Designs in Paper!

Donette and Steve of Designs in Paper are currently my fave people! )

I’d met them before at a bridal show, and again last weekend at the party. I’d talked to them about doing my wedding programs since I thought I had invitations covered, but then when that didn’t work out- I needed them for that too! They are AMAZING!!

One of my very first posts was on their confetti….if you read the post…well, you can tell I was a recently engaged, barely started the planning process bride! Oh my lofty expectations of creating my invites myself!! HA!!!! Now I know there are brides that do it, but I have way more important things to do with my time than cut, fold, print, design, etc. If it was all I had to do- no prob! But not when there are a million other details I barely have time for!!

And to think, I thought I couldn’t afford their invites! I can’t afford NOT to use their invites! ) They do so much of the work and do it WELL! )

Everything is custom made, so there is no cookie cutter form or design that you have to stick with!

Since no one really read my blog way back when (hehe!), I’m going to do another post on their confetti, then one on the invites!

Almost anything you can think of they can make it…..except for donkeys! Yes, someone asked them to make donkeys! Haha! But almost anything else! I’m thinking of our names (to keep a theme on our invites and programs). and palm trees or shells (to match the decor!)

Their confetti is only $12.50 per bag of 100 pieces!! Also, it’s free with invitations!! They were even going to throw some in with my programs when I was just thinking about getting those from them!

Here’s some fun examples of their confetti!

These martini glasses are from the SATC party! They were also in green and too cute!!!

And these are some examples of the cute way they make monogram/name confetti!

 

And the super fun stuff they made for Ashley…

 

 

Totally worth looking into, right?? I probably would’ve had them make me confetti, even if I ordered nothing else from them! Now, I’m so glad they’re doing it all!! More to come!

 

Relish Party Recap!

Ok, so I’m not as fast as other ladies at posting my recap of the party…..but here goes!!

This past Sunday, I attended the launch party for the new, Nashville based, online and interactive invitation company- Relish! It was a blast! The girls of Relish- Stephanie and Rebecca- pictured above are just too cute! They gave out adorable goodie bags, which matched their cute aprons and adorable yellow wedge shoes!

 

The party was held at the Green Hills Hampton Inn in the Atrium. It was a great location at the top of the hotel overlooking Green Hills! It was attended by lots of wedding coordinators and others in the biz, but it was really nice to be able to be a bride attending something like this as well! It was much more informal than walking around booth to booth making forced small talk with lots of different people- not that those formats aren’t helpful too– this was just more fun!!

I was thrilled that Shara of Cakes by Shara was there sharing her yummy goodies!! My mom has been talking to her lately about these yummy cupcakes I’m getting for my reception! If you didn’t read my post about them before, Shara entered these in a Martha Stewart contest and won as one of the top 10 cupcakes!! Soooo cute!!

These were the adorable little ones she had at the Relish party!

I was super happy about her fondant actually being yummy!! And the icing too!! I’d tasted her stuff at a show before, but had so much cake that day that I couldn’t remember anything but the sugar high afterwards!! ) So I was quite pleased that the only one there was one I’ll be using!! It also gave us a great chance to discuss details in person!

I’m having my cake for my cake reception made by my close friend Jeniffer of Cake by Dake, but when I saw Shara’s cupcakes, had to have them too! They’ll be at my family/wedding party reception, and not everyone there will be at the cake reception so will still have a chance for yummy cake!

But back to the party……it was super fun to get to hang out with Ashley and talk about upcoming party plans!! And back to the point of the party…..the Relish girls are fantastic! So sweet, fun and innovative! They’ve come up with a great product! Their line of invitations is so cute and has so many possibilities! I’ve played around with their website some already, and it is SOOO easy to use! You pick out all the details online for your invitations and you can create all kinds of combinations, even adding punch-outs, ribbons, and rhinestones.

Their motto-”Enjoy the journey” really encompasses who they are! You can totally tell how much they love what they do and how they are helping brides to enjoy it as well! I couldn’t believe when Rebecca told me their turn-around is 7-10 business days after you turn in your order!! What?? Is there any other invitation company that does it that quickly??  And the prices aren’t bad at all either!

They gave away great prizes (which seemed to keep going to guys??!!), and it was fun even though I didn’t win a thing! I was just happy to be there!! Thanks, Relish gals for a fun time, and Ashley thanks for the invite and letting me “borrow” some of your pics!! And Kelley, thanks for letting me drag you to another wedding event!! Can’t wait for more fun times!! )

Save the Date’s are ready to go!

Whew!!! My magnets came in last week from Vistaprint and I am PERFECTLY pleased with them! Except for the fact that there was no notice on my apartment door that they were here! I knew they were though because of online tracking, so I popped in the office to ask about them, and there they were!! The last time I ordered from Vistaprint, it ended up in my mailbox! This would’ve fit, but it was REALLY heavy, so maybe that’s why it ended up in the office!

At any rate, they turned out perfectly! I really wanted to do them for CHEAP because they’re only a pre-invitation, and it turns out for EVERYTHING, including mailing them, I’m spending about $100! Yippppeeee! The magnets themselves were around $40 for 200, and I picked up the rest of the supplies at OfficeMax. I got some plain white invitation envelopes, and these great preforated post cards- 4 to a sheet- with blue outlining. Typed up the details and note on the computer, printed them out and used restickable double sided tape to stick the magnets on the cards. They turned out exactly how I imagined! Wait….BETTER than I’d imagined since my original idea was to go with cardstock, and then use the papercutter at my school to make them each sheet into 4 cards!

You might notice the mailing seals in the picture…..they didn’t make it! I’d planned to print our monogram on them and use them as envelope seals. I didn’t realize until a few minutes later that they are the ones that fold over, so they were a no-go! ( I searched high and low at several craft stores for appropriate envelope seals, but they were all pretty tacky and/or expensive! So much for that! I ended up buying some foam letter stamps and blue ink and stamping an “H” where the seal would’ve gone! I’m not so worried about it being formal!

 

The work wasn’t too hard….and I’m pretty satisfied with the overall result…..however…I’m thinking of not DIY-ing  my invites!! I’m getting some friends to help me out with several options, and might just put it all off on someone else! I have better things to worry about!! Like DIYing my flowers! ) THAT I’m excited about! And I couldn’t even spell my sis-in-law’s name right on the Save the Date (good ole “engagement” brain!!), so I think I need to have nothing to do with that on the invites!!

*Ummmm……it seems that wordpress has reformatted everything and I canNOT find the spell check button anymore!! Anyone know where it went??! Ahhh! It was my friend! ( *

Fun shops for gifts, invitations, and more!

 

I looooove to shop! I don’t know many girl’s who don’t!! There are a few shops in Nashville that I love, but I am starting to discover more throughout my wedding planning! I’m also a sucker for little beach or gift shops in and around Wilmington, NC (one of my fave places in the world!)

The other day my mom had me check out the Puffy Muffin  on Franklin Road in Brentwood, TN for our bridal luncheon. It’s cute, but I think their room is too small for us! Anyways, next door is an ADORABLE store- Hot Pink. I’d seen it before, and always wanted to stop in, but I hadn’t  yet! Kerri was with me, and well…I didn’t have to twist her arm to go into a cute store and do some shopping!! We really just browsed because we’d already both spent too much money at the mall, but I did see some beautiful stuff!! I’ve heard that the sales people aren’t that friendly, and they didn’t really talk to us, but I was too interested in browsing around to really notice!

I especially liked the new collection from Mindy Weiss- an elite wedding planner! Lots of her stuff is in shades of blue and is totally adorable! Slippers that say “I do,” wedding organizers, and lots more! Her stuff should be available soon online in her shop!

Here’s a small pic of her wedding organizer…

Her stuff isn’t cheap, but isn’t too overly priced either!

Here are some of my other favorite stores, or stores on my research list that carry either gift items, stationary supplies, or both!!

Hot Pink
231 Franklin Rd
Brentwood, TN
(615) 376-5552

Papyrus
The Mall at Green Hills
2126 Abbott Martin Road, Space 244 
Nashville, TN

 **Some of their stuff is also at Target and Swoozie’s (see below!), but I looooove looking around at all the stationary, cards, etc. there!!

I can already tell…this is one of those places that although I really want to go….maybe I shouldn’t!! I will want to buy it all!! ) Also in Green Hills! Check out the post and wonderful pictures from a guest blogger on Ashley’s Bride Guide

Swoozies
4015 Hillsboro Pike, Suite105
Nashville, Tennessee 37215

Bella Carte
212 White Bridge Road
Nashville, TN

There are also several stores at The Factory at Franklin that I love…..I can’t tell you the names though because I don’t think I’ve ever really paid attention!! Guess that means I have to go back. There is one in particular that sells everything from gifts, to clothing, to jewelry, to bags, that I’ve found some adorable stuff at!

That about rounds out my list for now, as my brain is telling me to stop writing and listen to my hungry stomach and feed it dinner!! Let me know some of your favorite stores like these that I can add to my “to explore” list! )