{via Heart of Light}

Rachel of Heart of Light created these corsage pins for her Etsy Shop (aren’t they beautiful!?)

Don’t you think that these would make great escort cards?  This could be the start of a new project for me!

Once we had all the RSVP’s in, DJ’s mom helped me finish this project. She has pretty, scripty handwriting, much better than my ugly scrawl.

The bronze rectangles are mini envelopes, each with a couple or guest’s name written on the back. Inside each is a picture of a book cover corresponding to their table assignment. Like Memory! for adults with wine in hand.

The board above is not the same as the one in my previous post. Yep, I screwed up. The other one wasn’t big enough for all the cards, so I had to start over. But it all worked out for the best - the too-small board recently became part of a different project!

Right after I snapped that picture DJ helped me wrap the whole thing in plastic. Hopefully Elizabeth will appreciate at least one project with minimal setup required!

We were so happy with the way our reception turned out…unfortunately, due to the rain and ceremony switch, it ended up taking an hour to set up!  This meant less time for toasts, less time for dancing…it was all very complicated, and it was definitely the last thing we expected.  We decided to go with white tables and brown runners, and I was glad we went with that in the end, as it was a bright burst of light in the rain-darkened room.

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I love when things turn out exactly as I had pictured them. This one was a little iffy, all the way until it was finished. It turned out much girlier than I anticipated, but so far DJ does not seem to mind. The moss and girliness makes me think of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden.

I ordered moss on eBay, with no idea what the color or texture might be - or even quantity. I’d recommend the seller I used, although he never did respond to my questions before buying. But it was delivered quickly and packed well.

Quick note on moss: I ordered the dyed green variety, and it is a perfect forest/hunter green. The natural moss would be better for a silvery or sage-y color scheme. It’s hard to say exactly what the coverage of a box of moss is, but I used about 1/3 of a box for the bulletin board.

The base is a (thrifted!) bulletin board, the frame painted with pewter-y art paint. I attached the moss using little dots of hot glue. Not too many and not too close together, because I was afraid that too much glue would make it hard for the corsage pins to hold. The moss sort of sticks together on its own, so I didn’t need a ton of glue.

That’s one of the escord card envelopes, tacked on there with a pearl-headed corsage pin. I went a little embellishment crazy with silk flowers and ribbon. There’s a trick to the flowers. Pop the heads off the stems, then insert the head of a sewing pin into the hole left by the stem. Instant flower on a pin. (Yes, I’m sort of embarrassed about the state of our dining/crafting table. I’m a terrible housekeeper.)

The whole thing is sitting on a 12″ plate stand from Michaels. It’s pretty stable, but if you’re trying to fit more than 40 cards then two boards would be better.

This week I’m highlighting the work of one of my favorite calligraphers, Bryn Chernoff of Paperfinger Calligraphy.  Bryn’s calligraphy has a wonderful modern sensibility and is absolutely beautiful without being overly formal or fancy - making it perfect for informal and modern weddings!  So, just in case you aren’t familiar with Bryn’s work, I thought I’d gather together a few examples from her portfolio.

As you’ll see below, Bryn’s calligraphy looks fabulous whether addressing envelopes, guiding guests to their seats on escort cards, or even when providing the text for invitations and Save the Dates:

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So light and pretty - this corkboard displaying handwritten escort card strips in vellum envelopes works perfectly for an outdoor affair!  The butterflies add interest and a whimsical feel.

{via Craftzine}

Love these!  Ten Thousand Only is being crafty - check out her paper flower escort cards (and beautiful DIY centerpieces too!) here.

Today’s DIY project is just perfect for personalizing your escort cards - love these adorable tiny envelopes from security envelopes.

{Tutorial found at Crafting a Green World via a fraction of love}

Happy weekend dear readers! I hope you had a great Saturday and are going into a warm and relaxing Sunday. We’ll be hitting up the brunch at Whole Foods today for a treat…after a stressful week of planning, we figured we deserved some mimosas and french toast!!

After our mishap with our invitations a couple of weeks ago, I realized that our stationary theme had completely fallen apart. Because I’ve only done about 25% of our escort cards, I decided to go in a slightly different direction with them to match our natural, kraft-y stationary theme we’ve got going.

I picked up a lot of 300 scrabble tiles on eBay, some Zots, and 150 brown kraft bookmarks from Michaels. Using the same typewriter stamps that we used for our invitations, I stamped each name of the attendees and used a Scrabble letter (either first or last initial) glued to the top with a Zot.

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Kelly from So You’re EnGAYged created these gorgeous birdhouse escort cards for her own wedding.  They are cost-effective, whimsical, and completely unique - a perfect combination!

{Tutorial found here}

PS - See another birdhouse escort card idea from Myra here!

While invitations are undoubtedly the most important element of a wedding stationery suite, it’s equally as important to not forget about other wedding paper ephemera - like seating cards!  Whether place cards or escort cards*, seating cards can help carry design elements from your invitation suite or wedding theme through to the reception and create a cohesive wedding style.  Here are a few of my favorite seating card options:

I love the contrast between the handwriting and yellow zig-zag print on these place cards, which were made by folding flat notes by Linda & Harriett:

{photograph by Jennifer Kloss via Linda & Harriett}

For an alternative escort card display, try using repurposed items, such as old doors or windows, as well as materials such as twine and mini-clothespins:

{photographs by Beaux Arts Photographie via The Bride’s Cafe}

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This week will mark three months until the wedding so after a bit of a hiatus in important decision-making, I’ve decided now is likely a good time to evaluate where we are and what major items are left to be accomplished between now and July. To be honest, I don’t typically like nor put much value on the prescribed planning timelines you’ll find on a lot of wedding planning websites, but I do think now perfect timing for me to be checking in on myself and getting organized again. So, with three months to go the list looks something like this…

{Source}

1. {Invitations} Mail invitations (scheduled for the first week of May) and begin cataloging RSVPs
2. {Cake} Decide on to cake or not to cake and if not, what we’d like to serve instead
3. {Ceremony} Finish selection of readings, readers, write vows, etc.
4. {RSVP Info} Mail list of weekend events + reminder to make accommodation arrangements to confirmed guests
5. {Itinerary} Mail list of weekend events/times/locations, suggestions for attire and other helpful information to wedding party
6. {Groomsmen Attire} Finalize decision on what M and his groomsmen will be wearing, make rental arrangements
7. {Wedding Party Gifts} Complete purchase of wedding party gifts for 7 bridesmaids, 1 bridesman, and 6 groomsmen
8. {DIY Projects} Complete or scrap remaining DIY projects including favors, table numbers, escort cards, programs, photo guest book and whatever other little ideas I fall in love with between now and then
9. {Rentals} Finalize details on what we’re renting and if it’s being delivered/setup or if we’re tackling that on our own to save money
10. {Music} Finalize music selections and meet with our friend/DJ to cover the basics…otherwise it’s all up to him
11. {Thank You Cards} Find/buy or design/print cute thank you cards so they are ready to go when gifts arrive
12. {Flowers} Find a weekend to mock up some bouquets and centerpieces so I can convince myself I won’t go crazy doing it on our own

{Source}

So, with three months to go, that’s how things are shaping up.  I feel ok about what we have left to do and honestly, I think I’ll be comfortable scaling back on the list to stay sane if need be. How are you June/July/August brides doing with your lists?