Oh, it could have, but just a teeny-tiny bit, and just in the small details! I was a very laid back bride and pretty much said “OK!” to everything my mom graciously helped me organize. I’m not complaining at all, but if I could do it over again, now that I’m not so starry-eyed, here are some things I’d do differently!

shoes from dress361

1. Loosen up the Pictures! I have a lot of wedding pictures, but they are all pretty formal and pretty standard. I still love looking at them but I’d have added two things:

1. A photo booth, where guests can put on a kooky hat or a feather boa and get a little crazy for the camera!
2. Some version of Trash the Dress. I don’t think I actually want to have trashed it (it went on to have a good life with other brides after I wore it) but I do think it would have been cool to go off somewhere, like the beach or a Malibu hiking trail and had some fun!

2. More color in the Ensemble! I loved my dress, which was a creamy off-white, with a train, embellished with lace and a satin sash with long tails in the back. I wore my mother’s gorgeous lace veil which reached the floor, along with roses in my hair. It was very nearly perfect, except for…

1. I’m thinking that maybe I would have liked a colored sash, maybe something peachy or gold, to match my flowers.
2. While we’re at it, I’d have picked shoes (dyables, or something sparkly?) to match the sash! The shoes I wore were so NOT special!

3. Hair up, hair down? I wore my hair half and half, with some loose tendrils in the front. My photographer had said, “Don’t do the loose tendrils! They will block your face and ruin some of your photos!” I didn’t listen, since I had my heart set on a gorgeous, romantic hairstyle I saw in some bridal magazine. But he was right! They looked pretty from the front, but not so great from any other angle. So listen to my photographer, and keep your wisps tucked away where they belong!

4. Total Invitation Renovation: Not having a fortune to spend, my invitations were very plain, very simple, and very boring. Black on cream. If I had a do-over I would not want to spend more money on fancy cardstock and expensive graphics. But maybe I would have written out my invitations by hand (I am artistic and I could have done some pretty calligraphy) and given the template to the printer to print up. Maybe loosened up the traditional wording a little bit. Maybe added some “swirly goodness” a la I Dream of Letters (I am a little bit obsessed with her stuff!)

An actual Bridal Party: I didn’t want to inconvenience anyone, so I let all moms, sisters, and flower girls (rather mom of flower girls) pick their own dresses. This mean my mom wore a stunning, floor length gold gown, my mother-in-law a pretty peacock-blue dress, my sister was in pink, one sister-in-law wore something soft and multi-colored, and my other sister-in-law came in leopard print!! So maybe, now that I think about it, it would have been a good idea to give a little guidance. Like maybe just pick a color and stick with it! And have the guys wear matching ties too, while we’re at it!

So that’s pretty much it. All small details in the grand scheme of things, but fun to consider nonetheless. And maybe it will give other brides out there the opportunity to rethink anything they might not have thought about at first!

Don’t Go Crazy

You only need to register at two or three stores you love. Choose a national department store or chain that has lots of household basics; add a local specialty store if you want to. For your guests’ sake, you may want to choose stores that are low-, medium-, and high-end, so that there are gifts in a variety of price ranges to choose from.

Do Register Ahead of Time

Try to complete your registry a few months before the wedding. This will give guests time to purchase gifts for the big day, but also for your engagement and a shower.

Don’t Put it in Your Invitation

Once you have registered, give the information to immediate family and the wedding party, and let them spread the word. If you are asked where you have registered, it is fine for you to tell, but it is not proper to include registry information in a wedding invitation. Registry information can be included on a wedding website, as long as the actual name of the store is not included on the same layer; organize your website so that guests must click down one level to find the details.

Do Register for Enough Gifts

Register for more gifts than you have guests, so there will be plenty of items to choose from. As mentioned above, register for gifts in a wide range of prices, or choose individual items rather than sets, as with pots and pans, for instance. It is fine to put a few expensive items on your registry, but balance them with equally lovely options that are more affordable.

Don’t Ask for Money

While it’s still considered tacky to ask for money directly, financial registries try to make this less awkward; for example, couples can now register online for stocks, honeymoon expenses, and even toward a down payment on a house.

Do write Thank You Notes Right Away

If your registry doesn’t automatically notify you when a gift has been purchased, review your registry every few weeks, and more frequently as the wedding approaches. Use your updated registry to help you keep up with writing thank-you notes.

Don’t Limit Yourself

Registry expert Mary Rose Gearon offers the following advice: “Don’t think just about your lifestyle as it is today. You’ll be entertaining more in the years to come, so create a wish list of items: a platter for your first Thanksgiving dinner or champagne glasses for a New Year’s toast. Keep those special occasions in mind; it’s a wonderful way to include loved ones in those important milestones.”

Don’t Forget to Register for the Basics

Funky bedspreads and whimsical wall hangings are well and good, but don’t forget the more useful – though duller – basics, such as measuring cups, can openers, garlic press, spatulas, kitchen timer, mixing bowls, knives, cookware, storage containers, etc.

Sunny Yellow & Blue Invitation from Martha Stewart Weddings

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Scrolled Romance via Wedding Channel:

Japanese Textile invitations by via Martha Stewart:

Chewing the Cud via Style Me Pretty

Passion Hearts via Wedding Channel:

Daisy Dreams Design:

Circles and Flowers via Wedding Channel:

Griffin-vites Stationery via Style Me Pretty:

Updated Bridal Couple via Wedding Channel:

Playful invitations by enormouschampion.com via Martha Stewart:

Delicate Damask via Wedding Channel:

Laser cut inviations by Ceci New York via Martha Stewart:

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Usually, the couples initials are used to create a unique design that reflects their personalities. Some monograms provide the actual wedding theme. “To get started,” says AisleDash, “You will need to know a little about what you want. Are you an edgy, contemporary couple or more traditional? What colors are you using for your wedding? Answers to these basic questions will help you or the artist create a logo you’ll love.”

There are two ways to get the perfect monogram: Do it yourself, or hire someone else to do it for you. Always a Blogsmaid suggests several websites you can visit to create a customized monogram:

1. I Do Weddings – For $45 they will send you a selection of 4 designs. These were for a beachy wedding theme:

2. MC Designs – They will create an array of gorgeous monograms that they can imprint on items like towels, napkins and more. They are monograms for a lifetime (and are priced as such- $275!) but they are classic, traditional designs.

3. Marry Monograms – This site offers over 200 monograms sorted into six different styles (Romantic, Classic, Contemporary), each for about $40.

Here are some more options:

True Love Logos – Check ‘em out now, they’re having a winter sale! Monograms are $34.99 instead of $49.99. Custom monograms start at $75.

DIY Monograms

If you want to create your own wedding logo, Best Wedding Sites has some tips on how to do it. If you are a graphic designer or have access to Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, you already know what to do. For the lay person, you can try one of these options:

Microsoft Word:
Choose Insert -> Textbox. Type and format the letter the way you like it. Do this three times. Now click on all textboxes and choose Format->Textbox. Choose Color: No Fill (so you can overlap letters) and Line: No Line. Select all letters, right click, and choose Group to lock in the arrangement. You can now copy your image into Microsoft Paint and save in several formats, such as JPEG.

PowerPoint:
You’ll want to use “Word Art” to create your letters. Click on the blue tilted “A” on the bottom toolbar for each letter. Format them to your liking. When you’re done designing, select all the letters, right-click, and choose Grouping->Group. Now you can click on your image and right-click for Save as Image. PowerPoint lets you save directly in formats like JPEG, PNG and TIFF.

For more tips, including how to create your own monogramed isle runner, or how to project your monogram onto the dance floor, see Best Wedding Sites.

At Perfect Postage, you can even create customized monograms for your postage stamps!

Feature image from Avonlea Cards.com

And why not? In addition to the joy of receiving your invite, you add an element of surprise and an unexpected laugh. Humorous wedding invitations are also a good way to lighten up the sometimes stressful, solemn mood associated with weddings and getting married, particularly for those guests who dread putting on a suit and tie. Your guests will appreciate the lighthearted feeling and look forward to an event that’s fun (as well as meaningful).

While artwork and caricatures are one way to create humorous invitations, I like the idea of a traditional, formal looking invitation with nontraditional wording. The incongruousness of combining the two is perfect for those with a sophisticated type of dry humor.

All Experts.com has some examples that are just great. For example, the couple who’s finally decided to get married after scorning the idea of marriage, can write:

Susan “Wedding Schmedding” Smith
and
David “They’ll Never Take Me Alive” Jones
gleefully invite you to witness
the eating of their words!

Even if you have a traditionally worded invitation, you can insert a glimmer of unexpected humor by asking guests to RSVP to the e-mail address: goodbyehappiness@yahoo.com.

Great Quotes

Instead of a sentimental line of stale poetry, stun your guests with something a bit different, like one of these not-so-famous quotes on weddings and married life. The funniest part is sure to be the people who just don’t get it. Come on, picture it…

“I really don’t see what is so romantic about proposing. One may be accepted – one usually is, I believe – and then the excitement is ended. The very essence of romance is uncertainty.” (Oscar Wilde)

“Marriage is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.” (Oscar Wilde)

“The secret of a happy marriage remains a secret.” (Henry Youngman)

“All tragedies are finished by a death, all comedies by a marriage.” (Lord Byron)

“A wife is someone who’ll stand by you through all the trouble you wouldn’t have had if you’d stayed single.” (Unknown)

“By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you’ll be happy. If you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher.” (Socrates)

Wedding invitations for a second marriage can be a bit awkward and tricky. I think that couples getting married for the second time have an especially unique opportunity to laugh at themselves, if only they’ll allow themselves that pleasure. For example:

“Many a man owes his success to his first wife and his second wife to his success.” (Jim Backus)

“I’ve had bad luck with both my wives. The first one left me and the second one didn’t.” (Patrick Murray)

Check out latest n greatest for more fabulous quotes!

Do you have any grand ideas for humorous wedding invitation wording? Got a favorite quote? Leave us a comment, we’d love to hear it!

From the Poster Bride website:

We make unique, handmade works of art that celebrate the fanfare of your party like nothing else can. A serigraph, up to 19″ x 25″, hand-printed and designed just for you, suitable for framing, following the tradition of silk-screened event posters, provides not only your wedding invitation, but a timeless gift of art for your loved ones.

So… is it an invitation? Is it a poster? Are we now mailing posters instead of invitations? Do you mail them to your entire guest list or only to close family and friends? And does anyone really think that, aside from the bride and groom, people are going to frame and hang these posters, adorable as they are?

If you have any idea as to what this is about, fill me in! In the meantime, I’ll be admiring the lovely artwork (thanks to Oh So Beautiful Paper)!

Whether it’s wedding or bridal shower invitations, place cards, wedding favors, or thank you cards, consider using rubber stamps on your home-made creation. There is an incredible array of options ranging from classic to whimsical, that will put the perfect finishing touch on your handiwork. Plus, they’re adorable, easy to use and loads of fun!

These tips are from About.com. Check out their site for more info:

Getting started: For inspiration, look through rubber-stamping and card-making magazines, and visit craft stores to look at paper and cardstock first hand. These will provide plenty of inspiration. Remember that greeting card layouts are simple to adapt, therefore a great birthday card layout, for instance, could be adapted to make a great wedding invitation. Make a note of fonts, type faces, and color choices as this will help when choosing or commissioning rubber stamps.

Follow the theme: Pick rubber stamps, inks, papers, and other materials that match or complement your wedding design theme and colors.

Customize: Many companies offer customized rubber stamps that can be personalized with your names and/or design. The design department will work with you to craft an image you love, or you can use a design of your own!

But the best materials: This means looking for products that are of archival quality and that are acid free. Your invitation will look good longer, even after years in your scrapbook! Good supplies are readily available from stamping and craft stores and are becoming very much the standard offering, so it doesn’t have to be expensive. But good quality rubber stamps too, for clear and crisp images.

Practice makes perfect: While it might be extremely tempting to start work straight away creating invitations, it is useful to practice on scrap paper with unfamiliar products first. This will help to avoid any costly mistakes or problems later on.

Envelopes: Your invitations might look fabulous studded with embellishments and adornments, but it does have to fit into the envelope! While it is possible to buy or make small card-sized boxes for heavily adorned cards, they will cost more to produce and send. Make sure you’re cards are not too bulky.

Include Basic Info: They’re going to look great, but don’t forget that the invitation must convey some important information. It is possible to buy rubber stamps that include these headings and then handwriting the relevant information. Alternatives include creating a rubber stamp with all the information or printing theses details from your home computer.

• The names of the couple
• The date of the wedding
• The location and time of the wedding
• The location and time of the reception.
• How to reply

Plan ahead: Make a few spare invitations in case some get lost in the post, or for last minute guests. Plan ahead, particularly when commissioning stamps. Stamping when stressed is not likely to give the best results!

The following delightful stamp images are available at Impress Rubber Stamps:

Check out their “wedding ideas” page for amazingly creative invitations and cards such as this one (bridal shower stamp for sale too):

You can also look at Blossom Stamps on Etsy for unique stamps, stickers, and one-of-a-kind hand carved stamps:

Addicted to Rubber Stamps has some cute bride-themed stamp sets:

From Blockhead Stamps, some gorgeous stamp sets, particularly if you like an Asian theme:

Some pretty finished products, including invitations, place cards, and wedding favors: