and Guide for Your Wedding Invites + Save the Dates

Ahhh, wedding planning… the endless to-do list. You have a checklist and it feels like you can never complete it! Or maybe you have 7 different checklists, one for each vendor… lists for days.

And if you are anything like us you have several categories of lists that are all controlled by one master list. (I may or may not have some slight OCD when it comes to list making.)

Today, we have a handy checklist all ready for you on when you ACTUALLY need to send out those save-the-dates, invitations, thank yous, and much more. We will even go into detail if you are planning a destination or a local wedding.

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First Things First

First things first, if you haven't already, let everyone know you're engaged! It is such a heart-filling moment to have all of those closest to you be so happy and excited for you on this newest adventure! 

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Start with a vision

There are many things to check off your list before it is time to meet for your wedding suite, but one thing we encourage brides to do from day one is to create a vision for your big day. If you don't already have a mood board full of ideas, now is the time to fill it up. (We are loving gomoodboard.com) If you’re not sure how to find inspiration that’s unique with items you love, don't worry! We’ve got you covered in this blog: How to Find Your Wedding Inspo.

But don't fill it with things you kind of like, instead fill it with fewer things you love.

list maker here

I would even suggest making a different board for your main priorities: venue, florals, table settings, and of course paper goods.

*If you would like some ideas, check out our Pinterest boards

Okay now let's get to your actual wedding paper timeline!

Up first, Save the Dates

Once you have your date and location locked down, its time to send these bad boys out. The range we suggest is 6-12 months before your wedding date. The earlier the better for these - especially if you're planning a destination wedding. In that case, send them even earlier!

We suggest meeting with us 4-6 weeks before you’re ready to send Save-the-Dates out. This allows for plenty of time for a consultation, any revisions and design approval, ordering of letterpress plates, and printing.

Bonus: Save-the-Dates and invitation suites only need one consultation. Its all about the big picture, and how all the pieces work together. And it’s best done if you cover all the elements at once. 

Go ahead and put it on your calendar now - we DARE you!

Round number two, Your Wedding Suite

At this point, you have all of your vendors booked, all your deadlines in hand, and a full vision of your big day. If you didn't find us until after you sent your Save-the-Sates, don't worry - we’re bummed too, but that means it’s time to schedule a consultation for your wedding suite. Yay!
 

Wedding Suite

The pieces we suggest including are: invites, reply cards, detail cards, and weekend events. The “weekend events” card might include other wedding related gatherings such as a bridal luncheon or a groomsman golf round. It all depends on what fits your wedding! 

Again, we suggest meeting with us 4-8 weeks before you’d like to send them on their postal way - ideally sending them out 1-6 months in advance. This is really where sitting down with your wedding planner (or us) will help to determine what timeline is best for your wedding. Generally, destination weddings should be sent out much earlier than most stateside weddings. 

If you're running a little behind you can send them as late as 1 month away, *IF* you're having a local wedding where most of the guests live.
 

Don't forget your thank you cards

You’re gonna have a LOT of thank you’s to write - shouldn’t they look good too? Showers and gifts are on the horizon if you haven't already received a few. Having these in hand really helps you stay on top of writing all those Thank You's before they build up!

The finale, day-of pieces

These are important items not to put off until the very last minute. Although we can get them to you quickly, you don't want to be worrying about these right before your big day.
 

These pieces include item such as:

• programs
• escort cards
• table numbers
• menus
• favor tags
• welcome bag items
• etc 

Day of pieces typically require another chat or meeting to go through the specifics, and really nail down those final pieces your guests will see. 

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We know everyone loves a good free download, so we have just that for you! A simple timeline checklist of when to schedule a meeting and send out your wedding paper goods!

6 Unique Ways to Word Your Wedding Invitations

One of the most common questions we get from our brides is "What wording should I use." Although there are so many guides about wording out there, today's won't be a regurgitation of formalities or common wording options, but instead unique wording options real brides have used over the years.

We really believe in showing off your personality as a couple through your wedding suite, and this definitely includes your wording from save-the-dates through your thank yous. 

Before we break this down, these are just a FEW of the unique wordings we really like and think stand out from the crowd. If you have something unique as a couple roll with it. Afterall your wedding day is all about you two as a couple, so make it fit! 

so put it on your calendar

In our eyes, Save-the-Date cards are the beginning of your wedding suite. Everything from save-the-dates through thank yous should be a breath of the same air. So go ahead an have fun and show off those personalities starting here. 

Here are a few examples of some of our favorite save-the-date wordings. Remember you don't need to say too much here! Its main purpose is to let your guest know where and when your wedding will be held.

Our Favorite Unique Wording for Save-The-Date cards:

1. FYI, you have plans...
 

2. August Twenty Fourth 2019, we're getting married...
 

3. We'd love for you to join us on...
 

4. We set the date...
 

5. Mark your calendar for...
 

6. We are getting married {month, day, year}. We'd love you to join us.

On pretty paper

Your wedding suite often contains many pieces in order to communicate everything your guest need to know about your wedding and all the details and events that surround it. For this post, we are going to cover the basics of your invitation, rsvp, and detail cards. However, there are many more items that may be included such as your rehearsal dinner card, brunch card, map + directions, accommodations, etc. 

and watch us kiss

Your invitation is typically the most formal piece of your wedding suite, but that doesn't mean it has to be stale, boring or common. So here is our take on some fun ways to be a little more formal.

Our Favorite Unique Wording for Wedding Invitations:
 

1. You inspire us. You ground us. You fill us with endless joy and gratitude. We would be honored and privileged to have you join us as we exchange vows.
 

2. Because you have shared their lives with your love and friendship we joyfully invite you to celebrate
 

3. With full hearts we invite you to join us as two love birds become husband & wife.
 

4. It is because of your love, support & friendship which has guided and inspired us that we invite you to join us as we exchange our vows.
 

5. Please join us for a weekend getaway in celebration of our marriage
 

6. {Bride and Groom} warmly invite you to share in celebration of their marriage

 

Would you like Fish or Chicken?

Most RSVPs are rather plain and frankly not exciting. That doesn't have to be your RSVP though. We love adding graphics for food choices, or couples who want to know their guests song request.

Our Favorite Unique Wording for Wedding RSVPs:
 

1. ¿Sí o no? 
 

2. Happily accepts | sadly declines
 

3. Can't wait to party at the wedding | unable to attend (and very sad about it) 
 

4. yes! Woudln't miss it. | no. sorry to miss it!
 

5. ____ out of ____ guest(s) will attend
 

6. Yes! We will have our dancing shoes on | No, Sadly we'll have to miss out on the fun

or join us for brunch

Although this card is sometimes optional, we find that most of our couples need at least one extra piece beyond the invitation and RSVP. Cue a lovely details card that lets your guest know about your wedding website, where to find accommodations or even some things to do while they are in town. 

Our Favorite Unique Wording for Wedding Detail Cards:
 

1. Find all the details at: meandyou.com
 

2. Drinks on us!
 

3. All the weekend details: meandyou.com
 

4. Here is the who, what, when, where and why for the weekend.
 

5. Unplugged and Adults Only
 

6. A few of our favorite things

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If you like a few of the wordings from above, no need to scroll up and screenshot them. We have crafted a download of them here so you can save them to that ever-growing wedding folder on our desktop.

We really hope this guide helped you think about what ways you may make your wedding wording have more personality and less common. These are just a few wording options, during our consultations we brainstorm with each of our brides, and help them find wording unique to them.

xoxo,
Amanda and Melissa

Our Holiday Cards- Twenty Eighteen

Everyone loves seeing what goes on during production here at the studio. So for this blog post we are giving you a sneak peak into our process as we make our 2017 New Years card!

A behinds the scenes of our 2018 New Year's card!

You probably know this by now, but we have a thing for letterpress (e.g. Wedding Invitations & Suites, Envelopes, Greeting Cards, Stationery). It is an obsession.

We’ve even shared a little about our letterpress process before! But when we have the opportunity to make something for ourselves, we couldn’t help but share our most recent letterpress obsession: OUR NEW YEAR'S CARD!

Our New Year's card is something we both get so excited to design and produce during the holiday season! In the beginning, we always start in one direction and land in a different world it seems. 

During our process of designing and working through several ideas, we came to the conclusion that we wanted to collaborate with one our friends and a local designer and artist, Reed Knauth. (Check her out more of her work here) Knowing we wanted something soft yet playful she went to work creating us some beautiful watercolor art. 

Check out more of Reed's wonderful work here:

 

Deciding the details

After narrowing down to our favorite watercolor image (don't worry you will see our other favorites soon!), we began to set different lockups of typography and exploring different accessories. 

We have been really loving grommeted tags, wax seals, and diagonally tied string this month, but next month is sure to bring new favorites. 

Once the invite is fully designed we send all things to be flat printed to the printer, and all designs to be letterpress printed off to get plates made. 

We duplexed the flat printed piece, so that every invite would be thicker, and feel a little nicer on every hand that it touched. 

ON THE PRESS

We letterpress printed all of the tags on our Vandercook press, cut them all down to size, and then the invite was ready for assembly.

PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER

During this time of year, we love putting on a sappy holiday movie as we assemble our holiday cards, enjoy the season, and spend time crafting something we have put so much time and thought into! 

We will be sending out our New Years card soon, and hope you enjoy having one in your hand as much as we enjoy making them! Want to be on our mailing list for next year's card? Join our mailing list at the bottom!

xoxo,
Amanda & Melissa

A Suite Story of Adventure

|story| of this intivation suite:

|venue|: Calor Woodford Gardens

|season|: late Summer early Fall

|feel|:  The overall design of this identity suite was meant to feel modern with a touch of old world. To accomplish this we mixed two different typefaces, a modern san serif paired with an antique, hand-done script. Featuring earthy tones that are reminiscent of the colors seen in late summer to mid-fall. It is elegant and warm, while being informal and truly personal. 

|details|: The final product was a six-page letterpress, hand-bound booklet that contains the invitation, perforated reply postcard, weekend events page, Atlanta hot spots and travel information personalized by the couple. To finish off the booklet, it was wrapped in a sheet of vintage paper that read a quote from E.E. Cummings.

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the backstory

For this couple home is not seen as a place, but as a state of being. It’s defined not only by where you are, but more importantly whom you are with. For them, travel is a mirror to their souls. Made up of circumstances, moments, and feelings that are best captured through seeing the world.

Having a handful of mutual friends they couldn’t help but question why they weren’t introduced earlier. They began their relationship by admiring one another’s photos on social media. He would see, and envy, her photos taken on a business trip in London, and she would do the same with his photos taken on a hiking trip through Iceland. Finally, they got together and knew their adventurous spirits had found a match in each other.

This couple has a story rooted in intention and the pursuit of something wonderful and new. From their first weekend trip to Maine and a road trip to Texas hill country, they’re always being called to a new adventure. Their warm souls explored the cold of Alberta in the fall and winters in Rome. They’ve wandered through the lavender fields of Georgia together and have strolled through the ever-spreading grape vines in Bordeaux.

This moment, this circumstance, and these new feelings is their greatest adventure of all. We were so lucky to be a part of telling their story.

“This moment, this circumstance, and these new feelings is their greatest adventure of all. We were so lucky to be a part of telling their story.”

the consultation

During our first consultation we discussed what palette would be best to tell their story. We decided on an earthy tone reminiscent of the colors seen in late summer to mid-fall. It is elegant and warm, while being informal and truly personal.

The overall design of this identity suite was meant to feel modern with a touch of old world. To accomplish this we mixed two different typefaces, a modern san serif paired with an antique, hand-done script.

We brought an illustrator on board to help us tell their story in a more personal and fun way, so we included small, vintage illustrations throughout the book.

the final suite

The final product was a six-page letterpress, hand-bound booklet that contains the invitation, perforated reply postcard, weekend events page, Atlanta hot spots and travel information personalized by the couple.

Since the beginning of their story began with their admiration for one another’s passion for travel, the cover of the booklet expressed the same sentiment. A printed vintage map of the couple’s favorite travel location that was then labeled with a custom monogram including their initials and GPS coordinates. The GPS coordinates lead to the location of the first kiss they shared.  

A perforated reply card was included within the booklet that mimicked the vintage postcards they had seen while in Bordeaux. It was a perfect way to add a personal touch that made the whole suite even more cohesive.

To finish off the booklet, it was wrapped in a sheet of vintage paper that read a quote from E.E. Cummings. It was then tied with a copper string and letterpress tag that had the date printed on the front. It was the perfect way to introduce their story and invite their guests to experience this beautiful time in their lives from the beginning.

“anywhere i go
you go, my dear,
and whatever is
done only by me
is your doing,
my darling”

— E. E. Cummings