No Admittance Except on Party Business

Well folks, invitations are in the mail, and by now at least a few guests will have received theirs.  So, in the tradition of Weddingbee bloggers before me, I can finally reveal our design!

First of all, here's a little warning note:

I know that not everyone is going to like this design- it's probably the quirkiest thing about our wedding, and I can guarantee that you have never seen wedding invitations that look like these.  We designed them together from the very beginning, and did everything but the printing ourselves- so they don't look particularly professional.  But they reflect the fun atmosphere guests can expect at our wedding, and most importantly, they do what invitations are supposed to do- they tell you when and where to show up!

So without further adieu, I present: The Potion Wedding Invitations!

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Here's the invitation suite laid out in full, using the one addressed to Mickey and Minnie Mouse as an example :)  (PS Send YOUR invite to this address to get a souvenir postcard from the Mouses themselves!  ...I think.  The gift has changed over the years so I'm not sure what it is now, but I'll let you know when we get our response!)  Sorry for the Paint job, y'all- gotta protect the innocent.

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So first, let's talk about the envelopes.  You'll notice that they're white.  On one of our many trips down to Paper Source we took a look at their envelope selection on heavy, colored paper- I particularly liked the silver ones with just a hint of shimmer- and this led to a slightly philosophical discussion on paper.

"The envelope is the first thing that gets thrown away," said Mr. Potion.  "Once the person has torn it to shreds opening it, they'll toss it in the trash."

He had a good point.  What's the difference in a colorful envelope and a white envelope if they both end up in the trash anyway?  The important stuff is what's inside the envelope.  But the sparkles...

"And if we do go with colored envelopes," he concluded, "we will NOT be using the sparkly ones.  We're not inviting them to a Sweet Sixteen."

It's always good when Mr. Potion has a strong opinion on something wedding-related, because it's normally to prevent me from going with something silly.

So we decided to just use the white envelopes that came with our order from Vista Print, and adding a slight embellishment- a green "C" stamped in the lower right corner.  I briefly considered envelope liners, and then I remembered how many of these we were assembling- that is, way too fucking many- and decided the task ahead of us was complicated enough.

The most complicated bit was, of course, the addresses.  I wanted the Emily Post-correctness of handwritten addresses but my handwriting is a little...well, my mom used to say I should be a doctor, the way I scribble things out.  So we went with faux-ligraphy- a process where addresses are printed in a light ink from a computer printer, then traced over by hand with a pen.

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And here's the stamping process in action:

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I wanted to also print the return address- my parents' address- on the back flap, but my printer ate an envelope during a trial of this process, so that wasn't going to happen.  Instead we printed the address on some label stickers which cooperated much nicer with the printer.

Finally, you'll notice the silly little wedding cake stamps.  While it would've looked cuter to do an arrangement of smaller stamps it was much, much easier to use these- because remember, the envelope is the first thing to be thrown away, and normal people (read: not brides) won't give the stamps a second glance.

Once the recipient mangles the envelope in an effort to open it, they'll pull out this bundle:

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On the bottom we have the main invite card, then the response card, then directions from the church to the reception site.  This little package is tied together in silver ribbon for some, but silver cord for most.  I literally bought every roll of the most perfect silver cord at the Michaels stores near Mr. Potion's condo and my apartment and it STILL wasn't enough, so the last dozen or so are tied with ribbon instead.  Rather than using an inner envelope, guests' first names are printed on these orange tags, with a second tag for the children's names.

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So folks, here we have it: the main invitation card.  Look closely and you'll notice that the background of the card is a map.  A map of a certain (fictional) world where some of the people speak in the language we translated our names into for our logo.

That's right- it's Middle Earth :)  Geeky- because it's from Tolkien, the original geek- and adventurous- because it's a map!  The wording is extremely formal and completely traditional:

Mr and Mrs Potion Dad's Full Name

request the honour of your presence

at the Nuptial Mass uniting their daughter

Miss Potion

and

Mr Potion's Full Name

in the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony

Saturday, the tenth of November

two thousand twelve

at {time} in the morning

St. John the Apostle Catholic Church

Alexander City, Alabama

The font was quite the difficult choice, but we finally landed on a recommendation from a particularly helpful commenter- Tangerine, found at Da Font.  It's the perfect blend of whimsy and formality, and something about the swishy-ness reminds me a bit of Tolkien's Elvish.  

Speaking of- turn the card over, and you'll find our logo!

But then, of course, people need to RSVP.  

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The response card also has a map in the background- but in this case, it's the Marauder's Map.

You've probably noticed the more interesting bit of the response card- namely, a lack of stamp.

That's because it isn't a postcard.

And there's no response envelope, either.

That's because you're not supposed to mail it back.

No, Hive, we're conducting a grand social experiment with our invitations: an online RSVP.  This card contains the website URL and the RSVP code- sort of like a password- necessary for filling out the form.  (I'll have a whole post explaining that process soon.)  Of course, if all of this is deemed too difficult, Mom Potion's phone number is also on the card, so people can call in their response. 

As every 'Bee reader knows, a bride's greatest annoyance in the weeks before her wedding is the fact that a majority of guests do not RSVP- not a negative response, just...no response.  In our digital world, mailing off a letter is simply too much for some people.  I know I'm guilty of it myself- I once lost the response card for my friend's wedding and had to RSVP in person with many apologies for my stupidity.  However, there is a wealth of information on a wedding website- hotels to stay in, directions, what to wear- so guests are sure to visit it anyway, at least once, and while they're there, they may as well RSVP!

We'll see if our theory rings true when it's time to calculate RSVPs.  I'll let you know how many people we have to track down and force to tell us whether or not they're coming.  Hopefully it's a smaller percentage than one experiences with mail RSVPs.

So...what do you think?  (And remember, if you hate them...please don't tell me.  It's not like I'm able to change anything now, anyway, even if your criticism is constructive.)

Would you ever try an online RSVP?  Were your invitations a little funky or more traditional?  Do you notice the stamps on wedding invitation envelopes?