THE SIMILIARITIES OF BUYING A CAR AND BUYING WEDDING INVITATIONS

OK, this is written so that all the grooms out there can relate to this task of choosing and buying wedding invitations.

To keep the analogy simple, I will use 4 levels of comparision.  In the world of cars, there are Hyundais, Hondas, Volkswagon and Mercedes Benz…the same can be said for wedding invitations.

Entry Level or Budget wedding invitations

These priced from $0.88 US per invitation card only.  RSVP cards and receptions cards are extra.  These cards will “get the job done” and convey the message that you are getting married.

The paper will be thinner and the imprint quality may or may not be of lesser quality too.

Couples that choose these invitations:

-       believe that most of their guests will be tossing these out after the big day and will not keep them as keepsakes

      are on a really tight budget

-       feel that they want to spend their $ on other wedding essentials

-       are having a lot of guests and don’t want to spend too much

Here are some links for low budget wedding invitations

Value with Style wedding invitations starting from $159 for 100 invitations and RSVP cards

More budget range wedding invitations 

Seal-n-Send or Self Mailer wedding invitations

This is a very eco-friendly method of mailing an invitation since it doesn’t require any envelopes.

The RSVP is a perforated tear off card that is sent back as a postcard.  Please keep in mind that because there isn’t an envelope to protect the invitation, it could possibly arrive at your guest’s home in poor condition or looking like “the dog’s breakfast”.

Mid Level wedding invitations

These wedding invitations start at $2 US each and accessory cards like RSVP cards and reception cards will cost around $ 0.75 each…so basically $3-4 per set.

The bride & groom who choose this level are:

-budget conscious, but they are willing to spend a little more to get invitations that are a little nicer

The wonderful aspect of the following wedding invitations is that you can get matching table numbers, place cards, water bottle labels, stickers, wine labels, favor tags and much more.

http://weddingthings.weddingstar.com/wedding-stationery/all

Average price and most popular wedding invitations

These wedding invitations start at $3 each and accessory cards like RSVP cards and reception cards will cost around $1 each…so basically $5-$6 per set.

This is the price point of what we at WEDDING THINGS normally sell.  So if you have 200 guests, you’ll need approx. 100 invitations x $5 per set = $500.

What to expect:

-       nicer quality paper = thicker or perhaps shiny stardust paper

-       better quality printing method = thermography = raised lettering

-       embellishments like ribbons, crystals, die cut designs

poPOPULAR WEDDING INVITATION STYLES

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Profile of couples who choose these invitations:

-they have a reasonable amount of $$$ for wedding invitations

-they appreciate quality and acknowledge the fact that there is a difference when looking at these versus budget wedding invitations

-their friends and family will cherish and keep their wedding invitations

High price wedding invitations

These wedding invitations are priced at $7-9 per set.  So if you have 100 guests, then your invitations will cost  $700-$900.

What you’ll get:

Pocket style wedding invitations:

These are the most popular and most sought after wedding invitations.  They are highly customizable since you can choose the colors to match your wedding theme.  You can choose the design that you prefer. 

Fancy Paper wedding invitations:

The paper quality is superior, more choices for color of paper.

The designs are more intricate which may include laser die-cut designs, ribbons, layering of fancy papers, high style graphic designs and more!

http://www.weddingthings.cceasy.com/order/WE_SearchResults.cfm

http://www.einvite.com/wedding/wedding-invitations/bridesfineweddingpapers/

Couples who choose these likely are:

-detail oriented brides and groom who feel that wedding invitations are the first impression of the upcoming celebration

-professionals who have a very healthy budget for their entire wedding or perhaps no budget at all!

-connoisseurs of quality – they appreciate knowing about the different types of printing methods (engraved, thermography, letterpress, digital printing)

-having a destination wedding where a lot of information is needed

-needing to print the wedding invitations in a foreign language in addition to English

Please keep in mind some additional costs:

-email proof charges from $15 - $50

each printing company that we work with requires that a proof be supplied to the customer so that it can be proofed before printing begins

-shipping charges…dependent upon the weight and destination of the order.  Prices will also vary if you select ground, 3 days, 2 days or overnight service.

-Canadian customers:  exchange rate

because most of the invitations are from the USA, there is a daily exchange rate that will be charged to you.

Purple Paris themed baby shower

First comes marriage, then comes Mama with a baby carriage!  I was so excited to be a part of my friend K's baby shower....this is her first baby and it's a boy...but the theme for the baby shower was Purple which is K's all time favorite color.

I was totally impressed by the entertaining skills and the intense level of details of the 3 gals, Y, V & L who hosted the shower.  Since I've been in the biz for so long, I thought I have pretty much seen it all.

I was definitely impressed and I hope that K was too.  Every little detail was purple, including the frosting on the cupcakes to the hand decorated onesie shaped and Eiffel Tower sugar cookies too. They made all the canapes, macarons, cupcakes, cookies, tiramisu and madeleines from scratch.  Not only did everything look amazing, everything tasted scrumptious too! 

I was happy to contribute to the shower by providing the ribboned cake tray, 5 tiered dessert trays, clear drink cones for the lavender lemonade (as requested by the Mommy to be) and the heart shaped tea cups too.

Cup of Love Heart Shaped Cup and Saucers (6 assorted colors)

Crystal Clear Cone Flutes

These double layered flower petal shells are made from colored sandwich wraps. 

They were hand cut with a flower shaped cookie cookie, brushed with olive oil and baked at 250 degrees F for 1/2 hour.  They became flavorful canapes once they were piped with a salmon mousse.

Who knew that shrimp cocktail could look so exotic and taste so refreshing

with a simple blanched snow pea pod attached to it?

These were delicious crab meat canapes!

This was the perfect home, built with alot of TLC,

especially for a gracious hostess with a great love for entertaining.

I'm totally in awe of the talented V.C. who made this adorable fondant cake
with a silhouette of the Mommy-to-be....I'm swooning over the details like the long eyelashes. 

It's too bad that these talented gals don't sell their goodies to the public...only for their own private parties.

So if you're lucky enough to be invited to their parties, you'll get to nibble on these delicious morsels otherwise, you'll have to settle by feasting your eyes on their culinary creations online.

Note:  Photos courtesy of V.C. since my battery ran out after the first 1/2 hour of the party.

Ice Cream Cart for your Wedding Reception

Who doesn't love ice cream?  For hot summer weddings or birthday celebrations, I truly believe that having an ice cream truck or ice cream cart at your event would be totally great for wedding guests age 2 - 99.

It would be heavenly if Sweet Lucies could come to everyone's wedding...I'm smitten with their striped awning over their little blue ice cream cart. 

Or alternatively, go to your local supermarket and buy up all of their single serving sizes of your favorite brand of ice cream or gelato.  This will probably cost you $1- $2 per serving.  If it was my party, i'd go for Ciao Bella Gelato...my all time fave is the Blood Orange which is also one of Oprah's faves too. 

Be sure to get some wooden ice cream spoons too to give your guests a retro experience or a "blast to the past".

Fun Wedding Photo Booth Ideas

Have you all noticed how the ol' fashioned photo booths are making a come-back?  About 3 years ago we attended a wedding that had one and it was super fun.  The great thing about it was that it was instant...and I mean instant gratification!  This photo booth was programmed to supply 2 copies, 1 for the wedding guests and 1 for the wedding couple to keep for their wedding album.  Genius, eh?

I recently inquired into getting one for my cousin's upcoming wedding and the price is $300/hr with a 2 hour min. = $600.  This may seem expensive at first blush, but when you add up the travelling time, set up time, attendant for the booth and take down time, as well as the cost of the photo paper and equipment...it's really quite worth it.

For the rest of the 98% of wedding couples that are on a tight limited wedding budget, I discovered an app called Pocket Booth that will pretty much give you the same results.  This will set you back 99 cents to buy the app. Available for iPhone, iPad, Nokia, Android.

It allows you to choose the color of the final print, sepia, B&W, antique or color.
Choose 3 or 4 photos per strip and even the length of time between shots.

If you have a newer model printer that has Wi-Fi capabilities, then you can print it immediately or save to your camera roll or send to your email, Twitter or Facebook right away too.  Talk about fast!

I've been pouring incessantly through Etsy and found these very cool wedding photo props like fake moustaches, retro looking eye wear and chalkboard sign bubbles to write your own message too.

I really hope that my cousin decides to do a Wedding Photo Booth of some sort.  It will be so much fun.

Same-Sex Wedding Cake Toppers for Gay Marriages in NY

Planning a gay wedding? We are excited to offer wedding cake toppers for same-sex weddings.  This is especially timely since gay weddings and lesbian weddings have finally been officially approved of in New York.  Here are just a few of the unique choices of gay cake toppers:

The great thing about these wedding cake toppers is that you can mix and match the groom & groom or the bride & bride.  There are so many fun and unique ones, including bald headed grooms and choice of ethnic backgrounds on some of them too.

Click here to see more gay groom wedding cake toppers.

Click here to see more lesbian bride wedding cake toppers.

Or if you prefer to have monograms with the first name initials of both grooms or both brides and the surname of the couple, see below for Monogram wedding cake toppers too.



The Sweetie Pop Tree, a modern way to display cake pops

The newest and most modern way to creatively display your gourmet lollipops, macaron pops or cake pops, The Sweetie Pop tree will be the centerpiece of your event and the highlight of your dessert table or candy buffet table.

You can customize the Sweetie Pop Tree for each event and season by adding colorful accessories, like wooden leaves, paper flowers, birds, squirrels or acorns (all sold separately). These items can be attached by using your favorite brand of double sided tape, not included.

 
Ideal for bridal or baby showers, birthday parties, weddings, anniversaries and tea parties. This is the perfect gift for the happy baker on your list too.
 
 
The Sweetie Pop Tree was designed by an avid day dreamer of many, many ideas and hand crafted with lots of care by a wood lovin’ artisan.
 
Crafted from maple wood and made in Canada. Each tree can accommodate up to 12 pops.

Click here to buy the Sweetie Pop Tree.

A Paris themed wedding or birthday party

I love Paris and anything that is Frenchy!  Je t'aime the new wedding favors that are Eiffel tower or Tour Eiffel related.  They come in the charming black and white striped box as shown.

La Tour Eiffel Chrome Bottle Opener

La Tour Eiffel Chrome Bottle Stopper

Add a black chandelier motif and now you have a very classy theme too.

Chandelier Mirrored Glass Coasters

Click here to see more of the newest collection of wedding favors.  Allow approx 1 week for arrival if you are in USA or approx 2-3 weeks if you are in Canada.

If you are planning a birthday party, check out my daughter's very first birthday.  I planned a Parisian themed birthday party.  You can ready about it here:  http://gallery.projectnursery.com/projects/408-A-Passport-to-Paris-First-Birthday-Party