Paper Goodies: The Palm Tree Invitation Reveal!

I discussed how we set up our invitations in this post and now, without further adieu, I'm happy to share them with the Hive. Like I mentioned previously, these were a labor of love and I'm excited to be able to share the finished product (if anything, I see it as one more use and I am trying to get as much mileage out of these babies as I can. At least there is no garbage can on the Internets, right? ;) 

all photos personal unless otherwise noted * 

Where we left off - the mock-up invite, addressed to none another than Ms. Summers and  her soulmate ;)

Before I forget to mention it, I used the font Quickier, downloaded for free from dafont.com and also the small caps version of Andalus, which I believe comes standard with all Microsoft Office programs. 

One bonus to doing a mock-up: learning what to fix for the real thing. You'll see that the color of the pen I used on the heart barely shows up and also that in my ribbon-tying earnestness, I pulled the ribbon itself too tight and it ripped the paper. The messiness of the scalloped edges was also tended to in the final product. 

The paper-punched hearts took the place of an inner envelope. This was a super easy decision for me and I thought it was a nice personal touch that was relatively easy. I'll go into this more in my RSVP breakdown but Hive, I have to tell you: no matter how specific you are, people will still take it upon themselves to RSVP for more than the invited. I literally wrote "Joe Monkeypants" on the heart and the RSVP's have come back "Joe Monkeypants and Jill Bananas". Prepare for it, friends, because it will inevitably happen. Hopefully you don't freak out and scream at the piece of paper you hold in your hand when it does. . .but IF you do, you're in good company. ;) 

This was our info card that I ordered using Vistaprint, as I mentioned in the previous post. Super easy, super no-frills. Just our hotel information and our wedding website. Again, Hive, I have to tell you: no matter how specific you are, people will still ask you, "what's the name of your hotel again?" "Where is it located?" "How can I book my room?" 

Close-ups of the mock-up invite and RSVP card. Again, I pinkie promise we tended to the scalloped edges and overall messiness of it all (okay, MOH Mem, with her everlasting patience and crafting skills) with the final product. I scoured the internet for fun but simple wording for both the invitation and the RSVP card and couldn't come up with anything that wouldn't confuse some of our older guests. I will say, though, that multiple people have sent back the RSVP's with little notes in the lines instead of their names (including our own Best Man), which is why I made sure to pencil in a number in a corner on the back side that I matched with the individual(s) on our spreadsheet. Thanks to the number, I've been able to find the notes hilarious and heartfelt instead of stressful.

After a few trial-and-error sessions, we perfected the system, which resulted in: 

What you'd see upon opening the envelope.

The Palm Tree invitations were sent out the first week of February. I know this is a little early by etiquette standards, but I wanted to get them out - especially to those who were traveling - so that I could have an earlier RSVP date. Sending them out early has proved to be a solid decision: for those that went missing (so.many. so.frustrating. Ugh, USPS), I was able to send a replacement in a decent amount of time; more time to track down the inevitable no-responses; more time to finalize the remaining details - you get the picture. I did NOT want to end up a Bride tracking people down and pulling out my hair over the final guest count two weeks before the wedding. 

On another note, I realize that these aren't the fanciest, most drool-worthy invitations and I realize that they definitely have a DIY feel to them. That's okay, though. This was one of my cuttable corners and all bitterness aside, I'm able to look at these and see Mr. and Miss Palm Tree. I look at these and see quality time with MOH Mem and BM Tiny Dancer. I look at these and see something that we created. That, to me, is a successful DIY project.