Entries from May 2007 ↓

Having a destination wedding is the ideal way to celebrate your wedding in a romantic location and bring your family and friends with you. With a destination wedding, your wedding can be celebrated over days rather than just hours!

So don’t you think if you are going to have such a great event you need to announce it properly? Then you need destination wedding invitations that match the theme of your destination wedding. Checkout these unique destination wedding invitations for various themes.

Destination wedding invitations for a casino wedding.

Destination wedding invitations for a winter resort.

Destination wedding invitations for a tropical wedding.

Destination wedding invitations for a nautical wedding.

Don’t forget to give your guests plenty of time to plan ahead with unique destination wedding save the dates. Check out this post for options: Great Save the Date OptionsFor more information on these destination wedding invitations or other wedding invites checkout our Save the Date Shop!

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Rhonda

Our Wedding Plus

There are a few different methods used to print wedding invitations. Historically, writing out your wedding invitations by hand was the most correct method with regard to etiquette. This method was used for hundreds of years by aristocracy who would typically hire calligraphers to produce fancy formal script using a quill.

Another fairly expensive method of printing wedding invitations is engraving. Currently, the finest wedding invitations are engraved. Engraving was originally done by an artisan who hand carved the wording in reverse into a metal plate then the plate was pressed into the back of the wedding invitation paper raising the lettering out of the front . Today, engraving is done by acid etching and can be done in a variety of fonts.

What a cheaper version of engraving for your wedding invitations? Thermography is the answer! Thermography uses heat and a fine resin to create a rich, raised effect with the ink. It is a much more cost-effective method of printing wedding invitations and gives the effect of engraving.

Lithography is an even cheaper method of printing wedding invitations. It is also called flat printing. The ink on the wedding invitations is flat with a matte finish.

Letterpress is another method of printing wedding invitations. It is a relief method of printing used back until the 1400s and is considered very exclusive. The wedding invitations shown above are letterpress from designer Braun and Brown. These exclusive wedding invitations can be totally personalized online.

Checkout our full line of wedding invitations!

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The wedding invitation ensemble is something that has developed over many centuries. Originally, wedding invitations were only used by “high society” and were hand written. Since writing was the mark of being educated, even though printing presses were available, it was thought to be in bad taste to use them to mass-produce invitations.

This week I’m going to walk through the wedding invitations ensemble from envelope types to the items to be inserted. We will cover some of the historical origins of current traditions and see what is popular today.

Back in the day before the post office, wedding invitations were hand delivered, typically by horseback. In order to protect your wedding invitation from the weather, the wedding invitations ensemble was enclosed in an inner envelope and then again in an outer envelope. This outer envelope would have directions to the guest’s house since this was the time before addresses. So as you can see the outer envelope is a matter of tradition and can be optional today.

Some of the modern wedding invitations have alternatives to the standard envelope. The “Red Colonial” wedding invitations shown here includes an envelope that folds open to reveal pockets where enclosure cards can be inserted.

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Rhonda
Our Wedding Plus

Have you trying to figure out what to do to make your wedding invitations unique?

The couple that made this animation, burned it to a DVD and sent them out as their wedding invitations!

It’s Awesome!

Check in next week for a series on the Wedding Invitation Ensemble.

Enjoy your weekend!

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Still looking for that unique diamond for your engagement ring or wedding rings but not sure what to get? Well your looking at it. This is the image of a “super ideal cut” diamond. You can tell it’s super ideal cut by the unique heart and arrow pattern. A super ideal cut diamond is cut to perfect proportions causing 98% of light entering the diamond to be reflected out the top causing great brilliance. All 58 facets of a round brilliant cut diamond must line up perfectly in order for a correct hearts and arrows pattern to be visible.

You can see how the heart and diamond pattern can be affected by improper cutting in these images.

So you may be asking yourself, where do I get a super ideal cut diamond? Well, you can’t find them everywhere. Abazias.com is the only place you can find the super ideal cut Couples Diamond. They also have thousands of other diamonds of all cuts as well as settings to go with them.

Checkout Abazias’ unique 3-D ring builder. It makes it easy to buy your ring confidently on-line. You can easily sort through thousands of diamonds in seconds, pick-out a setting and see what it would look like instantly in 3-D! I spent some time using Abazias’ ring builder and it is amazing and fun to use.

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It’s Friday again! Know what that means? It’s time for the top 5 wedding blog posts of the week!

Again, these are some of the posts I enjoyed this week while exploring the wedding blogosphere, in no particular order. If you have other posts you enjoyed feel free to share them!

- Leslie from Decidedly Uncomplicated gave some great advice about having an “uncomplicated” destination wedding at home. Doesn’t make sense to you? It will after your read her post “Destination Wedding Right Here at Home.”

These two posts deal with family issues. Everybody has them!

- Never teh Bride from Manolo for the Brides is back from her wedding with a great post about dealing with family during your wedding. Checkout The Pleasures and Perils of Family

- Miss Kiwi at Weddingbee wrote about conflict with family members in her post “We are Family – Just Not You” This will strike a common cord with many of you. Everybody has family conflict at one level or another so check out the advice in the comments, it might help.

These next two posts contain interesting information about having alternative wedding receptions.

- Ethical Weddings had a great post about things to consider if you want to have a vegetarian reception. It’s not just the food that you need to think about. Check out Katie’s Vegie Wedding post.

- Christie over at Our One Heart had a great post about having an alcohol free reception. She past on some info she found at Event Ethos. Alcohol addiction has destroyed many families and lives so I can see why some people would not want to have it at their wedding reception. Her post “No Alcohol at Your Wedding?” has great advice if you want to go this route.

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Hope you have a great 3-day weekend!

See you next Tuesday.

Rhonda

Our Wedding Plus

Who was the man in your life before you met your fiancé? Is he the kind of guy that never said a mean word, was always there when you were down, and was very easy to please? Well then I’m sure you’d want to have him at your wedding!

It doesn’t matter if he has bad breath, or if he hasn’t bathed in a while, his cuteness makes up for all that! Of course I’m talking about your dog!

Adam Sandler had his dog Meatball as his ring bearer and Eva Longoria is going to have her dog Jinxie accompany her in her wedding to Tony Parker in France so why can’t you have your dog in your wedding?

Well, if you do, here’s some things to keep in mind from Wikihow.com.

1. Make sure no one has any major pet allergies or phobias
2. Make sure your pets are welcome at your event locations
3. Make sure your pets are up to the task at hand. (i.e. don’t ask a dog that doesn’t like strangers to walk down the aisle of a packed ceremony with your rings!)
4. Practice, Practice, Practice
5. Have a back-up plan. Don’t have the success of your wedding ceremony based on your pet performing their duties.
6. Have someone designated to watch over your pet. You don’t want to be the one wrangling your dog in your wedding dress or tux! Just make sure your pet is comfortable with this person.
7. Remember that not all pets are up to the task of being at a wedding. So, don’t feel bad if you have to leave that special someone at home. You can give them some extra treats to make up for it. He/she will forgive you!

The picture of the pug in a tux at the top of the post is from Wiggle-n-Waggle. Looking for adorable wedding outfits for your pets checkout this. The other pictures are from AdamSandler.com and Celebritydogwatcher.com

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See you tomorrow!

Rhonda

Our Wedding Plus

Looking for a cheaper yet elegant option for a wedding dress? I saw Isaac Mizrahi on Oprah last week talking about the wedding dresses he designed for Target. They modeled all the dresses in his line. The most expensive one was $159.99. The one with the sash below is only $89.99. This is pretty amazing since the average wedding dress is sold for $1,500!

Isaac Mizrahi also designed a line of bridal accessories including gloves and veils for Target as well. So, if you don’t have the money to go all out on your wedding dress, you are having a less formal wedding, or if this is your second time around, check out Target. They are pretty nice.

Here’s a quote from Isaac Mizrahi taken from the Target press release…

“My bridal gowns are all reinventions of the classics, providing an affordable alternative for women everywhere,” says designer Isaac Mizrahi. “I put a lot of design energy into designing this collection for Target because every bride deserves to find the gown of her dreams, regardless of her budget. Every woman remembers how she felt on her wedding day for the rest of her life, so ensuring she feels confident in the ‘perfect’ dress is very important to me.”

All dresses can be found on Target.com

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Rhonda

Our Wedding Plus

I found a new site for those of us who want our weddings to be eco-friendly! Green Field Paper Company has handmade paper wedding invitations that have seeds embedded wedding invitation paper. The paper will grow wildflowers if kept moist! They also offer wedding invitations made from junk mail as well as tree-free wedding invitations including hemp.

Here’s an example of their Fern Wedding Invitation with Monogram as seen in InStyle weddings Winter 2006 edition. It is made with seed embedded paper and is a very elegant wedding invitation.

They also have a unique all-in-one wedding invitation and reply card as shown here. This wedding invitation is also on seed embedded paper. It has a perforation for your guests to tear off the response card with your return address is already printed on the back.

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See you tomorrow with more unique ideas!

Rhonda
Our Wedding Plus

Summer is here, almost. So it’s time for some great wedding signature drink suggestions!

What is a signature drink? It should be something unique, that guests associate with your event. You can either select a wedding signature drink that goes with your wedding colors (checkout Stirrings.com they have a great selection of mixes sorted by color!) or something that goes with your wedding theme. You can even give your wedding signature drink a unique name that you come up with! You’ll want to avoid something that’s too strong and choose something that appeals to a wide audience. Here’s another cost saving hint: If you want to limit your wedding reception bar tab, offer beer, wine, and a couple of wedding signature drinks rather than a full open bar.

If you need help coming up with a great signature drink, check out either of these books. (Just click on the picture)

Here’s a couple of signature drinks that caught my eye and I think would be pretty tasty for an outdoor wedding reception, or a cocktail reception. Last year, Ecco Domani wines debuted a couple of signature drinks that included wine, so they aren’t too strong but they look oh so good!

Check these out…

Ecco Freddo (Created by master mixologist, Alex Ott)

• Muddle a slice of watermelon with one teaspoon of sugar
• Add 1oz. of pineapple juice
• Add 2.5 oz. of Ecco Domani’s Pinot Grigio
• Add ice into a boston shaker and shake vigorously for at least 6 seconds
• Pour all ingredients into a lowball glass
• Garnish with a thin slice of watermelon

Dolce Domani (Created by master mixologist, Alex Ott)

• Muddle half of a lime with 2.5 teaspoons of sugar until all the juice is extracted
• Add 3 oz. of Ecco Domani’s Merlot
• Add ice into a boston shaker and shake vigorously for at least 6 seconds
• Pour all ingredients into a lowball glass or wineglass
• Garnish with a lime wheel

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See you tomorrow!

Rhonda

Our Wedding Plus