Wedding Stationary- DIY?

I started the search for wedding stationary a few months ago and quickly decided that wedding stationary is actually one of the things I am willing to spend money on. I'm sure a lot of people think that is silly, especially given how small our wedding budget is. After all, a lot of people just throw wedding invitations in the garbage! (Gasp!)

But I do have this overwhelming love for getting cards and other items in the mail (except bills- I could totally live without getting those in the mail). I especially love getting wedding invites, baby announcements and Christmas cards in the mail.

So of course when it comes to actually sending out my own invites- I want to send what I would love to receive myself!

Early in the planning process I made visits to some of the paper stores that make fabulous wedding stationary, searched online and went through my stack of wedding invites I've recieved from friends over the years. I spent many hours drooling over amazing wedding invites and save the date cards.....and crinkling my nose at how much said wedding stationary actually costs.

 I then realized that given my experience working with graphic designers and printers from work, I could easily save money and get exactly what I want by managing the creation of our wedding stationary myself!

Now, let me note that I am not the most crafty of brides-to-be. There are so many bride bloggers that inspire me with their craftiness- that they use Gocco machines and Cricuts, design everything in photoshop and have it turn out looking amazing. I wish I had the time or patience to do that!

 I know myself well enough to know that if I tried to do them all on my own, my wedding stationary would end up looking like a first graders art project. So instead of trying to tackle the entire project myself, I am determining which elements I can actually do myself (and with Ohio's help) and what I need someone else to do for me. I am getting excited about the project and can't wait to see how it all turns out!

What part of the wedding stationary process are you doing yourself? How did you decide how much you can take on?

Sweet things

The week of our anniversary, I ended up working 7 days in a row, averaging at least 12 hours a day. I was on a tight deadline to get a million things done at the office, and was really stressed out and exhusted.
On our anniversary I came home from work really late at night and was so tired and feeling so sad that I wasn’t able to celebrate the occasion with Ohio.

So imagine when my surprise when Ohio met me after work with the most thoughtful gift!

Remember Who You Are

When I was growing up, whenever I left the house for a party or some other event my mom would tell me to "Remember Who You Are".

She didn't mean for me to remember what my name is or where I lived or anything like that. What she really meant was for me to remember who I really am. You know, in a spiritual way, so that hopefully, I would make wise decisions. Which I think for the most part it did.

Such a simple little saying that has stuck with me all these years. As I've gotten older and no longer face the same peer pressures as I might have faced as a teenager, I still face challenges and I find this saying to still be really really helpful in my life. I think its important to check in with myself and remind myself who I really am. Not only to center myself spiritually, but to remind myself of my priorities and values.

I think that this exercise is also helpful in world of planning your wedding. It's important to not let yourself get carried away by visions of grandeur or having your wedding planning take over who you are. Which is easy to do after watching marathons of "Say Yes to the Dress" and "Who's Wedding is it Anyways?"

So, what kind of bride-to-be am I?
Here are my thoughts:

I am a bride-to-be who wants to be married one time and forever.
I am a bride-to-be who doesn't want the wedding to be "all about me" and "my special day". I want it to be "all about us" and "our special day".
I am a bride-to-be that wants a wedding that is centered on family and a feeling of community.
I am a bride-to-be that acknowledges my wedding is not a magazine photo shoot- its the day I'll be making the biggest commitment of my life.

What kind of bride are you?