Vendors Vendors Vendors! (Part Five: INVITATIONS!!)

One of the things I was most looking forward to about the wedding process was the paper goods. I have always loved ALL. THINGS. PAPER. I have a drawer full of thank you notes and notebooks because I can't get enough. 

When planning my imaginary wedding (long before I was engaged) via my Pinterest, my "paper goods" board was one of the first ones I had and loved pinning to. Once I got engaged it was time to get more serious about WHAT paper goods I actually wanted to have/buy/potentially create. I searched high and low on every wedding paper goods website and etsy alike. While most of them had absolutely adorable invites, there wasn't anything that just screamed "Shea". So that's when I made the decision to create something. After messing around on my computer for far longer than I should have I realized that, even though I made (and was very happy with) my Save the Dates, wedding invitations were not something I was going to be able to tackle on my own. So the hunt began. 

I began scouring etsy for a paper goods designer that was willing to make something custom, just for me (yes, I realize I keep using myself singularly and not including myself in a "we", even though it's "our" wedding. Lucky for me my groom-to-be really just wants me to be happy so these invites really were a solo mission). I ended up finding Maile of PGH Papercraft. She was wonderful and so open to make changes and truly create something custom for me. Unfortunately (sort of) my friend Erin, who I had previously asked if she might be interested in helping me with my invites got back to me with what I can only describe as the most PERFECT. INVITES. EVER. She really got my vision, even using colors and fonts that I had used for my save the dates. I was over the moon thrilled with what she had come up with. It was a struggle letting Maile know because, as I said she was so wonderful and I know that we would have been able to come up with something extraordinary but I just couldn't pass up working with Erin. After a little over two months, lots of sample runs and dozens of e-mails, we finally came up with the most perfect invites for what I can only hope to be the most perfect day. Here is the final product (both assembled and disassembled for viewing) of the wedding invitation suite of my dreams. I have obviously blocked out some addresses and street names for privacy reasons, not that I expect anyone reading this to crash my wedding but hey... you never know. ;)

Erin really created something truly unique and just so perfectly me. I couldn't have asked for anything better. I used a company called Cards & Pockets for all of the paper products (like the envelopes and pocket invitations) and I also used their printing company for all of the printing. They are a wonderful company and I couldn't recommend them higher. The Shea & Sam sticker I had printed using a company called Print Runner and the gold ribbon was simply bought at Michael's. The map I actually made myself (and had Erin incorporate it into her design) using POWERPOINT of all programs! I used this tutorial and it was a lifesaver. PowerPoint... can you believe it? After some playing around with it, we decided on using a gorgeous black and white photo of the venue for the back of the RSVP post card. I think it's such a unique (and personal) touch that I really couldn't have gotten elsewhere. 

Well, there you have it. The long awaited labor of love that has been months in the making. They finally all went out this week and the response to them so far has been wonderful. Soon enough all the RSVP's will start trickling in and I'll have a smile on my face seeing them again. This whole wedding planning process has been, as I've said before, the most stressful fun I've ever had. Can't wait to share some more of what I've been up to for it! :)