2015 Dayton Bridal Expo

A couple of weekends ago, January 10^th and 11^th, Ivory made its first appearance at a bridal show! While we have had booths at trade shows before, the Dayton Bridal Expo was our first wedding-specific event. We had a blast mingling with brides, grooms, bridal parties, and families who all had one goal in mind: some stunning nuptials!

The Dayton Convention Center was packed full of companies who pride themselves on making bride’s dreams come true. We were elated (and a little surprised) to find that Ivory House was the only stationery business present. We had the opportunity to answer a lot of questions and share a lot of insight about how the smallest details can make the biggest impact at an event. We gained several clients and, as always, learned more about how we can best serve our awesome customers. We’re excited about the new opportunities and are so appreciative for everyone that stopped by to visit us! Check out some of the action below.

Envelope Etiquette

We’ve said it before and we'll say it again: invitations are the first taste your guests will receive of your event, wedding or otherwise. Because they have the ability to communicate much more than the details of the occasion through formatting, wording, and style, making sure to properly address your invitations can be crucial to setting an appropriate tone. Properly addressing the envelope will reflect the formality of the event and ensure you are giving the proper respect to your guests.

When addressing correspondence for a formal event:

If the guests are married:
Mr. and Mrs. John Robert Doe

or

Mr. and Mrs. John Doe

Couples with different last names, but live together:

Ms. Jane Clark and Mr. John Doe

*Use one line

If the guest is a man:

Mr. John Doe

If the guest is a woman (unmarried): 

Ms. Jane Clark 

or

Miss Jane Clark (for girls under 18)

If the guest is a woman (married):

Mrs. Jane Doe

Your guest, plus a guest:

Mr. John Doe and guest

or

Mrs. Jane Clark and guest

*Note guest is not capitalized

If one of the guests is a doctor:

Dr. Jane Doe and Mr. John Doe

or

Dr. John Doe and Mrs. Jane Doe

If both guests are doctors: 

The Doctors Doe

For Families: 

Mr. and Mrs. John Robert Doe

James Doe

Julie Doe

or

Mr. and Mrs. John Robert Doe and Family

*It is best to take the time to find out the names of the invited children so they can be listed on the invitation. If that is impossible or improbable, use the latter format.

Tips: With the exception of house numbers, everything should be spelled out, including street names, directional headings, and states.

When addressing correspondence for an informal event:

If the guests are married:

John and Jane Doe

If the guests are not married, but live together:

John Doe and Jane Clark

If the guest is a man:

John Doe

If the guest is a woman:

Jane Doe

Your guest, plus a guest:

John Doe and guest

For families:

The Doe Family

                                                     

Phew! Who knew sending someone an invitation could be such an etiquette adventure? Have more questions or want to get more information about Ivory House Creative's envelope addressing? Just ask!

Save the Dates - Always Beneficial

To Save the Date or not Save the Date? That is today's question.

In the midst of your frenzied wedding planning schedule it is easy to forget that the people you want to invite struggle to balance their daily schedules as well. Today it is not uncommon to plan vacations, business trips, family outings, etc. six months or more in advance. But, your wedding invitations don't go out until at least 6 weeks before your wedding. This is where Save the Dates come into play.

Save the Dates come in a variety of shapes, sizes and designs and offer your guests a friendly and informal notification about your big day! These are typically sent six to eight months prior to your wedding and let your guests know the date and location of your big event. You may also include your wedding website for more information. And some brides even offer hotel information for out-of-town guests.

As a fairly new wedding tradition, Save the Dates don't really play by any rules. They are typically very informal with basic information, as noted above. Most of the time they feature a photo of the couple giving the invite a lovely personal touch, but it is in no way a requirement.

Stylistically, Save the Dates offer your guests a sneak peek into your wedding day! Having a cohesive look with the rest of your wedding theme and complimentary paper goods is always recommended. For your viewing pleasure and inspiration, I have selected a variety of Save the Date options from our 2014 Bridal Collection.

Don't see anything that fits your fancy? Contact Ivory House today for your very own custom Save the Date! 

Stationery Q&A

I have been amping up my blogging as of late, so this marks week two with two blog posts! Let’s see how long we can keep this streak going! haha

With wedding season in full swing and invitations being created left and right, I thought I would take a moment to address some important questions of etiquette and timing. While non-traditional is becoming the norm, there are still some tried and true methods that you should follow when sending out your beautiful wedding stationery. Below I will outline some of the most important Q&A’s that I have encountered while working with brides.

When do you typically send out the Save the Dates & Invitations?

Save the Dates typically go out 3-4 months prior to the wedding date. However, you can never give enough notice. Trust me, no one will complain about having too much time to plan, especially if it is a destination wedding or if the majority of your guests are coming from out of town. The main invitation should go out 6-8 weeks prior to the wedding and the RSVP should be marked 2-3 weeks prior in order to get an accurate head count for your vendors.

How should I word my invitations?

While this could be a whole blog post in itself, in this case simpler is always better. You want to be sure all of your information is clear and concise. Traditionally the wedding invitation should include the full names of the couple marrying and those of the hosts, the place, time, date and that is it. I say traditionally because now-a-days with multiple sets of parents, step parents, etc. it is hard to determine the “host” and you certainly wouldn’t want to go stepping on anyone’s toes. That being said sometimes saying “together with our parents” is the best option.

Your information card should be reserved for all of the other information such as attire, dress code, registry, website, etc.

Do titles really matter?

Yes, titles do matter. If the wife is a doctor, her full name comes first as in, “Doctor Williams and Mr. Robert Smith”. When the husband is a doctor is would appear as “Doctor and Mrs.” and if both husband and wife are doctors then it will be written as Drs. Kelly and Robert Smith”.

If you are addressing a single woman (unless she is a doctor) she should be listed as Ms. If she is under the age of 21 then use Miss.

Should we include our registry info on our invitations?

Traditionalists would say NO. That this is horrible etiquette. And while I agree it shouldn’t be on your main invitation, I don’t see a problem with it being on your information insert. For somebody like my grandmother, who doesn’t have Internet, won’t know to look at my wedding website for my registry. Going back to the earlier point, it is important that ALL information is clear and that everyone has equal access. So, I guess I will leave this one up to you.

When should I send my thank you cards?

The quicker the better; two weeks is the optimal thank you card grace period. Plus, you don’t want to have those lingering over your head. Just get those out of the way and go enjoy being newlyweds!

Do you have other questions that you would like answered? Comment below or shoot us an email. Your question just might be featured in another Q&A segment! 

2014 Bridal Collection Now Available

After many late nights, extra cups of coffee and about two hundred color swatches, we are pleased to announce the official launch of our 2014 Bridal Collection.

This collection was inspired, not by any traditional design theme, but by versatility. Each design concept can be printed either digitally, by letterpress or stamping with minimal alterations and gives the bride the option to make it her own. While these invitation suites are a part of our Readymade Collection, everything can be customized to fit your bridal needs. From colors to ribbon and fabric choices, you can make your vision become a reality.

The Bridal Collection is composed of 10 invitation suites. Each invitation suite consists of a save the date, the main invitation, details card and an RSVP card along with complementary white envelopes. Any embellishments or add-ons pictured below are not factored into the package price. The save the dates and invitations can be purchased separately; however they are designed to be a cohesive stationery set.

Below are a few of our favorite designs. Be sure to check out the entire collection on our website.

{Special Shout Out} --------------------------------------------------------------

Ivory House would like to thank Holly Lynn Photography for the fabulous photography featured throughout this collection. We are extremely grateful for your talent, generosity and most of all your amazingly photogenic couples that help make our collection shine.

Note:All items here are shown with digital printing.  Photo save the dates are excluded from letterpress printing, however stamping can be accommodated.Any collection can be expanded to incorporate your entire wedding. From place cards to table décor, Ivory House would love to assist.

5 Ways to Cut Invitation Costs

We hate when we hear people say, “ I don’t want to waste a lot of money on invitations.”  As a business that specializes in wedding stationery and planning, this saying ties our stomach in knots.  Ivory House is a firm believer that money is never wasted on an invitation. However, there are ways to make having an amazing invitation more cost effective.

Invitations are one of the most essential parts of planning a wedding. The invitation is what sets the tone for your wedding. Before guests even step foot in your venue, they can get a taste of your wedding just by opening up that envelope. Your goal is   to keep your invitation out of the trash and make a lasting impression on your guests without busting your budget.

Below are some cost effective tips to make your invitation shine while keeping your budget in mind.

Size:Printing can be one of the most costly parts of invitation design. If you stick to the standard sizes your cost can be greatly reduced.  When you get the stair stepped invites or large sizes the more the cost goes up. The invitation set picture above is created using standard size cards.

Standard Sizes include:
4x6, 5x7, 3x5

TIP: If you are printing your own invitations, you might consider putting more than one invitation per sheet. Most local printers will print up to 11x17 and you can print up to 4-5x7 invites on an 11x17 sheet of paper. Therefore, you will be getting 4 invitations printed for basically the price of one. Granted it may take a little more work on your part to cut them out. But in this case time is money saved.

Folders/Mats:While we always encourage brides to go with the works, sometimes some of the items just aren’t essential and definitely are not budget friendly. Instead of trying to get fancy with folders, mats and backers you could just try stacking all of your invites and holding them together with a bakers twine, ribbon or a belly band. These wrappers give your invitation a special touch without breaking the bank.

TIP: If you are really insisting on those folders, mats and backers and are willing to put in a little work, just buy some really nice cardstock and cut your own mats and folders. This is very time consuming and sometimes better left to the pros. But where there is a will there is a way.

RSVP Options:The more traditional RSVP’s can add to your costs. Not only do you have to print the RSVP, and purchase the extra envelopes and liners, but you have to pay a higher mailing costs.

One solution to ease your mind is to do an RSVP postcard. This enables you to use postcard stamps rather than regular stamps, saving you .15 per RSVP. Not only are the stamps cheaper but you can ditch that RSVP envelope as well. Just be sure that your RSVP is within the USPS mailing guidelines.

Another alternate solution to a physical RSVP card is to create a wedding website or blog, where people can RSVP to you via email. A website or blog not only helps with your RSVPs but it can help your guests navigate their way through your registry, get directions and more. Basically, having a website or blog can get rid of those pesky information, RSVP and directions cards. You could simply send out one card with the appropriate contact info, maybe including a phone number for those guests who aren’t so computer savvy.

Websites can be costly; however, they are still more cost effective than an over-the-top invitation. Plus the amount of information you can convey to your guests isn’t just limited to a 5x7 card.

TIP: Ivory House Creative offers custom wedding blogs and website designs starting at 150.00. See one of our templates pictured above.

Stamping:Stamping is another way to save some dough on invitations. If you are going for that rustic, hand-done look, but don’t want to pay the price for letterpress. Stamping your invitations could be a great alternative. You can get custom Art Mount Stamps from Simon Stamps in just about any size. For a 5x7 stamp it is about $67. So for the cost of ink and paper you can make as many invitations as you wish. If you need a hand with the design, we would be happy to assist.

TIP: This is more effective with dark ink on lighter papers. Brighter inks on darker papers are hard for the eye to read and just don’t go on as easy as the dark inks. Leave the light ink to the pros.

Buy A Package:Most invitation shops offer package deals. These are usually the most cost effective for brides. While the items included in the package are cookie cutter, the design doesn’t have to be. We have three different packages for brides to choose from that are very budget friendly.

TIP: A lot of times you can get a package deal for everything, Save the Dates, invitations and thank you cards. It is never too early to start looking at invitations, so shop around for those at the same time you are looking for your save the date cards.

We hope these money saving tips come in handy. Feel free to contact Ivory House today for invitations to fit any budget.