What is a rehearsal dinner?

A rehearsal dinner is traditionally an informal meal for the wedding party after the wedding rehearsal the night before the ceremony. It’s a chance for the bride and groom to thank everyone involved in their upcoming big day as well as an opportunity for the wedding party to get better acquainted.

Customarily the groom’s parents host the rehearsal dinner and include the couple when planning it. Planning the event details and choosing the invitations can provide an opportunity during the wedding chaos for the bride to bond with her future parents-in-law. Typically the groom’s mother sends the rehearsal dinner invitations a few days after the wedding invitations have been mailed.

The rehearsal dinner can be as creative or casual as you choose. If you plan to invite more guests than just the wedding party but you you’re budget doesn’t allow for a full dinner, consider a picnic, barbeque or pot luck event. Remember, it’s all about taking a break, expressing gratitude, sharing a simple meal and toasting, of course!

Paper Moon

Have you chosen your wedding site yet? Like the color theme question, it was a difficult decision and may have been the most challenging to make. There are so many things to think about when choosing the right site such as how many guests you will have, how formal or casual you want your wedding to be, and of course cost. I know a lot of brides who were heartbroken because their guest list was too large for a lot of really cool sites. Though my guest list is small, it was still difficult to find a venue that I felt was unique.

My fiancé and I were on a desperate hunt for the perfect place. Every weekend it was an exhausting race from hotels to wineries to parks and gardens but either the cost was way over our budget or it just didn’t feel right to me. I really wanted a site that was spectacular especially since my family is traveling far to get here. Fortunately after a month of searching, I finally found the place I was looking for. I walked into a historical site in San Francisco and fell in love! I was thinking about what made it so perfect to me. And realized that similar to the Wedding Paper Divas wedding collection, it is traditional, but was updated with details and fixtures to create a look that is very hip and modern. There are a few wedding invitations that I think really exemplify this. The Modern Toile invitation takes a traditional toile design and recreates the look with fun, hip colors.

Modern Toile

And the Simple Monogram wedding invitation is simple and casual while using traditional monograms.

Simple Monogram

Being from Hawaii everyone assumed I would get married there. With its beautiful beaches, tropical flowers and all my friends and family, it was a hard decision to make. Partly due to convenience and also because I wanted something different, we chose to get married here. It was a sacrifice and I must admit, I still fantasize about Hawaii weddings every once in awhile. The sounds of the waves crashing on the warm sand and the fragrant smell of plumerias close by. The good thing is I see a lot of people having island weddings while not necessarily in the islands. By incorporating colors like ocean blues, and sea greens or by adding tropical flowers or marine inspired favors, it’s possible to have an island wedding without having to fly to Hawaii to do so. One wedding that I went to in Monterey used purple orchids and seashell shaped chocolates to give the day a hint of island flavor.

Another way to bring the beach to your wedding is through stationery. The hibiscus is Hawaii’s state flower and makes a stunning design to showcase to guests.

Hibiscus

The Palm Beach wedding invitation also brings a warm blast of tropical color to your special day.

Palm Beach

For something more subtle, the Beach Stripes collection is contemporary and sleek. With all these options, I don’t think I’ll need to give up on my Hawaii wedding just yet!

Beach Stripes

Why do we use two envelopes for wedding invitations?

The postal service wasn’t dependable or even readily available until the 20th century. Traditionally, nearly all wedding invitations were delivered by hand. They were generally sent by courier or a family servant either by foot or on horseback. Because the journey wasn’t always a tidy one, the double envelope protected the invitation from getting soiled en route to its recipient. Once the invitation arrived at its destination, the butler or housemaid removed the outer envelope and handed the inner one to the mistress or master of the house.Your wedding invitations will probably be sent through the mail, but just in case and in keeping with tradition, Wedding Paper Divas offers beautiful double envelope options.

Why is there tissue paper inside wedding invitations?

The first written wedding invitations were handcrafted during the Middle Ages in Europe by monks who were expert calligraphers. Commissioning monks to create your wedding invitations was incredibly expensive; therefore, only royalty or the wealthiest families could afford it. By the 1600s, metal plate engraving was invented and affordable, decorative, engraved invitations became available. To keep the engraving from smudging, a sheet of tissue paper was placed on top of it. Today tissue is generally used in wedding invitations for decorative purposes.

Meeting my fiancé’s parents was actually surprisingly anxiety-free. Thank goodness real life doesn’t play like a movie. In this case, I was not dealing with crisis after crisis like “Meet the Parents” with Ben Stiller. In fact, things went rather smoothly. What did scare me, however, was having both sets of families meet for the first time. Some couples wait until the rehearsal dinner for this momentous event. Maybe they want to put it off or their families live oceans apart. Whatever their reason, I can empathize. The one thing I know is that when the time comes I would rather start things off right by sending my future in-laws an invitation to alert them to the event. I think it’s a nice gesture and why not do a little something extra for something so important?

I’m already starting to view all of Wedding Paper Divas cool designs. The Chandelier Rehearsal Dinner Invitations are particularly dramatic and unique while the Prairie Grass Rehearsal Dinner Invitations are soft and subtle, great for a casual get together.

Wedding stationery is the first of a number of essential wedding elements (attire, flowers, cake, favors, and accessories) that will carry-out your wedding colors. Because your save the date cards and invitations will be your guest’s introduction to the theme of your special day it’s important to consider the mood and feeling you want to evoke through your design choices. For example, sandy blues and greens are lovely for a peaceful seaside theme or warm tones like burnt orange and brown for a festive autumnal event. Your options for color creativity are truly endless.

When selecting your wedding colors start with the colors that appeal to you most. Magazines, fabric stores and paint swatches from your local hardware store can provide inspiration. The decision can be as easy as picking your favorite color and its compliment like pink and green or a tone on tone approach featuring many variations of the same hue. Adding silver or gold accent creates a more formal look and feel. It’s easy to coordinate your invitation colors with your wedding theme with fonts, monograms or envelopes for a cohesive and polished look.

Modern Initials: Green Apple

I have to honestly say this whole wedding business at the beginning felt so overwhelming! There were decisions to be made that prior to being engaged I didn’t know ever existed such as my wedding colors, what kind of flowers I liked, or how many buttons my fiancé’s tuxedo should have. I guess these are the details that you don’t usually see as a guest. When everything comes together on that big day, all you notice is the anticipated looks, smiling faces, and teary eyes. But all of this wedding planning may have stirred up a little anxiety in me. Just the other night I woke up in a cold sweat. I had a nightmare that everything that could go wrong with my wedding did! I kept asking people in my dream if I could do it over. Well thank goodness I woke up! And I woke up to happy thoughts and the sound of my doorbell ringing with a little present for me on my doorstep. I got my wedding save the dates! Somehow getting them makes the wedding seem so much more real and I’m actually back on track, happily looking forward to my wedding day. It even got my fiancé in the mood. He actually began desperately calling friends and family for their addresses. I was so proud! I didn’t even have to ask.

Save the Date cards are announcements viewed as a preliminary invitation to your wedding. They should be sent at least 4-6 months before your wedding day and at least 2 months before your wedding invitations. Save the Dates aren’t formal or even a necessity so feel free to personalize them creatively. They’re important primarily if many of your friends and family need to travel to your wedding, if your wedding date falls on or near a holiday or if your wedding location is seasonally busy or a popular vacation destination.

Ideally, sending Save the Date cards 9-12 months in advance is recommended if your wedding falls into any of these categories.Save the Dates provide your guests with ample time to request days off from work, to make travel arrangements and to organize babysitters or house sitters. With proper notice, your guests will be able to make your special day an extended special vacation. A thoughtful gesture is to provide them with additional information to help facilitate their travel, about local special events and points of interest and any group discounts available. Your guests will appreciate the advance notice of a Save the Date card as well as cherish it as a unique keepsake of your unforgettable event.

So I finally decided it was time, time to choose the all-important save the dates! Since the majority of my friends and family are coming from overseas, deciding to include these cards was a necessity. Not only is it fun to send out early announcements of your wedding but it is also out of common courtesy. Your guests will need the extra time to make flight and hotel arrangements and take off from work. I know because as soon as I got engaged my family was eager to know all the details of my wedding. The sooner you can get those out, the better! This will increase the chances that the people you love will be able to join you on your wedding day.

Wedding Paper Divas has a lot of chic choices to pick from. After perusing the site for several days, I finally decided to choose a photo card. This is a great way to make use of any engagement photos you have and add personality to your save the date cards. There were so many out there to choose from, some with juicy colors great for summer like the Canna photo cards and others with perfect nature scenes great for spring such as the new Little Bird Save the Dates.

But I finally selected a simple card that perfectly suits my fiancé and I am completely happy with my choice. I was a little indecisive at first. But who could blame me with all the great new designs? After a lot of flip flopping though, I finally made my decision. Can you keep a secret? Guess which one I chose? I couldn’t resist the new Wild Grass photo save the date cards in Sage.

Wild Grass

If you’re an eclectic bride-to-be then consider vintage for your wedding style inspiration this season. Vintage is a perennially popular theme for everything from tiered gowns to antique rings. At Wedding Paper Divas we were inspired by both traditional and contemporary trends for our latest collection. Our designs combine bygone, intricate, embellishments such as damask, toile and paisley with modern twists like unconventional colors and expansive open space.

Solid Vintage: Midori

If you choose vintage as your wedding theme basically anything goes. You can personalize your special day to be as individual and unique as you are. An antique wedding gown or ring can feature exclusive, exquisite details and workmanship for a fraction of the cost of a modern one. Although our wedding stationery suites are new, we’ve mixed vintage charm with state-of-the-art personalization to help you easily customize your cards to reflect your stand out style while staying within your budget.

Antique Border Luxe Turquoise