Invitation Proofing

kinmir30

Ok so I have finished a great portion of my invitation over the weekend and I am looking for some criticism on everything, wording, design, font, etc.







So here is the design with the stamps on the invite. The stamp at the bottom is a stamp of several shells. It's kinda hard to get a good picture with my crappy camera. What do you think of the stamping (i realize the flowers on top are not fully dark, this is just rough).  I was trying to figure out if it's too much or if I should change the flower arrangement, etc. But I think I like it....not sure. WDYT?


Invite Wording:




Response Card:


I'm not really sure about the font on this one.....idk. Ideas?


Information Card:

WDYT about how I worded the registry piece?
Also, what do you think about putting the info on the toasting on there. FI thinks it's fine, and I like it.....but my only apprehension is that we might get too many people asking to toast....

Anyway....there's all that! Please rip it apart and give me advice on making it perfect. Thanks!

mgoss228

My critiques/opinions:

Invite:
I think the shells stamp on the bottom is too much detail, the flowers alone should be fine.  Could you move the shells stamp to the pocket to the right, the purple paper with a gold shell stamp could be really cute, imo

I don't really care for the saying on the bottom of the invite, I would remove that and put it on your programs.

Reponse Card:
I like the font, it's cute

I would recommend spelling out the word "number" with "No. Attending."  Because I could see some guests misreading it as "N-O Attending" or "Not Attending."

Information Card:
Can you provide more information on the Hotels?  If you don't have a lot of OOT guests, it might not be necessary.  But if you could provide the Hotel name and address, that could be helpful to your guests.

The dress code mention might not be necessary, but if most of your friends/family provide that information with invites, feel free to include it too.

I would not include the toasting information.  I do not like it when there are over 6 people making toasts at receptions.  The only people who should be making toasts are those in the immediate family and bridal party, imo.  If people want to leave a message for you, they should leave it on your DJ's website.

I think you handled the registry information well.  No need to edit that part, imo!

kinmir30

I was thinking the same thing about the "No. Attending" ........I have seen it that way on a lot of invites....but I was thinking the same thing about it being confusing...I just didn't like the way Number or # looked. Haha. But I think your right.

Good Idea about the stamp. I think maybe we'll try that.....and that would save us a lot of time and grief if we do. Because with it there, we will have to cut each paper down to size, then stamp and then print because the stamp covers up the words. It would be much easier to just print two to a sheet and then cut and stamp. hmm...

About the hotels....We haven't made a hotel block because while a lot of our guests are OOT, both FI's and my family are pretty low income so we are thinking that if ithey do end up being able to afford the trip, they will prob stay with family here rather than paying for a hotel. Also, because our wedding is in Olalla, I wasn't sure about doing a hotel block in Gig Harbor.....or if our guests would actually want to stay in Seattle since they are coming from OOT. So we aren't doing that. But should they want to stay in a hotel, we have a lot of recommendations in a lot of price points and locations....so I figured they can just ask if they need it. Do think this is ok?

Sharingourlove

I agree with what Mgoss has said.  I first read "No. Attending" as NO(T).  I would also spell out any contractions you have i.e. we're.  Just looks more formal.

I would ditch either the flowers or shells (personally if you're being married on a beach I'd go with shells but then again that's my motif so...)

I do like the wording for the invite, in fact we chose the same one!  LOL  I don't believe you need the quote at the bottom, I think enough is said up above.

The info piece does look crowded, I'd lose the toast piece,  Since you have a website I would just direct people there and post hotel suggestions.  What about directions to the wedding? Also, IMO using all caps on the info piece can make it hard to read.  It's okay on the invite but with too many words, and no space between lines (I'd probably put some in there) it can be hard to decipher.

Curious what font you used for the names.

Very nice - and laughing that you are being married 20 days before me and about 20 miles away!  LOL

mgoss228

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_washington-seattle_invitation-proofing?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:104Discussion:be1680ff-b1fb-493e-b80b-fa7a751b0af2Post:1dc3c304-d6d8-4cce-bdff-a0a9b6b966e5">Re: Invitation Proofing</a>:
[QUOTE]About the hotels....We haven't made a hotel block because while a lot of our guests are OOT, both FI's and my family are pretty low income so we are thinking that if ithey do end up being able to afford the trip, they will prob stay with family here rather than paying for a hotel. Also, because our wedding is in Olalla, I wasn't sure about doing a hotel block in Gig Harbor.....or if our guests would actually want to stay in Seattle since they are coming from OOT. So we aren't doing that. But should they want to stay in a hotel, we have a lot of recommendations in a lot of price points and locations....so I figured they can just ask if they need it. Do think this is ok?
Posted by kinmir30[/QUOTE]

<font color="#0000ff"><strong>With your explanation, I think leaving out the additional Hotel info is fine.  </strong></font><img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-smile.gif" border="0" alt="Smile" title="Smile" />  <span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="color:#0000ff;">Just make sure the VIPs (people who would be asked about Hotel stuff, MOB/MOG, you and FI, etc) have all of the Hotel recommendation info, so they can pass it on, if necessary.</span></span>

erinmmcd

Agree with prior post with the exception of the following:

Do you have a wedding website?  I would cut down the amount of text on the information card by mentioning that information about hotels & registries can be found at: ____________.  (I wouldn't talk about specifically where you are registered right on the invite.)

I also think it is okay to leave the attire comment on there.  Since you mention a beach, as a guest I would be unsure what to wear, and would find the comment helpful.

abrieckinthewall

First off let me say, those look fantastic. If I attempted anything like that DIY it would look like a 4th grader did it. These invites, just amazing.

I agree with previous posts that you don't need the quote on the bottom of the invite. It's a nice touch, but seems a bit unnecessary.
I actually like the shells stamp. but if it is too much of a hassle, it's not needed.
The response card looks great, and I immediately thought the "No. attending" meant "not" so something to reconsider, though I saw you caught that too.
If you want a bunch of toasts at your reception, I would include it on the info card. If not, I would just check with those in the WP and your families.

Other than that, like I said, they look great. You really did a phenomenal job.

Frogger5

I really like it, too - but if you're going to cut the shells at the bottom of the invite, what about either scooting the text down so there's more space for the flowers at the top left, or keeping the text at the upper right corner and putting the flowers in the bottom left corner? You can maybe frame the invite better if there's more white space around the stamps, is what I'm thinking. Love the purple!