Save the Dates - Minted

As I am making a true effort to work through my January list - I am spending a lot of QT on Minted!  Minted and I are becoming quite good friends...and I thought it might be a good time to go back and walk you through the process of us choosing our Save the Dates!

I knew we were likely to want to use Minted, or one of the similar sites for our save the dates and invitations, so when we first started talking about them I went online and ordered a bunch of samples!  At the time, Ant wasn't super interested in talking about them...so I figured having a few hard copies to look at would help. and I was RIGHT!!  Being able to put them in front of him, he quickly gave me opinions, which got the ball rolling right along.  Below are a few of the ones from our first batch:

Minted's Metro Green Line

Minted's Timeless

Minted's Roll of the Dice

These samples taught us a few things:

1.  We did not want pictures on our invitation, like the Metro Green Line invitation

2.  We did not want multiple pictures on anything - like the Metro Green Line

3.  We LOVED the save the date magnet with one photo - but not the font and design of Timelesss

4.  We wanted our invitation to be more exciting - Lucky in Love is way too simple

So, that round of samples was kind of a flop - but allowed me to refocus with a new sense of what I was looking for!  We decided that the invitations and save the dates were not going to be matching - so we put invitations to the side and focused on save the date magnets with one photo.  We've had a couple of friends use the magnets over the last couple years - and we loved them!  You're never going to lose it!! I had my heart set on black and white when I saw these two samples:

Minted's Meet in the Middle

Minted's Belle Memoire

They were perfect - I loved the way the black and white looked - and each one had an interesting font without being too much.  I liked the way the date was written on Belle Memoire, as the focus of the wording....and absolutely ADORED the "Save Our Date" wording in meet in the middle.  The script is pretty and interesting without being over the top.  We made samples of both - below is our Belle Memoire.  While I still really love the way the date looks, we decided it was too much with the picture we had chosen to use.

After deciding we were definitely going to use Meet in the Middle - I started playing with the words.  On the sample, the words fall right in the middle, but that puts it right over my face!  We were able to move it down to the bottom of the photo - what you see below is my rough editing.  Minted took it and straightened everything and made it perfect!  They were also able to add our wedding website at the very bottom, in much smaller font.  As you can see below - the final and biggest change we made was that we ended up using color!  I decided the coloring of the photo we picked was simple enough that it wasn't distracting.  The pretty water backdrop looks way nicer in color also!

We are thrilled with the way the final product came out!  I love the unique and simple wording of "save our date" as opposed to "save the date"...because at the end of the day, that's what it's going to be - our date!  We sent out about 100 of these at the end of November - which was quite the chore!  If there is one thing I can't recommend highly enough, it's the skinny wrap!  These stickers come with the save the dates - and have your return address on the front and the beautiful "save our date" on the back.  They were super easy to use and saved us the hassle of writing our return address 100 times! I also think they do a really nice easy job of dressing up the envelope.  Ant and I decided to handwrite the addresses - and spent a week or so writing them a dozen at a time.

 If I can give you ONE piece of advice - start organizing and collecting addresses as SOON as you start putting together an invite list.  That was half our battle - in order to write out a save the date, we had to research and collect the address first!  It made it all take way longer.  But it was such a good feeling when we finally dropped them in the mail! and I loved getting texts and pictures back as people received them!  This one if one of my favorites - we have three friends that live in the same apartment in Boston - each one got their own save the date - that's a lot of us on one fridge!!

How did you decide on a Save the Date?  Minted could not have been easier to use - but there are so many choices out there!  Where did you order yours from?

The January List: 7 months to go!

Okay, it's time for things to get real. I spent the day with my MOH last Wednesday running a couple of wedding errands - and she pointed out to me that it was exactly 7 months until our wedding!  After a minor freak out, we decided the best course of action was to whip up a quick and rough list of every little thing I could think of that I knew I needed to do still.  At least it put it all out there for me, and it's something I can add to and edit as I go along.  At some pt, probably after our vacation at the end of the month, I will compare it to an "official" list, from the Knot, etc. and see what else I'm forgetting, but for now the one we came up with is enough for me!

MOH & I after a long day of errands & brainstorming!

I'm not going to include the entire list here, but I am going to post the things I am hoping to do over the next couple of weeks, before we head to FL and it becomes February and 6 months until our wedding! I'll put my monthly checklists up here - and update at the end of the month so we can see how I did!  Hopefully putting it into bite sized chunks like this will make it seem manageable, and make me feel productive.

The January List:
-Bridal Shower/Bachelorette dates
-Invitations - make real progress on picking one.
-Wedding undergarments
-Accessories!!! Veil, jewelry, shoes
-Groom/groomsmen suits
-Email Noreen about centerpieces
-Call for cake tasting appt
-Email Videographer***
-Officiant***

I know it's already January 14th, so I'm sort of cheating in that I've already made some progress on this list...but that's okay!  Going forward you will get these the first week of the month.  The *** indicates to me that I've already been putting it off WAY too long, and need to get my butt in gear...oops! :)

Our third wheel for date night - the fiancé! 

What's on your plate for January?

2013 Reflective Gift Giving Guide

Now that the holidays are WAY over, and we're getting back into our normal routines...whatever normal is for you!  I thought I'd reflect on Christmas 2013 and create a gift giving guide.  This is based on both gifts I gave AND received, so it will sort of cover all bases.  I've broken it into three categories: Stuff, Stuff to do, and Sentimental Stuff....other than that, there is no rhyme or reason.  Bear with me.

Stuff:

JCrew Ties:  Okay, this has become a staple in Ant's stocking...and I am TOTALLY okay with that.  We live right near the outlets, and JCrew has the BEST ties.  Ant wears one to work every day - so he can never have too many!  This year he got a fun festive one with gingerbread men on it, but they have so many classic styles as well.

100 Reasons to Panic about Getting Married:  This book was actually a double gift: one I got AND one I gave!  I saw it at work and thought it was hilarious - so I gave it to Ant, with a handwritten note adding some personal thoughts about a few of the topics.  A few days later, my roommate from college gave me the same book!  What can I say, great minds think alike.  The "reasons" themselves are funny, and then at the bottom of each page is a reassuring pt to counter each reason to panic.  

Knock Knock, the company that makes the book, also has some other pretty funny gift ideas!  One of my favorites is the Mental Note sticky notes - I personally think they would be great for my desk at work! They are just the right size for stocking stuffers also.

Candles:  Candles have become my new addiction....whenever I am home I like to have at LEAST one burning, if not two...or three....there are a few scents in particular I would consider house favorites, that I have both given and received as gifts!

Bath and Body Works: Vanilla Firewood and Black Tie.  Black Tie is my FAVORITE.  It smells like boy.  For those of you who don't understand that description, think cologne and yumminess.  I bought one as a gift, and one for myself :)  Vanilla Firewood was a gift, and it's a perfect winter cozy candle!

Short Beach Candle Co:  Ant brought home the gingerbread candle from Short Beach Candle Co....and I love it!  I wasn't very excited at first, I'm not a huge gingerbread fan...but it is soft and subtle and yummy.  Plus, these candles are 100% soy and poured locally in Branford, CT. Win!

Passport case:  I got a passport case as a gift right before I studied abroad in Spain.  It is from Vickie's and bright pink (see the pic below), and I love it.  Not only does it help me hold onto ticket stubs, etc with the compartments inside, but it makes my slim, boring blue, easy to lose passport bigger and brighter!! I thought it was more of a "fun" gift, but I have used it every time I have traveled out of the country since, and I consider it WAY more of a practical gift also.  Seriously, I will never lose that sucker in my purse...and if you're anything like me, you panic every couple of minutes and want to make sure that you do, in fact, have your passport in your purse.  Where you put it 5 seconds ago.  And if you're nothing like me....than at least your passport is prettier!  Anyway, my baby sister is spending 3 weeks in London this month, and so a passport case was a necessity for her!  I chose the mint green one below from JCrew because I thought it was beautifullllllll.  In the search, I also found this gem from Kate Spade. GAH! 

Sephora Fragrance Sampler:  My roomie tipped me off to this awesome gift idea - which worked out perfectly for my sister Alison!  This sampler includes testers of a number of Sephora's more popular fragrances, and then a voucher so you can go back and get a full sized bottle of your favorite one!  This is a great gift for someone trying to find a new fragrance they love!!  In this case, I knew Ally needed a new perfume, but I didn't want to pick one out and have her not love it.  This was the perfect solution!

Stuff to do:

Restaurant gift certificate:  Over the last few years, I have given restaurant gift certificates to certain friends and family.  I often use it, to be honest, with slightly selfish motives.  For example: when we moved into our apartment together, for the first two Christmases I gave gift certificates to our favorite new restaurants to people I love!  It gives them a great meal - AND gets them down our way for a visit! Win, win ;)  This year, Ant and I received a gift certificate to one of the vineyards nearby that recently opened up a bistro.  There is nothing bad about a gift that = a date night!

Concert Tickets: Insert lots of high pitched shrieking here.  For Christmas, Ant got tickets for him and I to go see JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE at Madison Square Garden in February!!!!!!!  Concert tickets as a category could also be substituted for any other kind of show or event.  It's the perfect way to make the holidays last longer - in this case all the way to February 20th!!!  Plus, it's something Ant and I get to do together, which is always a win in my book.  In this case, we are going to make a day (or two!) out of it, and spend some time in the city!

Spa gift certificate:  Again, another A+ gift from the fiancé this year - I was definitely on the good list!  I think spa treatments fall into the perfect category of things people enjoy, but they are definitely a luxury.  So in my case, they are the LAST thing I am going to spend money on, especially when we are dealing with both a house and a wedding and trying to be as budget savvy as possible.  Ant knows this, and gave me a gift certificate for a 60 min massage at a spa in town!  Now I can relax guilt free - YAY! 

Sentimental stuff:

Bride's Tree Ornaments:  According to a German tradition, the tree of a newlywed couple should include 12 ornaments to ensure happiness in their life together.  My BFFL, and MOH Melissa figured that since we were engaged, and it was the first Christmas in our new house...that was close enough!  (BTW, she was right!)  They sell them as sets, in case you're interested in gifting them to your favorite newlyweds...but she went out and found an ornament for each category on her own!!!!  She has been on the hunt since LAST Christmas.  It was absolutely the sweetest gift!  I love that our set is special and unique to us. Since we got them Christmas Eve while we were in Rhode Island, they haven't actually made it to  our tree yet, so next year when we are newlyweds, they will grace our tree for the first time!

MyPublisher photo books:  I have made a lot of photo books in my day, but MyPublisher is by far the best company I've ever used.  I discovered them last year, and will never go back.  MyPublisher has software that you download to your computer.  From there, you upload your pictures and can create books in a number of different sizes.  They have page layouts for photos only, pictures with captions, pictures with words, text only, you name it....and it is SO EASY.  Let me repeat, SO EASY.  Other sites have made me want to pull my hair out putting together books.  This is quick, and the quality is amazing.  I made "year in review" books for both sets of parents last year, and they were a hit...so I made them again this year! It's a fun way to look back at everything that's happened this year, in a tangible way that you can hold onto.  They tend to be a little pricier than other options - but it is COMPLETELY worth it.  Plus, the site is always having deals - if you give them your email address you can get a head's up whenever there is a new one!  These sales make the price of the book more than reasonable for the quality you get in return.

What are some of your favorite gifts to give?  Do you have any "staples" like my ties and candles?  There is obviously something fun about gifts that are special to circumstances, like the passport case or our new ornament set, but I never knock a solid staple gift!!!