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We're back, everybody.
Now, the budget and the wedding invitations can get pretty tricky.
Mm-Hmm.
Well, I'd have to agree with you, too.
And so why not make it easier on yourself.
Experts say you'll be a much happier newly wed if you do not make the wedding invitations
on your own, Julie.
Hmm.
You're very adamant about this rule.
So, this has got to be good.
I know.
I know this already.
So, engaged couples, listen up, watch, and learn.
Here's our very own lovely Rachel Leigh.
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Every wedding has a signature, the invitations, the place cards, and that's often the only
thing your wedding guests take with them forever.
So, today, we'll show you how to make it count without any headaches or last minute disasters.
I have the wedding invitation gurus here right in the studio, and one of them just happens
to be a newly wed herself.
Nancy Kirk and Jessica Kirk from The American Wedding.
Welcome.
So, first of all, Jessica Congratulations on you wedding!
Thank you.
Thanks.
But Nancy, let me start with you.
What's the number one most important thing to remember when it comes to your own wedding
invitations?
Do not do it yourself.
Just leave the invitations to the professionals.
So why?
No matter what, it's going to cost more money, more time, more effort than you ever thought
was possible.
You want to just make sure that you have the right quality paper and printing processes
you just can't get from a store like Kinkos or Staples because that's the first thing
that your guest truly sees is your invitation in the mail.
So you want to make sure that you're setting the tone for your wedding.
Jessica, remind us of the proper etiquette when it comes to sending out your wedding
invitations.
How far in advance did you send them out?
You really want to give yourself plenty of time.
There's a lot that goes into your invitations.
You want to make sure you have enough time to get your guest list together, get your
theme and your colors ready, and then once you have that you can order your invitations
and look for the ones you like, about 4 -6 months before your wedding.
And then after that, you have stuffing of the envelopes and addressing and it takes
a little while.
So, you want to make sure you give yourself plenty of time.
The American Wedding actually does offer an assembly service and an addressing service.
Some people want to do it themselves.
Some people want other people to do it.
It's easier to have other people do it.
Yes, definitely.
There's so much going on when it comes to weddings, so one less thing to worry about.
Exactly.
You want to be stress free.
It always takes longer.
Yeah.
It always does.
And so you then you send out the invitations about two months before your wedding.
Nancy, when it comes to trends, what are some of the things you're seeing with wedding stationary
design?
We are seeing a lot of the vintage and rustic.
That's still going pretty strong.
Color palettes are like neutral, woodsy, we have still have a lot of pale pinks and things
like that, maybe have like a lace or a burlap embellishment, chalkboards still huge, and
then we also are seeing a lot of foily coppery tone.
And then the paper is actually changing a little bit.
It used to be just kind of a plain Jane type of paper, but now we're actually getting really
thick card stock that makes a really good impact when you get the invite in the mail
and some shimmery paper, some things like that.
Jessica, I know you have some gorgeous photos from your own wedding.
Why is a wedding stationary theme so important and what was your wedding theme?
Well, I went with the vintage look.
That's still pretty big.
I had pale pinks and golds in my wedding invitations.
We have some right here.
Yup.
I went with a letter press invitation with a heavier card stock.
I really wanted to showcase, it gave it that vintage feel that I was going for.
But themes aren't really that important.
You really just want to make sure that each couple showcases their own unique personality.
That's the important aspect of the wedding invitation.
So, ladies, how does a bride-to-be get started in the process?
Is it all done online?
Mostly.
You can do everything online if you'd like, but we also have catalogs if you're more comfortable
browsing through a catalog.
You start by looking at designs and then once you find something that you really like, you
can order a free sample of it, and get it, and feel it, and touch it, and just make sure
that's the one.
And then from that point, you can complete the order online, or if you feel more comfortable
with all the personalization and everything, you can contact one of our invitation specialists.
And the invitation specialists are awesome.
They are so much fun.
It's a new program we're rolling out for our customer service, and what they do is they
can hold the bride's hand throughout the whole thing.
Like, we really want them to have a relationship.
It's very personal.
They'll be with them from step 1 to the end.
And it's not just the invitations.
It's those save-the-dates.
I did do save-the-dates.
I wanted to make sure that everybody could make it to my wedding.
Everybody is so busy nowadays that you want to make sure you send out your save-the-dates
about 6 months before your wedding just to let everybody know that your date is coming.
Make sure you're there.
And then after, of course, there's the invitations.
But there's also other things that you will need.
There's a bridal shower, the rehearsal dinner, and then also the day of the wedding there's
many things that I needed.
The wedding programs could be very beautiful.
I also needed, for the reception, place settings for my tables, I needed table numbers, I needed
place cards, menus, all those things just on the day of my wedding.
And then, of course, there's the thank you notes that everybody loves writing.
Thank you notes are very important because everybody likes to have a thank you.
Jessica, all the best and congratulations on getting married.
Thank you.
Nancy, thank you so much for helping Jessica with her wedding and for coming on.
Now, people want to get started.
Brides-to-be want to get started.
Where can they learn more information?
Well, they can go to AmericanWedding.com.
They can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and we also have a blog that you
could look at if you'd like.
Yeah.
And because we're so excited to be here, we have a special offer for The Balancing Act
viewers.
We are offering a $50 dollar gift card to anyone who is getting married or if your daughter
is getting married or your friend's getting married.
Cousin, it doesn't matter.
You know, if anybody.
You can go to, watch our segment, on TheBalancingAct.com and follow the link, and there will be simple
instructions where they can redeem their gift card.
Wonderful.
Well thank you so much.
And you can also logon to TheBalancingAct.com for our entire Your Engaged series, and don't
forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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