Brown paper packages tied up with...NOPE

Here's a sneak peek of two new favor boxes that we'll be showing at this weekend's expo. The gable box on the left is truly a classic style and if you finish it with a pretty satin ribbon tie, your favors will most definitely add that special touch to your table decor. While I love the look of the gable box and its functional elegance, I have MAD love for the chair box shown on the right! Arrange all of the boxes on the reception table and they'll serve double duty as escort cards. Invite your guests to "take their seat" as they pick up their boxes on the way to their assigned tables. Or, if you prefer to set the boxes at each place setting, they can serve as place cards. I appreciate cool, multifunctional pieces and this is one of my favorites!

You can check out our new collection of favor boxes here (prices and ordering info coming soon!).

And a brief word about these favor boxes. Until now, I offered just a few box styles but after a serendipitous meeting with a fellow designer, we both realized the potential of partnering up and pooling our resources...thus, I'm thrilled to be able to offer more of what my clients have been asking for all these years!

Wedding Expo this weekend!

Head over to the Hawaii Convention Center this weekend and check out the Hawaii World Class Wedding Expo!

Friday, April 29
6:00pm - 10:00pm
Fashion show @ 7:30pm

Saturday, April 30
11:00am - 5:00pm
Fashion show @ 2:30pm

Admission is $8.00 at the door.

Stop by the Emi Ink booth for a special sneak preview of a new invitation that we're working on and get a first look at our favor box collection!

Silence, please...

Mark your calendars for the TWC Gives Back Silent Auction on May 4, 2011. Starting at 6:30pm, you can bid on prize packages and services donated by vendors of The Wedding Cafe with all proceeds going to the American Red Cross in a continued effort to help those in need following the Japan disaster. Visit TWC's website where you can download a complete list of auction items. Emi Ink will be donating a $500 gift certificate good towards custom wedding invitations.

Ears and all...

I produced mailing labels for one of my brides this week and had to pause and smile for a second when I came across this address:

Other notable invitees were President and Mrs. Obama! I remember when I was planning my own wedding, I read on a wedding forum that you could send an invitation to Pennsylvania Avenue and receive a congratulatory greeting from the White House. I never got around to mailing an invitation to the president, but that would have been a fun keepsake to add to my (yet-to-be-designed) wedding scrapbook!

Back to the drawing board

About a month ago I started working with a bride on Kauai who had an interesting vision for her invitations. While I can't reveal the finished invitation til after the wedding, I can share one design element that was very important to the bride. She requested that blue jade flowers be the main focal point and sent me half a dozen photos for inspiration. This image shows the original photo that I referenced, and the original illustration that resulted from it. To incorporate all the elements that the bride requested, I took a little bit of artistic license with the flower and gave it a green stem to match the green vines that were cascading down the side of her invitation.

It was a challenging design both creatively and logistically since we were on an extremely tight timeline, but I think my bride will be happy with her vision come to life!

Playing tag

Another favor tag order out the door this morning and handed off to Menehune Mac. Delicate branch of cherry blossoms, kissed with a single Swarovski crystal.

Postal rates going up on April 17, 2011

Dear USPS,

You are the bane of my existence...yet without you, I would be nothing. For months you taunt me with rumors of rate hikes, then tease me with the possibility of stable and unchanging rates, and then slay me with confirmation of said rate hikes during the peak gotta-mail-invitations-now-for-all-the-summer-weddings season. I know that I'm at your mercy, but you can't make me love you.

Signed,

A begrudgingly faithful stationery designer

Ok, enough melodramatic stuff. Take note of this date, people: April 17, 2011. Postal rates ARE going up on this day, and you can read up on all the changes at the USPS website here. Personally, I dislike wading through mountains of information and found this handy table which outlines the stuff that I'm most interested in as these are the common weights/prices I encounter in mailing out event stationery.

via Endicia.com

If you're in doubt about anything having to do with mailing your pretty little invites, head to your local post office and ask away. Better to ask the experts than deal with a mailing or postage snafu.

Blingin' again

Just blinged out these lovelies that are headed overseas for a summer wedding in Sweden. Oh, how I wish I could slip into an A7 envelope and hitch a ride for an impromptu European vacation!

Simple pleasures

There's something about seeing all these pretty ribbons hanging in my studio that makes me so happy.

Just got my hands on hundreds of double-faced satin, organdy, grosgrain and dupioni silk ribbon samples in every color under the sun. If you're looking for a particular color or width for your wedding stationery or favors, please send an inquiry to emi@emiink.com.

Please take your seat

Escort cards are a common way to let your guests know where they are seated. Whether they're designed as flat or tent fold cards, lined up neatly on your registration table or hanging from manzanita branches with pretty organza ribbon, escort cards are something tangible that your guests can pick up and carry to their assigned tables.

Another option is a large seating chart that you can set up on an easel next to your registration table. Here's a recent piece that we created for a bride and groom that incorporated one of their engagement photos, with alphabetized guest names and assigned table numbers.

 

And here's some food for thought...

FOR ESCORT CARDS:

• Instead of printing the table number directly on the escort card, just leave a blank space where you can fill this in by hand 1-2 days before the wedding.This option provides you with the highest level of flexibility and you can move guests around to your heart's content...until you put pen to paper.
• Always produce extra blank cards...you just never know if you'll need them.
• Think about how you will be displaying your cards. Will they be protected by the elements (i.e. rain, wind)? Find a way to secure your cards if you're at an outdoor venue. There are lots of creative options to consider...think outside the box!
• If you make changes to your table assignments, it MAY be easier (and cheaper!) to reprint a few escort cards than to reprint a large seating chart.

FOR SEATING CHARTS:

• The size of your seating chart should ultimately be determined by the number of names you're printing. The chart pictured above measured 24" x 18" and included just under 100 names.
• If your headcount is substantial, consider printing two seating charts to avoid congestion with lots of guests crowding around a single chart.
• Proof your seating chart. Have someone else proof your seating chart. Ask a third person to proof your seating chart. It's worth it to have a thorough review process if it'll prevent you from having to reprint it.

And because it bears repeating, YOU WILL HAVE UNEXPECTED CHANGES TO YOUR TABLE ASSIGNMENTS. Unfortunately, this is an inevitable part of the planning process so you'll be better off just coming to terms with that now so you're not blindsided with it in the busy weeks leading up to your wedding. I can't even count how many times I've had clients send me frantic emails asking if it was too late to make revisions to their printed pieces just a few days before the wedding. It's stressful, it's inconvenient, it just downright sucks...but it's ok, it happens to everyone, and it's not uncommon. Daily affirmation...done.