.
Guest Book Ideas
There are so many fun things that you can do for your guest book besides just having a book with signatures. Here are some of our favorite ideas...
Photo Guest Book
This is a great option that gives you an actual keepsake that you will want to look at after the wedding. The idea is to take a photo of each of your guests and then have them write a message on the page. If you use polaroids the photo can be placed on their page immediately. If you use a digital camera, just make sure to leave room on each page to go back and place the picture. Other fun options for this style would be using a photo booth in conjunction with the photo guest book and/or sending guests a copy of their photo with your thank you card after the wedding.
Wishing Tree/Vase
This is a fun idea that will provide you with some fun sentiments from your guests. Create a space at your reception or ceremony with slips of paper, little envelopes and pens. Ask guests to write a wish for your marriage on the paper and then seal it in the envelope and either place it on the tree or in a vase. On your first anniversary, go back and read through all of the wishes.
Guest Book Quilt
In lieu of a traditional book, ask your guests to sign squares of fabric that can later be sewn into a quilt. This will give you a keepsake to cherish for years to come!
Be Specific
Instead of asking guests to just sign their name or write a little message, why not ask them a specific question such as "where do you see us in 10 years" or "what is one of your favorite memories of the Bride or Groom"?
Feel free to stop in for more inspiration. We have lots of fun ideas and the supplies to make a unique guest book. Or let us make a custom guest book for you!
Photo Guest Book
This is a great option that gives you an actual keepsake that you will want to look at after the wedding. The idea is to take a photo of each of your guests and then have them write a message on the page. If you use polaroids the photo can be placed on their page immediately. If you use a digital camera, just make sure to leave room on each page to go back and place the picture. Other fun options for this style would be using a photo booth in conjunction with the photo guest book and/or sending guests a copy of their photo with your thank you card after the wedding.
Wishing Tree/Vase
This is a fun idea that will provide you with some fun sentiments from your guests. Create a space at your reception or ceremony with slips of paper, little envelopes and pens. Ask guests to write a wish for your marriage on the paper and then seal it in the envelope and either place it on the tree or in a vase. On your first anniversary, go back and read through all of the wishes.
Guest Book Quilt
In lieu of a traditional book, ask your guests to sign squares of fabric that can later be sewn into a quilt. This will give you a keepsake to cherish for years to come!
Be Specific
Instead of asking guests to just sign their name or write a little message, why not ask them a specific question such as "where do you see us in 10 years" or "what is one of your favorite memories of the Bride or Groom"?
Feel free to stop in for more inspiration. We have lots of fun ideas and the supplies to make a unique guest book. Or let us make a custom guest book for you!
Save the Date Magnets Have Arrived!
I recently returned from the National Stationery Show in New York where I was able to find some really fun and exciting new lines for the store. One of my favorite finds was this great line of Save the Date Magnets. There are over 100 different options for save the dates (not to mention baby announcements, Holiday Greeting Magnets and more). On top of all of the great style options, the price point on these save the date magnets is unbeatable! They are only 132.00 for 100! Here are some examples of what is available - stop in today to see all of your choices and get your save the dates ordered!
Place Cards and Escort Cards
At Paper Fling we make your escort/place cards easy! You provide us with an Excel spreadsheet of your guests names, their table numbers and/or their entree selections and we print them up for you. We can turn these around within a couple of days (although, more time is always appreciated!)
Here are a few ideas for escort cards and place cards. Stop in today to view many more!
Here are a few ideas for escort cards and place cards. Stop in today to view many more!
Wedding Fan Programs
As we enter what we hope will be the warmer summer months, you may want to consider your wedding program serving a dual purpose. Fan programs are a great option for an outdoor ceremony or an indoor ceremony that is not air conditioned! Check out some of these great options and let us know if you have any questions. Remember, we can also customize these to match to your custom invitation when you order them through us!
For additional information including pricing, check out the fan program brochure or stop in today!
Wedding Fan Brochure
For additional information including pricing, check out the fan program brochure or stop in today!
Wedding Fan Brochure
New Favor Containers from Envelopments
Envelopments new release is finally here! Along with an amazing array of new paper colors and designs they have released a line of favor boxes that come in all of their paper stocks! Come in today to look at all of the options....
Voila! Wedding Show
The past Sunday we participated in the Voila! Wedding Show at the Woodmark Hotel. The show was put on by Pink Blossom Events and Panache Wedding Planners. It was a great show that had tons of unique and practical wedding planning tips. We provided the menus, programs, place cards and favors for the "winter" room design. Here are some pictures of the event provided by Azzura Photography:
ABC/ISES Table Top Competition
Last week I participated in the ABC/ISES table top competition. For those of you who haven't heard about ABC or ISES, they are local networking groups for the wedding and event industry (and a great resource for finding qualified vendors).
The table top competition is a fun event where different planners and vendors in the industry design a table. Paper Fling participated in a number of different ways. We assisted some of our industry friends with paper goods for their tables, we designed and print the events program, and we also took on our own table to design! The event was so much fun - there were some great ideas. Here are some photos of some of the details:
Paper Fling's Table - co-designed by Lilies and Lemondrops:
We also did the paper design for Wavelink Music, McKenzie Kate Weddings, and BBJ Linnens
The table top competition is a fun event where different planners and vendors in the industry design a table. Paper Fling participated in a number of different ways. We assisted some of our industry friends with paper goods for their tables, we designed and print the events program, and we also took on our own table to design! The event was so much fun - there were some great ideas. Here are some photos of some of the details:
Paper Fling's Table - co-designed by Lilies and Lemondrops:
We also did the paper design for Wavelink Music, McKenzie Kate Weddings, and BBJ Linnens
Addressing Your Invitations
Another common question that we get is how to address your invitations. Here is a little background info:
Wedding Invitations used to all come with an inner and outer envelope. The outer envelope would indicate who is invited: (Mr. and Mrs. John Smith) while the inner envelope would address the guests less formally: (Mr. and Mrs. Smith or just John and Sarah if you are close with the couple.)
In the last 5 - 10 years inner envelopes have become less popular. Many couples worry about the excess of paper both for the environment as well as for postage.
Whichever option you choose, you will want to make sure to specifically address the invitation to whomever you are inviting. For example, if you want to invite a couple without their children, you should address the envelope to Mr. and Mrs. John Smith. If you want to invite a family with their children, you can address the envelope as either:
Mr. and Mrs John Smith
Billy and Susy
or
The Smith Family
or
Mr. and Mrs. John Smith and Family
A couple of other important points about addressing your invitations: If you are sending a formal invitation (which most wedding invitations are) then you should spell everything out. St. would be Street, WA would be Washington, etc.
Wedding Invitations used to all come with an inner and outer envelope. The outer envelope would indicate who is invited: (Mr. and Mrs. John Smith) while the inner envelope would address the guests less formally: (Mr. and Mrs. Smith or just John and Sarah if you are close with the couple.)
In the last 5 - 10 years inner envelopes have become less popular. Many couples worry about the excess of paper both for the environment as well as for postage.
Whichever option you choose, you will want to make sure to specifically address the invitation to whomever you are inviting. For example, if you want to invite a couple without their children, you should address the envelope to Mr. and Mrs. John Smith. If you want to invite a family with their children, you can address the envelope as either:
Mr. and Mrs John Smith
Billy and Susy
or
The Smith Family
or
Mr. and Mrs. John Smith and Family
A couple of other important points about addressing your invitations: If you are sending a formal invitation (which most wedding invitations are) then you should spell everything out. St. would be Street, WA would be Washington, etc.
Registry Information
One questions that I get asked a lot is where the registry information should go on your invitation. This is a real pet-peeve of mine...
In recent years it has become more common for couples to include their gift registry information in their invitations. I think this became popular because stores started passing out little inserts with their info on it for couples to include in their invitations. If you really think about this, including this information is kind of rude. If you were having a birthday party you wouldn't tell your friends that they had to bring you a gift and that it should be selected off of a list that you created. Gifts are supposed to be given freely by the giver - not demanded and selected by the receiver.
The correct etiquette for this issue is that you, as the bride and groom, should never ask for gifts - that is just bad form! That being said, you should not include any information on your registry in your invitations or in any written correspondence with your guests. Your friends and family can spread the word if people ask them and, if someone asks you where you are registered - it is okay to tell them - but only if they ask.
Now, if you feel that you really want to include this information for your guests, I would definitely not suggest inserting the little slips of paper that the stores give you unless you really want to advertise for them in your wedding invitation. What I would suggest is setting up a wedding website that will link to your registry. You can then just include your wedding website on your invitation like this:
For additional information, please visit our wedding website at: www.ourweddingwebsite.com
There are plenty of free wedding websites. I have used theknot.com as well as mywedding.com and found them to be pretty good. If you would prefer a custom website and want to have it match your invitations (which is a great way to go!) I would recommend Blue Six Pence Design. They are a local vendor that does great work.
In recent years it has become more common for couples to include their gift registry information in their invitations. I think this became popular because stores started passing out little inserts with their info on it for couples to include in their invitations. If you really think about this, including this information is kind of rude. If you were having a birthday party you wouldn't tell your friends that they had to bring you a gift and that it should be selected off of a list that you created. Gifts are supposed to be given freely by the giver - not demanded and selected by the receiver.
The correct etiquette for this issue is that you, as the bride and groom, should never ask for gifts - that is just bad form! That being said, you should not include any information on your registry in your invitations or in any written correspondence with your guests. Your friends and family can spread the word if people ask them and, if someone asks you where you are registered - it is okay to tell them - but only if they ask.
Now, if you feel that you really want to include this information for your guests, I would definitely not suggest inserting the little slips of paper that the stores give you unless you really want to advertise for them in your wedding invitation. What I would suggest is setting up a wedding website that will link to your registry. You can then just include your wedding website on your invitation like this:
For additional information, please visit our wedding website at: www.ourweddingwebsite.com
There are plenty of free wedding websites. I have used theknot.com as well as mywedding.com and found them to be pretty good. If you would prefer a custom website and want to have it match your invitations (which is a great way to go!) I would recommend Blue Six Pence Design. They are a local vendor that does great work.
RSVP Card Etiquette
Traditionally, response cards were not included in wedding invitations. Guests were expected to write a note on a sheet of their own stationery letting the hosts know if they would be attending or not. Eventually, bride's started to include a response card with their invitations to encourage guests to reply. These cards were blank or printed with one sentence such as, "the favour of your reply is requested by June 1st.) In more recent times, reply cards have become standard. These cards are basically fill in the blank style and ask guests for their name, whether or not they are coming, how many people are coming and potentially may even ask for entrée selections.
In the last couple of years we are starting to see another shift in the response card trends. Many couples, in their desire to be eco-friendly, are doing RSVP postcards or skipping the insert altogether and asking guests to reply online.
As I mentioned in the last article, I think that what you do for your reply cards is up to how strictly you want to follow etiquette. I would suggest that if you plan to have guests reply online, that you have at least a small number of traditional style reply cards to include in the invitations going out to your less tech-savvy guests. If you choose to do a reply card with an envelope or an rsvp postcard, make sure to stamp them!
Here are a couple of answers to questions that I am frequently asked about rsvp cards:
We don't want children at the wedding, how can we politely let our guests know?
The correct etiquette around this questions would be that you would address your envelopes only to those people who are invited and your guests should know that if a child's name was not listed, that the child is not invited. If that is not realistic for your situation, I would recommend including a "number attending" line on your reply card. This way, if you have invited 2 guests and they reply that 3 are coming, you can address the issue before the wedding. Alternately, you can put a small statement on the reply card such as, "due to space limitations, no children please."
Who should the rsvp card go back to?
The correct etiquette answer would be that whoever is hosting the event would receive the reply cards. These days I am seeing a lot of Bride and Grooms who want the cards to return to them, even if their parents are technically hosting (paying) for the wedding.
What does RSVP mean? What does the M stand for?
RSVP is French and stands for Responde Sil Vous Plait which means please respond. The M that comes before the line for your guests names is where they would put in Mr. or Mrs. If you don't like this, you could alternately put Name:________
In the last couple of years we are starting to see another shift in the response card trends. Many couples, in their desire to be eco-friendly, are doing RSVP postcards or skipping the insert altogether and asking guests to reply online.
As I mentioned in the last article, I think that what you do for your reply cards is up to how strictly you want to follow etiquette. I would suggest that if you plan to have guests reply online, that you have at least a small number of traditional style reply cards to include in the invitations going out to your less tech-savvy guests. If you choose to do a reply card with an envelope or an rsvp postcard, make sure to stamp them!
Here are a couple of answers to questions that I am frequently asked about rsvp cards:
We don't want children at the wedding, how can we politely let our guests know?
The correct etiquette around this questions would be that you would address your envelopes only to those people who are invited and your guests should know that if a child's name was not listed, that the child is not invited. If that is not realistic for your situation, I would recommend including a "number attending" line on your reply card. This way, if you have invited 2 guests and they reply that 3 are coming, you can address the issue before the wedding. Alternately, you can put a small statement on the reply card such as, "due to space limitations, no children please."
Who should the rsvp card go back to?
The correct etiquette answer would be that whoever is hosting the event would receive the reply cards. These days I am seeing a lot of Bride and Grooms who want the cards to return to them, even if their parents are technically hosting (paying) for the wedding.
What does RSVP mean? What does the M stand for?
RSVP is French and stands for Responde Sil Vous Plait which means please respond. The M that comes before the line for your guests names is where they would put in Mr. or Mrs. If you don't like this, you could alternately put Name:________
