Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Save the Date Cards in Process!

Good morning!

I know I up and said I wasn't doing any wedding planning, but going to a bachelorette party over the weekend initiated many, many the question about what plans Matthew and I had for getting married, and gosh darn it, it's got me thinking wedding all over again! We've wanted to get hitched pretty much since we met, but the daunting task of putting together a major, crazy-huge event like the kind of wedding we would want has honestly had me cowed for lo, these many years that we've been engaged. However! I think it might be time to dip our toes in the waters of making it legal for real. Watch me have a complete melt down and just do a courthouse wedding, but something's gotta give before 2014. A five year engagement is too long for us!


My sister Sus and her fiancé Matt, who works as a graphic designer, very kindly offered to help me through their print shop connections with making my save-the-date postcards. Last night, I took Sharpie to paper and worked on a mock-up of the kind of thing I would want. 10-07-13 is a Monday in October, so it's just a placeholder date for whatever we end up deciding on, but what do you think about the layout and design? My secret, in my head aesthetic when it comes to doodles like this is MTV circa 1982-- think pastel-erized moon landing footage and animated doodles all over a still photo. I put together this picture of the two of us, inside a little wedding band Venn diagram. Imagine something like this if all the lines were a little more uniform and the cursive was an actual font instead of reflective of my checkered past in learning handwriting. My one regret is Bab's bucket-looking head...he's so much handsomer in real life! But this was the best I could do under pressure. How does it strike you? 


The back of the card, no duh, would just be our names and maybe the date again and the intimation that there will be some kind of filgree'd, formal thing to follow this, plus a shout out to whatever free wedding website we end up setting up.

After I scanned the above doodles and got some positive feedback from "the pro's", I grabbed a set of coloring pencils and went to work on the colors-- again, keeping that MTV look in mind, I wanted a palette that most closely resembled a pack of Fruit Stripe Gum...all bright colors and zebra stripes! What do you think? Is it better in black and white? These wouldn't be the final colors, but again, something similar to and in the same light-bright gradient family.


An earlier version of the same layout, with less crazy colors and lines....I think I like the "more is more" of the one above.


I have a history of doodling Matthew and I whenever I'm bored, but here's the only other "formal portrait" (haha) I've done of the two of us. Matthew's mom, Deb, took me to the Frist for the Golden Age of Couture exhibit, and one of the hands on activities upstairs in the kid's zone was a really neat "make your own print on fabric" thing. You were given a styrofoam rectangle and a dull-edged, pencil-kind-of-implement to carve out your image. An onsite assistant then took your carving, inked it up, and ran it through a little press that rolled the image onto the cloth. I think this turned out really well, if I do say so myself! Matthew had a moustache at the time, and don't we look dapper in shades of ombre!


For comparison, here's the real "us" on New Year's of this year. It is no trick of the camera, my head really is that big:


Earlier sketches, where neither of us look like either of us:


Look how reptilian poor bibi looks in the last panel! And how I look like a white, less pretty, slightly cross-eyed  Beyoncé. What was my hand doing?! I never said I was no artist. :)

Anyway, what do you think? If you're married or thinking about it, what did you do for your save the dates? I keep seeing all these amazing, printed-on-floral-hankerchief numbers, or ones-that-can-be-planted-because-they-secretly-contain-flower-seeds (our friends Michael and Elizabeth actually did that for their wedding, and it was actually awesome), but I think I just want something really handmade and dear, like my poor little sub-art sketchings. Is that lame?

When I get my act more together on planning, I'll let you all know! In the meantime, though, any advice you have, especially fellow Nashville peeps, would be very appreciated.

Til tomorrow!

PS: If you like ACTUAL art-type things, you should check on Matt and Sus's sticker page on Etsy, and Sus's personal art page. They're pretty dang good at what they do! I'm so happy they're willing to help me out. :)

33 comments:

  1. Lil' sister shout out! Gee, I'm blushing over here. :D I am IN LOVE with these save the date cards. The doodles are fantastic and the color choices... don't get me started on how great those are!

    Out of all of our discussions on the matter, I think you've finally hit the nail on the head with these! I can't wait to see what we end up with in the end! <3

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    1. Haha, thanks Sus! I'll keep you posted, man. :)

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  2. yay! Wedding planning. Although, I'm also more likely to get hitched at a courthouse and avoid all the fuss.

    But as far as STD goes, these are so cute. And I think handmade things are better. And no, more is more.

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    1. STD-- the abbreviation had never occurred to me! I actually had a tiny laugh out loud slash snicker when I read this(I am 8 years old at heart). I'm glad you like the cards! Thanks for the encouragement, lady! :)

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  3. love this fabric print! you should use this for the cards.
    with my own wedding there was not much fuss. we just printed the invitations at home with a nice font on nice thick paper and i dotted some gold paint on it.......
    But here is just "old Europe" :-)
    http://bahnwaerterhaeuschen.blogspot.de/

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    1. I bet they were neat, though! I might have to run mine through the copier at work (shh!)-- the more do-it-yourself, the better!

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  4. I am not the person to ask since we had only a small handful of people at our actual wedding and so save the dates were in unceremonious emails. LOL But I think the ones you're making are perfect and adorable! I am ALL for not doing the typical. :)

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    1. Re: emails: That's actually way more efficient and economical, when you get down to it! It only just now occurred to me, in this year of our Lord 2013, I actually have no idea how much a single stamp costs. Isn't that sad? And postcard stamps, well, I'm even more in the dark about that. I guess I'll find out! Thanks for the kind words about my handiwork! :)

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  5. Ah, I love them! They are definitely very MTV-esque, and the also remind me of Doug (which is a good thing ;)).

    I personally don't care for those kitschy STDs that you can use for other purposes. I like a good old fashioned card - and if it's actually arty, it'll stay on the fridge longer than necessary :) I hate those magnets and stuff that people send out (sorry!). It just seems like a waste of money that could be better spent on other things. Like booze. haha

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    1. Haha, DOUUUUUUG. Totally! And thanks! That's the thing, I want all the paraphernalia to be something someone might actually keep in a scrapbook (do people keep scrapbooks anymore? They should, lol) or on the fridge. And also, that the paraphernalia budget be kept to a minimum, as you said, so we can spend money on the reception. ULTIMATE PARTY.

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  6. I think that you're on the right track and they're going to be perfect. I would know you and Matthew anywhere from those doodles - and heck, I've never even seen Matthew in real life. I like the "more is more" too. Especially Matthew's zig-zag eyebrows. At first, I couldn't figure out why Lauren was talking STDs but then realized it is an abbreviation for "Save The Date" too. D'oh!

    We didn't do "Save The Date" cards but it's probably because we had about ten people at our wedding. We were just all "are you coming...or not?" and that was that. : )

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    1. Thanks, Eartha! 1) I promise you will someday see Matthew in real life (we should do that dinner I was talking about 1,000,000 years ago BC that I managed to forget to actually put together!) 2) I am so glad everyone has been so nice about my "over the top" squiggle aesthetic, I really did think each of you kind people would be like "What in the heck...no. Do not send that to your grandma. She will think you have lost your mind." 3)Until Lauren W said it, the abbreviation had also escaped my notice. 4) I have a feeling there will be a lot of followup "are you coming or not" calls, haha! Love it.

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  7. I love the coloured up one - and definitely the 'more is more' option - if you're going to go MTV, you've gotta go all out. And I love that you're going for a handmade feel rather than anything fancy like hankerchiefs and seeds, especially for save the date. Sometimes you get save the date cards that are as fancy as invitations and it seems... I don't know... a little but overdone, like, instead of spending all this time getting the save the date cards made, why didn't you just put all your energy into sorting out the details and send out an actual invitation?? Sorry to get cynical for a moment there! Long story short - love your card design.

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    1. Thanks, Marie! I agree, I just want something kind of fun and sweet for the save the dates, and then I might actually go all traditional and do printed, nice invitations (I can't help it! I am so trad!). I feel like after I get the save the dates out there, too, it will get me into gear for planning, like "You've told people there's going to be a wedding, now plan it!" hahaha.

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  8. I love your save-the-date card idea! The personalized sketches and vintage-MTV look is awesome and authentic to who you guys are. Too cool!

    As a lady who has been married twice now (the Mister has me beat; I'm his third wife!)...my unsolicited wedding planning advice to you is to pick a few things that you care the most about, concentrate on making those awesome (and spend your $$$ there) and let the chips fall where they may re: the other stuff. I think the wedding industry in general and sites like Pinterest make people feel like their wedding has to be super-crazy-complicated, expensive and detail-intensive because "it's the most important day of your life!" Well, that is bullcrap. It's a big day, sure, but if you live a long time, you'll have lots of important days. So have fun with it--concentrate on the stuff YOU think is awesome and just fudge the rest. :) LaurenT

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    1. Thanks, Lauren! Believe me, any and all advice is officially solicited and welcome! And I so agree that there's a new, terrible onus put on us 21st century gals, because of Pinterest and Martha Stewart, to have this Lady Di-esque, epic celebration or else die of shame. I've noticed that the more I look at non-movie, 1940's wedding planning type things (as I've been known to do), how most brides would do something elegant but SIMPLE, SIMPLE, SIMPLE (married at the bride's mother's house, tea and cakes for a reception, handmade dress, etc, etc). Simple doesn't have to be chintzy! I hope I can remember that three months from now when I'm Bridezilla-ing out, lol!

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  9. I pretty much love the aesthetic you have selected. It's so personal and not cliche! Which I think is super important. It reminds me of those sesame street cartoon segments where a number 9 is wearing a top hat or something. In other words, I love it. Also, you are not alone. My old desk at work used to be covered with doodles of my honey. He was very easy to doodle (that sounded weird)

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    1. Aw, yes! Thank you! And I'm glad I'm not the only obsessive bf doodle artist, haha!

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  10. i love the color ones! they are so cute! 24 hour prints.com does great postcards. i designed my own (i'll try to find a picture to show you) and got them printed at kinkos and cut them out and it was a PAIN. i did my cousin's and we got them from 24 hour prints and they looked great! we got our invitations from hatch show print and they were AMAZING! I CRIED looking a the proof becaue I was so happy to see them. it was emabarassing.

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    1. I am so going to pick your brain-- you're married, in Nashville, and have fantastic (and, shhh, on the cheap!) taste. PREPARE TO BE PICKED. I can't believe your invitations were from hatch show print; heck, I woulda cried, too! That is *awesome*, not embarrassing! :)

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  11. These are adorable and totally sum up why I love being your blog friend. It's so exciting that you're taking the plunge! Paul and I have been married over 4 years now and it's been such a positive experience. We didn't have a wedding, though, just went to the Sedgwick County court house on a Wednesday in December. Honestly, we'd lived together for so long that getting married didn't really change anything. Plus, we get to feel all smug because we worked out all of our "issues" long before getting married.

    Anyway, looks like you really know how to brighten up a mail box!

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    1. You are so nice! I think it's time. I've been dragging my feet sincerely and simply because of the planning aspect-- but, you know, it might be fun! And if I even start to get the tiniest twitch of Bridezilla, I think I'll just do the courthouse thing, too. You're right, it's all about the guy and the girl and not the whole pomp and circumstance of a big thing. Keep your fingers crossed for me that I can strike a happy medium, there! :)

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    2. I can't imagine you turning into Bridezilla! Just have fun and I'm sure everything will turn out spiffing.

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  12. What fun, I love this whole theme! The black and white ones have a super cool, 90's photocopied zine feel, but the colored ones look like the amazing packaging for a pack of 80's decorative erasers (or, like you said, gum!). So really, you can't go wrong!!

    MC and my Save the Dates were inspired by Anchorman.
    http://www.dresseduplikealady.com/2012/03/save-date.html

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    1. Your ceremony and celebration were so personal and pretty! High bar to set, but I hope I can have something like that for my big day... I love the mike and the trumpet in the seal from your save the dates, and the "marrying the hell out of each other", too cool, kid. TOO COOL. :)

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  13. I love them! I got married on a Thursday afternoon in a courthouse, and honestly I wouldn't have done it any other way. No fuss, no muss-low key and perfect for me. I was able to get away with it because I live many, many miles away from the rest of my family, and no one felt like coming to Alaska in February :)

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    1. Thanks, Maureen! I hope I can keep the fuss and muss to a minimum, too... keep a good thought for me, haha!

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  14. I love your ideas! Very 'you' and totally '80s awesome!!....like, TOTALLY! The MTV-esque card is such an original idea! So colourful! I too like the 'more is more' with the squiggles and colours. As for the doodles of you guys, I love them all and think they all quite look like you both! Nice job! If I had to pick a fav, I guess I prefer the more is more doodles and colours with the doodle of you that's on the "earlier version of the same layout, with less crazy colors and lines" simply because I love the bow in your hair and the pearls! As for the doodle of Matt, I think the one on the super colourful more is more version is fab!....and not remotely bucket shaped! And for the record, I like your scrawl! Don't you dare do a 'font' when your own handwriting is so lovely and expressive!!!
    Congrats to you guys! Have fun planning and keep us filled in on all the radicalness...sorry, you brought up the '80s, I couldn't resist!

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    1. Thank you! I think I'm going to try to use some of the first and some of the second, and ALL OF THE COLOR. So 80's! But it's funny, I've always thought of a little of my vintage-ness to be that Cyndi Lauper, thrift store, Desp. Seeking Susan vibe of the 50's through the lens of now...just with a LOT. LESS. MOUSSE. I promise not to font, lol.

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  15. I think they are both fantastic! Either one or one that you may create after this post will be no doubt loved by your loved ones! October is a great month to get married in by the way. Congratulations to you and Matthew!

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    1. Thanks, Vivian! We still haven't figured out a ding dang date, but I am thinking late August, early September...maybe early October. I think I'd want to do the whole shebang outside, and with Tennessee weather as unpredictable as it's been lately, it's any one's guess which of those would be the most temperate! :)

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  16. How exciting to be wedding planning!

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    1. Exciting and a little scary! :) Thanks for reading!

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