DIY Fail. Side eye me?

LizzyRB

The short story is my mom insisted she could make my wedding invites just as good as the stationary folks. I said ok. We spent a weekend with packs we bought from Michael's printing, glueing, assembling, so on. At the end of the night I had to leave and my mom said she would finish out addressing. Sweet!

Mom sent me and fi an invite first to make sure we loved it. It took ten days for it to get here. In the mean time she addressed, stamped and sealed the remaining 60 invites. Tonight when we opened the invite the first thing I see is that our glue stick failed as the invite is no longer attached to the backing envelope.

Please talk me off the ledge. Part of me wants to stop her from sending these out and order professional ones. She think its fine and we shouldn't worry about it... Oh DIY

mlg78

I certainly wouldn't send them out...  Whatever option is easier for you, either fixing these or printing professionally...but poorly done DIY makes me cringe...sorry!

Simply Fated

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_diy-fail-side-eye-me?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:56603d20-d65f-4309-bd80-dc81454c7ac4Post:dc63cbf0-bdf0-4d34-9dde-f0f6e018217c">Re: DIY Fail. Side eye me?</a>:
[QUOTE]Can you pop them in the freezer so the envelope glue opens up and then re-glue the invitation to the backing with a new adhesive?
Posted by KindaSparkly[/QUOTE]
Does that freezer trick really work?? That's awesome.


Definitely don't use a gluestick again. There are much better adhesives out there that don't leave bumps or bleed through.

audreyecu61

Go to mom's house.

Make sure there are plenty of people as a distraction.

Then 'misplace' the invites.

Voila, you'll have to order them now.

Make sure you act dissapointed that they are lost.

LizzyRB

Maybe we can try the freezer thing, that would be great. Do you know if that will make the stamps come off? If it wasn't the first things my guests were going to see and so up close related to the wedding... I was hoping you guys would say, "oh no one cares about the invitation anyway" ha

Simply Fated

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_diy-fail-side-eye-me?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:56603d20-d65f-4309-bd80-dc81454c7ac4Post:016c05d2-068a-43c2-92db-d198c5a80fa4">Re:DIY Fail. Side eye me?</a>:
[QUOTE]Maybe we can try the freezer thing, that would be great. Do you know if that will make the stamps come off? If it wasn't the first things my guests were going to see and so up close related to the wedding... I was hoping you guys would say, "oh no one cares about the invitation anyway" ha
Posted by LizzyRB[/QUOTE]
I think when people open up their envelopes and the pieces fall out, they'll be, like, "wtf?" But I don't think anyone will necessarily think bad of you or anything lol. 

If the stamps come off, you can reattach them to the envelopes, which is a pain, but doable.

LizzyRB

I just had a good laugh at the mental picture of someone opening it and a piece falling off. So embarrassing

QueerFemme

I agree with everyone else. Open them up, reglue them with some better glue. Even if you have to buy new envelopes and readdress them, I would do it.

Meghannsix

Poorly done DIY has been one of my biggest concerns during our wedding planning.  We ended up just buying invites, because I was scared that what happened to you, would happen to us.  I think your best course of action would be to first see if you can salvage what you already have (thanks for the freezer trick info KindaSparkly), then move on to plan B, purchasing, if necessary.  If you were getting ready to send them out, I imagine time is of the essence as well?

itzMS

I would think it's strange if it were in pieces when I opened, but I wouldn't call you up and tell you your invite fell apart. It's not really a huge deal to me.

Now, if you and FI didn't like the invites to begin with, I don't see any harm in you going another route.

AdeleDazeem

If I opened it up and a piece fell off, I'd probably think "Aw!  This invitation had a rough trip."  I'm not sure I'd immediately fault the DIYers or even think you did it yourself.  Perhaps I'm naive.

I recommend Zip Dry Glue.  We used it for our invitations.  It's also available for cheaper on Amazon.

http://www.cardsandpockets.com/zipdryglue.aspx

minko1986

Not sure if this is a bit late, but I actually suggest using double sided tape. I learned this after some of my NWR stuff got into a mess by using either glue stick or liquid glue. One downside is that once it's put on, it will never (ever!) come off.

LizzyRB

Called mom this morning and she already sent them out. Ohhhh nooooo...

itzMS

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_diy-fail-side-eye-me?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:56603d20-d65f-4309-bd80-dc81454c7ac4Post:6f385d27-bcbf-4bac-8ad5-d2642c5187e2">Re: DIY Fail. Side eye me?</a>:
[QUOTE]Called mom this morning and she already sent them out. Ohhhh nooooo...
Posted by LizzyRB[/QUOTE]

Oooh. That sucks.

It was a bit to early to send invites too.

Now might be the magical time in wedding planning where you say "Mom, thank you so much for all of your help, but FI and I have things handled from here on out".

It seems like she's overstepping her bounds just a smidgeon.

MayberryAfterMidnight

Gah! Oh, weddings. Annoying? Absolutely. To be honest, though, if I were to receive an invite like this (slightly falling apart), I would assume it had a rough trip through the post office. I wouldn't blame you and I would also assume it only happened to my invite (not that ALL of them were poorly made). It's slightly embarrassing, yes, but I doubt any of your guests will think too much of it. And if you plan to do any more DIY stuff with your mom, definitely make sure you see the final product before they go out/on the tables! (even though it was super sweet of her)

ridedatbike

I wouldn't use glue stick again. Im sure you've thought of that but just in case lol. As long as you don't go crazy Elmer's works fine. My mom and I have this on going argument about glue sticks she always tries to convince me they're the best thing ever...I know better lol. Good luck!

QueerFemme

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_diy-fail-side-eye-me?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:56603d20-d65f-4309-bd80-dc81454c7ac4Post:6f385d27-bcbf-4bac-8ad5-d2642c5187e2">Re: DIY Fail. Side eye me?</a>:
[QUOTE]Called mom this morning and she already sent them out. Ohhhh nooooo...
Posted by LizzyRB[/QUOTE]

Ugh. that stinks. It's actually too early to send them out.  But, nothing you can do now.

MoxieMickie

Don't worry about it. I am super into stationery, and I can be as snarky as the rest. If my invitation fell apart as I opened it, I would chuckle with sympathy at the thought of you struggling with stacks of paper pieces and glue sticks and be sure I didn't tell you. If you asked, I would say that mine was intact and lovely, and really you DIY'ed those? They looked so professional.

hoffse

I'm into paper also, but I would think it was the post-office's rough handling that made them fall apart (and who knows?  It could have been).