The Dandelion Patch

Although June used to be THE season for weddings, in Northern Virginia we see weddings year 'round. Times have changed, but one standard certainly hasn't - you must still invite your guests to the wedding! (Unless you truly meant it when you said, "We just want to have a small wedding.")

You may have chosen to send a save-the-date card earlier in your engagement. Even so, you should still send you invitations 8 weeks in advance. This not only gives your guests time to make travel and / or childcare arrangements, this will give you sufficient time to track down errant non-responders. Unfortunately, you will have to track down a good third of your guests! Nothing will turn you into a rabid RSVPer like throwing a wedding!

Your invitations should reflect the theme, colors, location and formality of your wedding. Remember that you are setting the stage for the main event and this will be your guests first glimpse into your "dream day." Make sure the invitation is also functional - have all the who, what, when, where information and don't be afraid to use additional cards for sharing more detail about your reception, accomodation arrangements and directions. Some couples even share common local attractions and weather data should guests want to make a mini-vacation out of your event. Do not, however, include registry information, unless you particularly relish being the topic of gossip around town! Even today, registry information is only correctly shared by word-of-mouth.

Invitations, like fashion, go through trends. This is why it is beneficial to befriend a professional who can navigate you through the process and educate you on the many options available. In our stores we are seeing a decline in certain colors such as brown and seeing an increase in others such as blues and greys. Belly bands, tags and layers are going away and instead beautiful letterpress, blind embossing, and engraving are making a strong comeback. There is an emphasis on quality paper, especially now that the use of more "white space" in design is prevalent. Simple, elegant motifs are making bold statements where graphic designs used to be.

And let's not forget there are many eco-friendly, "green" options, including bamboo paper, cotton paper, post-consumer waste paper along with soy-based inks and non-mass produced products that reduce the negative environmental footprint. The Dandelion Patch loves paper, but we love the Earth too! We are delighted to help brides find alternative ways to make a "white wedding" more GREEN!

Natually, when ordering your invitations, you will also want to order your thank you notes. Look for a future post about notes of gratitude. (You can thank us later!)