Pancake and Franks

No, I am not talking about breakfast food, but Pancake and Franks is this wonderful letterpress invitations and greeting cards company based in the Mission district of San Francisco.

Stacy Pancake, the designer and owner of the studio, recently sent me her portfolio of all the designs and they were simple yet absolutely beautiful. Please check out their website above.

Photo Credit: Events by Evonne

Paper Source Weddings

For those of you in the San Francisco Bay Area, don't miss out on an exclusive event hosted by one of my favorite paper store... Paper-Source. Please see below for details:

Come join us for a Paper Source Weddings 2009 exclusive event!
March 5, 2009, 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm, Berkeley.

Sip sparkling champagne and enjoy chocolate dipped strawberries
while you create a full suite of wedding samples —
including a select group of letterpress invitations,
escort cards, favors and table accents.

Registration is required to attend this special event.
Seats are limited to 15, so don't delay.

Sign up with a friend and receive $5 off each seat!

Inviting Ideas

A lot of my 2009 brides have started working on their wedding invitations already. Here are a few tips and advice especially if you are planning a destination wedding:

1. If you want all of your paper products to be personalized and have the same "look and feel", make sure that when you work on your Save-the-dates and your invitations, you are also thinking about your programs, escort cards and/or place cards, your menus and possibly your thank you cards as well.
2. Since most of the guests will be coming from out-of-town, it's a good idea to send out the invitations 3 months prior to your wedding. That will give them enough time to book their travel arrangements.
3. An RSVP deadline of 4 to 6 weeks prior to your wedding is highly recommended. That will give the planner, the caterer and the rental company enough time to finalize all the details.
4. NEVER put your registry information on the invitations. If you have a wedding website, you can include that on the site.
5. If you are having a smaller, intimate wedding and not inviting all of your friends and family, you should send out announcement cards after the wedding. Include a nice little wedding photo, and thank them for their thoughts and prayers.
6. You can certainly hand cancel each invitation, but the post office will still run them through their machine. If your invitations are delicate, it's a good idea to include both an inner and outer envelope.
7. For eco-conscious brides, instead of doing different inserts for maps/directions, and activities...etc., you can include those information on your wedding website.
8. Always order at least 5 to 10 extra invitations with envelopes. As for thank-you notes, you should order an extra 50 to 100. You are going to get gifts all along, from your engagement to your shower to your wedding... why not have a full set of thank-you notes with both of your names on there?! :)
9. It's VERY important that you proof read every single draft from your designer, and it's always a good idea to have at least one or two other sets of eyes to look through everything. Once the invitation goes to print, that's it... any changes after that point will be costly.
   
   
   

Photo Credit (top to bottom): Smitten Invitations, Bella Figura, Cards De Luxe

Melissa's Smitten

The talented Melissa Bumstead of Smitten Invitations had a wonderful write-up of one of my recent weddings on her blog - "Melissa's Smitten"! Thank you so much, Melissa!

Based in Los Angeles, California, Smitten Invitations is committed to delighting engaged couples. Founded in 2002 by Melissa and her husband Chad, they provide fine wedding stationery, stress-free shopping and attentive customer service. When you make a purchase from them, they will donate 10% of their profits to non-profit organizations such as Hope Gardens, S.O.S. of Malibu and World Vision. If you are looking for invitations and stationery products, please be sure to check out Smitten Invitations!

Photo Credit: Element Studios

Collage by: Smitten Invitations