Looking for a way to jazz up your envelopes for invitations or thank you cards?  Try adding a personal photo or logo!  Custom postage is so fun!  Today Zazzle has an awesome deal - offering $8.80 off custom postage!!  Think ahead to kids birthday invitations, Save the Dates, you name it.  They also have a promo code (FINALHOLIDAY) for cards, invitations, and tons of other items on their site that can be customized.Shop using Ebates to get 20% cash back (that's like getting an extra 20% discount)!  PLUS, if that wasn't enough - if you are new to Ebates, you will get a FREE $10 gift card of your choice with your first purchase of $25 or more.   (Yep - you bet I signed hubby's email address up too & he got his own $10 gift card (Home Depot) with his first online purchase.  He was one happy guy!)I have been using Ebates since 2008 to get cash back on all my online shopping.  Four times a year, they will mail out a check with all the cash back you have earned.  My last check was over $80!!!  That's money I would have lost out on if I hadn't taken the 30 seconds to link up to Ebates.Follow these easy steps to use Ebates: 1. Sign Up or Login to your Ebates account.2. Search the Ebates site for "Zazzle" or any other store you want to shop at (you'd be shocked at all the store that Ebates gives you cash back on - Nordstrom, Sephora, QVC, Ulta, Groupon....)3. Click on the orange "Shop Now" button & bam - that qucik your purchase will be linked to Ebates and you will get an email when the cash back has posted to your account.  Happy Holiday Shopping Savings!!

Your DREAM DESTINATION awaits.... 1St Class Ticket Birthday Boarding Pass to Announce a Special Trip - Football Theme

Normally I have clients who order several boarding passes for invitations to a wedding, shower, or party.  Well, not this time.  I had a woman contact me with a very special request.  She had arranged a birthday surprise for her boyfriend and was looking for a unique way to tell him.  Not just any surprise either - A trip to see his favorite team play!  Of course, I was all over it!!!

I love how these turned out and I only wish I could see the look on his face when he opens this boarding pass announcement!  

{Real Brides Spotlight} Abby & D.J.'s Hawaiian Wedding

Working with Abby on her wedding stationery was so much fun!  From boarding pass invitations to personalized luggage tags for the welcome bags, we kept a tropical theme from start to finish.  I love the way everything turned out.  I look forward to working with Abby on future life events that may come "crawling" along! ;-)

What part of the wedding planning was the most fun?
The most fun an exciting part of planning our wedding was seeing everything come together.  As a little girl, I never envisioned my wedding day, so when the time came I had a blank slate and didn’t know where to start.  We both knew we wanted to have a destination wedding and we chose Maui since it was were we first vacationed together.  Once the venue was chosen I was at a loss.  I knew I had help from my fiancé for the location and venue selection but then much of the rest was all on me.

Not only had I not envisioned my wedding day I had not envisioned my dress, the style or color of the bridesmaid’s dresses, invitations, flowers, centerpieces, etc.  Once I started thinking about it I felt that I had a hog-pog of ideas that would never work together.  Once things started coming together so did all of my ideas.  I am thankful I didn’t hold back on the things that I wanted out of fear they would look tacky or out of place.  This was our day and it turned out perfect.

What part of the wedding planning was the least fun?
I really enjoyed all of the aspects of planning our wedding.  The worst part would have been to be the obvious; paying the bills.  We paid for the wedding ourselves.  At the beginning I felt like I had the money in the world to work with, needless to say that wasn’t the case and I budgeted a little too close for my comfort.  Our only goal was to not go in debt because of our wedding day and I am happy to say we succeeded!

Did you receive comments from your guests regarding the invitations and accessories? 
We received so many compliments on our invitations.  They fit our style to a T and everybody agreed.  Our guests commented on how unique and creative the invitations were and that they had never seen anything like them.  Not only did people comment on our invitations but also the Thank You cards, programs, place cards, table cards and especially the luggage tags.

 Please list anything you would like to include regarding your experience with Fine Prints:
Since we were getting married in Maui I wanted something that gave out an island vibe.  My husband and I like to have fun rather than be formal and we thought that our invitations should reflect that as well.  I found a few styles that we liked but we continually came back to the Boarding Pass Design.   Amanda was so patient with me and my many emails.  She was more than accommodating with all requests.  With everything done over email I hope I didn’t come across as a Bridezilla. :-)

I enjoyed working with Amanda so much we ordered Thank You cards, programs, place & table cards, as well as luggage tags for our swag bags.  Our wedding had Fine Prints written all over it!
She made it so easy, with her many ideas for colors and the final design.   The most difficult decision I had to make was which design/color I liked the best.

If there are any babies or other special events in our future I will definitely ask Amanda to help me out!

Do you have any advice for the bride-to-be currently planning her wedding?
This is your day.  Do not let anyone change your mind for you.  Have fun with the planning and don’t expect that your fiancé is going to want to give you input on every detail because he won’t.  That itself will save you a lot of headaches!

Lastly, before you take your first step down the aisle, take a deep breath and absorb all that is about to happen.

Vendors
Ceremony:  Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa-Black Rock Lawn
Reception:  Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa-Cora Reef Room
Bride’s Apparel: Allure Bridal-All over lace, v-shaped neckline with scalloped edging and a crystal encrusted satin band across the empire waistline.  The skirt was an A-line skirt with a deep v-shaped back completes.
Groom’s Apparel: Tommy Bahama cream shirt and khaki pants
Floral/Lighting: Fukushima Flowers-Lahaina, HI
Photography:  Half Light Photo-Minneapolis, MN  Jessica Hackner
Videography:  Hawaiian Video Memories-Todd Perkins
Reception Entertainment:  iPod playlist
Cake:  Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa
Stationery: Fine Prints Design

A Glowing Review of our Boarding Pass Invitations from Lisa

*The following review was left on the Fine Prints Facebook Fan Page.*

5 STARS

"My fiancé and I are from Chicago and put off finding invitations until just a few months before our big day. We came across Amanda’s website and fell in love with the boarding pass invitations- since after all we were having a destination wedding. In today’s world you never know what you are really getting when you order off the inter...net. We did not have enough time to actually see a physical proof, so we were taking a big risk- but the risk was definitely worth taking. We did get a virtual proof and were able to edit as we liked. Until we got our physical invitations we only had a picture of what they would like it. When we got the physical invitations we were blown away.The invitations are of beautiful quality and I am ecstatic to hear what my guests have to say about them. I know they will just love them! I already put one in the frame and hung it on my wall. Amanda is easy to work with and really cares about making our special day even more special.She is super quick to respond and always gives detailed explanations. She took away all stress dealing with invitations. Amanda we cannot thank you enough and can’t wait to work with you again!"

- Lisa Mae

Becky & John's Romance in the Air - Ticket Style Save the Date

Becky came to us for some unique Save the Date cards to send out to their guest.

It Takes Two - Tandem Antique Bicycle "Just Married" or "Thank You" cards

I'm loving my new "It takes 2" Tandem Antique Bicycle cards.  These adorable cards can be ordered with just about any text you want including Just Married and Thank You.  The perfect way to announce your wedding or thank your guests.  How cute are these?  

Bride and Groom thank you cards - {Classic or Modern Styles}

Love, love, love these adorable Bride & Groom thank you cards.  Choose from two different styles - Classic or Modern.  Personalized with the Bride and Grooms names and wedding date on the back.  

"Bridesmaid Job Description" - Will you be my Bridesmaid cards

These cards are the real deal.  A perfect way to ask your girls for so much more than just being your Bridesmaid.  They ask them to put up with your constant wedding talk for the next year and crazy Bridezilla moments that come with it.  (Come on, at some point we all have "those" moments right!)  They ask them to show how much you mean to them by doing all the things that come along with being a Bridesmaid.  Lets face it, being a Bridesmaid is a job and this is just asking them to fit the description.  ;-)

These cards can be ordered as standard "will you be my bridesmaid" or you can personalize them for each of your Bridesmaids.  Text and envelope colors are also customizable.    

Will you be my Bridesmaid/Thank you for being my Bridesmaid vintage style dress form cards

These super cute cards are the perfect why to ask your best girlfriends to be your Bridesmaids or thank them after the wedding for all that they have done.  Special orders can be customized with dress and font color, each Bridesmaid's name, envelope color, and the brides name and wedding date on the back.  

Butterfly Wine Glass Place Cards

How fun are these place cards?!?!  Imagine walking into a room that is filled with floating butterflies.  How pretty!  These cards are sure to be the talk of the event.  

Each beautiful butterfly card can be ordered with or without your guests names printed on them.  They sit perfectly perched on the rim of a wine glass, water goblet, or any other glass.  Prefect for weddings, bridal showers, birthday parties, and more.  Looking for something to work with your theme?  Email us to see what other shapes we can do.  

Karen and Paul's New Orleans {Fleur De Lis} Boarding Pass Wedding Invitations - Laissez les bons temps rouler {Let the good times roll!}

Boarding Passes with custom sleeve

Karen and Paul are planning a destination wedding in New Orleans at the Champagne Palace.  Karen really wanted to incorporate the iconic Fleur De Lis design that New Orleans is known for into her invitations.  To get her guests excited for the destination, we created boarding pass style invitations in her wedding colors of black, white, and gold.  

Boarding Passes, Custom Sleeve, and Invitation Envelope

Who wouldn't love to save $1,000 or more on their wedding gown, right? How about super cute Bridesmaids gifts that are $3!

Retail $1,789.00, sale price $449

So I was checking out some of my favorite deal sites and found that Hautelook is featuring some AMAZING deals on everything from Wedding Gowns to Bridesmaids gifts.  I'm talking about save $1,000 or more on your wedding gown!!!  They have a few different designers such as, Christina Wu - the designer of the dress shown above, with savings of 75% off retail.  That means you are paying $449 for an $1,800 gown!  

If you don't already know about Hautelook, it's a great deal site that I have come to really love!  

Other great wedding deals I found were:

Tuxes, Ties, and and more

Bridal Lingerie {$12 for bras & $8 for panties!!!}

Great Wedding Books like Martha Stuarts Weddings 40% off

Honeymoon Beachwear 

Bridesmaid Dresses

and more....

I love this adorable little flower girl dress.  How sweet is this and at over 50% off, this is a total win!

Us Angels

Lace Bodice Dress Retail $150, Sale $70 

Only $5 for cute Bridesmaid gifts!

With all the costs that come along with a wedding, it's always great to find a good deal.  I hope this helps!!!  Hurry, check out this site before the sales end.  Leave a comment below and tell me what great deal you scored.

      

{Tuesday Tip #5} - Seating the older generation at your wedding reception

When working on the ever dreaded seating chart for your wedding reception, be sure to really think about your guests.  Nobody likes to feel like they have be shoved into a corner.  

The older generation (think grandparents) will most likely not join in all of time on the dance floor, but they will still want to feel like they are included.  Seat them closest to the dance floor, but at the far end away from where the speakers will be.  They will have a great time watching from their tables.  Be on the lookout for lots of chair dancing!  

{Tuesday Tip #4} Have your wedding invitations weighed BEFORE purchasing postage

Custom Designed Postage Stamps

Can you just imagine!  You spend lots of time and energy making sure your invitations are perfect and ready to mail out on time, just to get them all back in the mail 2 weeks later because you didn't add enough postage.  Yikes!  Now you are racing against the clock because you are 2 weeks behind and faced with ordering all new envelopes, purchasing postage (AGAIN!) and - horror of horror - maybe even paying to have your envelopes addressed all over again!  Especially if you have sprung for beautiful hand calligraphy, this can be a costly mistake.  Don't let this be you!  

These days with pockets, layers, and embellishments, most invitations require more than the standard 1 oz. stamp.  Did you also know that things like the shape of your invitation can change the over all price as well?  You read that right.  The ever popular square invitation is beautiful and eye catching, but according to the post office it is considered an "odd size" and requires additional postage.  Who knew, right?  

To make sure this doesn't happen to you, check with the post office about the size and weight of your invitation.  Once you have your finished sample in hand, head on over to your local post office and have it weighed and measured for correct postage. Make sure to check the schedule for any postage increases to plan accordingly.  Remember, this will effect your response cards and response post cards as well! 

Proofs - Christine's Pink Gerber Daisy Wedding Stationery {Save the Dates, Place Cards, Table Cards, Wedding Invitations, and Program Covers}

Gerber Daisy Save the Date Post Cards

Let's talk proofs!  I can hear you all now - "What are proofs"?  Proofs are a digital representation of what your stationery design will look like once printed and assembled.  When working with a custom design, after a consultation with a client, the designer (that's me) builds your invitation by pulling together all those ideas that were tossed around and putting them on paper in the form of an over all design.  Although not 100% accurate in terms of colors, proofs can give you a much clearer idea of what to expect the final product to look like and allow you to make any edits before moving into printing.  The reason colors aren't totally accurate is because not everyone uses the same kind of screen.  In fact, these days, you could be viewing a proof on everything from an ipad to a cell phone. With electronic proofing you can view several versions of a design theme and choose the one you like the most without dealing with the expense of having each design prints and assembled.

Below are some more examples of proofs for the Gerber Daisy Wedding Set.  Be on the look out for more posts with design proofs to come.  

Christine Gerber Daisy Invitation Proof 2

Christine Gerber Daisy Invitation Proof 3

Christine Gerber Daisy Invitation Proof 1

Christine Gerber Daisy Invitation Set

Christine's Gerber Daisy Program Covers

Christine's Gerber Daisy Table Cards

Christine's Gerber Daisy Place Card Proofs

{Tuesday Tip # 3} - Have your wedding stationery photographed!

Tuesday Tip #3

Have your wedding stationery photographed.  {That means your wedding invitations too!}

Details, Details, Details!  I can’t say it enough – Truly memorable weddings are built by paying special attention to the details.  Now that you have put all your time and effort into creating all those extra special details, don’t let your wedding day slip by without capturing them on film.  

If you are like 99% of the Brides out there, you are already planning on hiring a photographer, videographer, or both for your wedding day.  Take this opportunity to have all those special touches photographed. Most good photographers will be sure to snap a shot of a few things here and there. Be sure to meet with your photographer and have a list ready of people & items that you really want photographed.   When making your list, don’t forget your wedding stationery {ceremony programs, place cards, table cards, menus, special signs, etc.}.

What about your wedding invitations?   Plan on ordering an extra copy of your wedding invitation and give it to your photographer ahead of time or bring it to your wedding.   Very few people end up with a photo of their wedding invitation and while having a copy tucked in your memory box is great, what happens if it gets lost?  Photos that showcase your invitation with your bridal bouquet, wedding rings, or other meaningful accents are always a hit. 

Be sure to let us know if your photographer snaps some lovely photos of your wedding stationery by Fine Prints and you (as well as your photographer) could find yourself featured on our website or blog.  Check out our REAL BRIDES SPOTLIGHTS to see examples of some amazing wedding details captured by the pros.  

{Tuesday Tip #2} When to order your Wedding Stationery {Featuring a Wedding Stationery Timeline}

"When do I order my wedding stationery?"

I hear this from Brides all the time.  The ever popular question of when to shop for and order your wedding stationery can be a tricky one.  I have found that although wedding planner books are very helpful in many areas, they all seem a bit out of date when it comes to ordering your save the dates, invitations, and other paper needs.  This is especially true when it comes to custom invitations.  A good rule of thumb in all things wedding is "you can never be too early" when selecting vendors and checking things off your list.  

Start out by checking out wedding magazines and websites for inspiration.  Print out photos of your favorites and note what you love about them and what you wish you could change. Your stationery is a very important part of your wedding.  Save the dates or the actual invitations are often the first glimpse your guests will have at  your Wedding.  What kind of message do you want to send?  This is your chance to get them excited about the amazing event you are planning.  You want to make sure that it reflects who you are as a couple by showcasing your style, tastes, and even humor at times.  

Often you will find that stationery lead times can be longer than you might think.  To avoid paying costly rush fees to meet your deadlines, or worse - not being able to get what you want at all, be sure to plan ahead.

{Tuesday Tip #1} Number your response cards

{Tuesday Tip #1}

Number your response cards.  This one simple tip can save you hours of searching and worry!

After all the hard work to stay organized during your wedding, just imagine the horror of receiving a response card back in the mail only to find that everything has been carefully filled in except the name!  Whose response card is this?  In a panic you flip over the envelope to check the post mark location.  Arlington, Virginia.  Great, half your family lives there.  Next, you rush to your guest list to see who you are still waiting on responses from and where they live.  As you glance over the twelve guests who have not responded which happen to live in Arlington, Virginia, you ask yourself “what now”? 

To begin with, you are not alone.  This very same thing can and often does happen to almost every Bride, (ahem, even me). If you find yourself in this situation, the best thing to do is enlist your mother to contact the twelve family members you have narrowed it down to and see if she can find out who the culprit is.  After all, your mom keeps asking how she can help and is always looking for an excuse to talk to someone about your wedding – right?   Gotta love her.  If she’s like my mother-in-law, she’s even talking to people in the checkout line at the grocery store about it. 

Of course we all hope that this will never happen to us, but why take the chance when a little planning ahead can guarantee you will never have to make those dreaded phone calls.  First, pull out your guest list and give every household a number.  Now, flip over your response cards and in the corner, write the number you have assigned to that household.  Be sure to make it small so that it’s not distracting.  If you aren’t into the idea of writing a number that everyone can see, you can channel your inner spy and use invisible ink pens.  You know - those pens that you played with as a kid that write in invisible ink and require a black light to read the message.  Your guests will never even know it’s there and really – do you need a better excuse to play with invisible ink pens anyway?

That’s it!  So simple you won’t believe you didn’t think of it yourself.  Trust me if whipping out invisible ink pens doesn’t pique your Grooms interest, I don’t know what will.  You might even have him volunteering to help you with your secret spy project.  See all the fun he’s been missing?           

Fine Prints WINS the 2011 Bride's Choice Award from Wedding Wire

WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, is thrilled to announce Fine Prints has been selected to receive the prestigious annual WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011

Recognition for the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 is determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 750,000 WeddingWire newlyweds. Our past clients are among those that shared their experiences on WeddingWire, the largest wedding review site in the nation. 

Fine Prints stands among the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire community, representing quality and service excellence within the wedding industry. Awards were given to the top wedding professionals across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, and were based on the overall professional achievements throughout the past year. 

We are happy to announce that Fine Prints is among the very best Invitations within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Martha Stewart Weddings, Project Wedding and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for nominating us to receive the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011. 

Thanks to all of our amazing Brides for taking the time to share reviews with other Brides to Be.  

Real Brides Spotlight - Meg & Brian's Starfish Themed Wedding 10.10.10

Meg found us online and really loved the look of our beach thank you cards and wanted to order some for her engagement party.  Lucky for us, she was even more pleased when she received them in the mail because she decided that Fine Prints would be her go to for all her custom wedding stationery.  With Meg in New York and Fine Prints in Virginia, we simply worked everything out over email.  Thus began the year long relationship between Meg & I as we worked on designs for her amazing destination beach front wedding.  

Working with Meg was so much fun!  When I first asked Meg what she wanted for her wedding invitations, she told me "Pink, pink, and more pink - oh, and starfish!".   Once I told her that we could have a custom wedding monogram designed for her to use on the invitations and anywhere else she wanted, her creative wheels started turning too.  Meg used her monogram whenever and where ever possible from the stationery, to the aisle runner, to some pretty awesome pub cups she had made for her guests.  

Meg & Brian's Custom Designed Wedding Monogram

Pub Cups Meg Ordered With Her Custom Wedding Monogram Printed On Them.   Meg & Brian had a great wedding weekend planed complete with a pub crawl.  These cups were the perfect touch for her guests.

With the monogram, colors, and theme worked out, the designs just kept coming.  If there is any Bride who has tested out most of what Fine Prints has to offer, it would be Meg.  She kept us jumping designing beautiful petite pocketed star fish wedding invitations complete with custom envelope addressing and designs.  After that we created place cards, specialty cocktail signs, program fans, out of town guest layered information packets, a card box monogram seal, stickers, and more.

Details, details, details!  This Brides is all about the details and that is what made her wedding so special.  I'm sure her guests walked away amazing, buzzing about all the personalized details.  (Be sure to check out her wedding video below to see what I mean).   Future Brides take note - memorable weddings are built on details like these.    

    

What part of the wedding planning was the most fun?

I think that I had the most fun planning all of the extra little details.  I loved working on flowers and also picking out the candy for the candy buffet.  I was so excited to see how all of the pieces would come together.  I couldn't have been happier with how it all turned out.  Especially how all of our pinks looked together :)

What part of the wedding planning was the least fun?

I definitely had the least fun creating the guest list.  Because we had a destination wedding we limited the number of guests that we invited.  We really wanted to be surrounded by the people who have meant the most to us in our lives growing up and as adults.  We had about 90 people fly to Florida from New York to be with us, and we couldn't have asked for anything more!! 

Did you receive comments from your guests regarding the invitations and accessories?

At 11:00 am the day after I sent out the invites I started to receive text messages from my friends and family.  Everyone loved them!

 Please list anything you would like to include regarding your experience with Fine Prints:

We worked with Fine Prints starting from the thank you notes for our engagement party.  Amanda was so great to work with and was always 2 steps ahead of all of my ideas.  Everyone loved our  wedding logo that was used on the thank you card labels, invites, card box, photo strips, programs, and out of town brochures!  Amanda has such great ideas and is so professional!  She responded to all of my emails so quickly and sent everything packaged perfectly.  She even had things sent directly to Florida for us.  

Do you have any advice for the bride-to-be currently planning her wedding?

Do what you want!!  Don't let anyone else tell you that you should or should not do something.  At the same time, pick your battles.  If there are things that won't make a difference to you but someone else wants it, it's easier to give in than stress.

Check out Meg & Brian's amazing wedding video featuring our Custom Program Fans.

meghan {and} brian // coming attractions from Tampa Wonderworks Films on Vimeo.

Vendors

Ceremony:  Lido Beach Resort
Reception:  Lido Beach Resort
Bride’s Apparel: Kleinfeld
Groom’s Apparel: Mens Warehouse
Floral/Lighting: Flowers by Fudgie
Photography: Kimberly Dyer
Videography: Tampa Wonderworks

Reception Entertainment: Bryan Kudlek
Cake: Cakes by Ron
Stationery: Fine Prints Design