PaperTrimmer+Fiance=Love

I’m not sure which relationship grew more during our one-year engagement, the one between me and my fiance, or the one between me and my trusty Fiskars paper trimmer.  I must have done a-okay in both relationships, because they are both still with me today, and we had fab wedding invitations to boot!

Some might have thought I was a tad bit crazy, tackling all of my wedding stationery in DIY manner from save-the-dates and invitations to programs, escort cards, menus and more.  But for me, it was a detail that had to be j-u-s-t-r-i-g-h-t.  That meant I had to control the process, and control it I did.  No sooner had we selected our wedding location (Quebec City) and venue (gorgeous cathedral and the historic Hotel Clarendon) than I had already envisioned the colors and look of our wedding stationery, and thus our wedding.

To be clear, I am simply not one of those girls who had her wedding all planned out before meeting Mr. Oh-So-Right.  And even if I had been, the wrench of a winter wedding would have totally thrown me for a loop.  Looking back, there was no other option but a gorgeous winter Quebec City wedding, but believe me you, I had never dreamed of an international destination WINTER wedding.  Wouldn’t a Vermont-or-Maine-in-June wedding have been so much easier?

So, now the moment you have been waiting for.  Here is a taste of my all-from-scratch wedding stationery, from beginning to end…

First up, our save-the-date.  I started working on this in January, just weeks after the December 31, 2007, proposal.  After about a month of cutting, folding, gluing, printing, I mailed these babies out in March.  My inspiration came from the classy and trendy wedding invite pockets Envelopments.   Without a sample in hand, I whipped up a little template for my pocket folds, designed to fit into a 5×7 Envelopments envelope (no, I did not make the mailing envelopes!).  Then, I proceeded to make about 75 of ‘em.  Talk about production line.  Here is the finished project, in two forms.

We got such rave reviews on the save-the-dates that we decided we should go on with the wedding!  Even if our guests weren’t thrilled by the prospect of planning a winter trip to one of the coldest spots on the continent, they had the info they needed to start their respective planning.  The S-T-Ds included hotel accommodation information and a chart of travel times from the major areas of departure for our guests.

So, fast forward to August.  By that time my paper trimmer had made the move with us to our new home and I found myself busily cutting and designing away to make our invitations, which would be mailed in October.  I needed all the time I could get–these babies were a labor of love (pun intended).  Check out the finished product (and cherish that every square was cut by hand and every word was designed by yours truly):

And, whatd’ya know, we actually got all kinds of RSVPs!  Which meant, the wedding was really, truly happening, and I needed to make a few more choice items (and order a new blade for my Friskars friend) outlined below…

And then there was the maps, directions and information I sent out to the guests that RSVPd “yes,” and the note cards I left in all of the hotel rooms…but…you get the idea!

So, there you have it.  I have to admit, once the wedding was over, my paper trimmer and I took a little break.  Truth be told, I didn’t save a tremendous amount of money (all those little rolls of scrapbooking glue adds up!).  But, given the choice, I would do it all over again because it truly added a very personal touch, which is just what I wanted for my guests.  Have any of you attempted to make all of your own wedding stuff?  Would you do it again?