We’re only two months into 2010 and it’s already been quite a whirlwind of a year! I have several new projects and products in the works over at betsywhite stationery and there are lots of ideas floating around for Flights of Fancy. Because of all this activity, I’ve decided it’s time to find an intern.

If you or someone you know is creative, passionate, motivated and interested in a design/blog internship, I’d love to hear from you! To submit an application, click here. You don’t need to live in Atlanta to apply, although that would be a plus.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

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Photo Credit:
The rather stylish intern/secretary/worker bee above was photographed by Andreas Lundberg (via Simple Blueprint)

Let’s start the week with a little inspiration, shall we? Today’s board was completely inspired by this photo shoot over on Once Wed, shot by the incredibly talented Jose Villa. So gorgeous! And that black dress… LOVE it!

So let’s say money is no object… wouldn’t this super glamorous wedding be lovely?

Featured Design: Love Logo #23 wedding invitation

Photo Credits:
row 1: Jose Villa (second & third images)
row 2: JL Designs | Jose Villa
row 3: Leigh Miller Photography | Jose Villa | Anna Williams Photography

FINDING THE PERFECT POSTAGE

The postage you choose can add the final finishing touch to your envelopes. It’s like the perfect bow on a well-wrapped gift. Just like with the addressing, the postage can really help form a great impression and create a little excitement for your guests. When your invitation arrives in someone’s mailbox, you want them to think “Oh! What’s this? How lovely!” rather than thinking it might be another bill.

Stamps are little pieces of commissioned artwork and with so many beautiful options available, it shouldn’t be too difficult to pick a pretty design. You can either look for stamps that will work with the color palette of your wedding or you can search for stamps with a similar theme or aesthetic. Here are a few examples:

A variety of stamps in pink and grey coordinate with this grey and white invitation.
invitation shown: Ameera

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A mix of vintage stamps featuring birds and trees works well for a rustic wedding.
invitation shown: Love Logo #12

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These ‘Tropical Flowers’ stamps are perfect for a destination wedding. (These are actually a favorite of mine because I used them on my own invitations back in 2001!)
invitation shown: Love Logo #24

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A few of our recent customers have had military weddings – these ‘presidential’ stamps would be appropriate.
invitation shown: Love Logo #1

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A simple, modern stamp for a modern wedding.
invitation shown: Gwen

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The first place to start your search is, of course the post office. Ask to see all of the current stamps and determine if any have the look you’re going for. If there’s nothing at the post office that strikes your fancy, the next best place will be your local Stamp & Coin shop. Stamp & Coin shops can be a veritable treasure trove. I have spent literally HOURS at my local shop pouring over all the delightful little goodies. I don’t know the first thing about stamp collecting but I can certainly appreciate beautiful things – who knew these dusty little shops could be so inspiring! Anyway, I digress…

The great thing about the Stamp & Coin shop is that you can find lovely vintage stamps as well as designs that are more recent but no longer available at the post office. There are, however, a few things to consider:

First, if you plan to use the stamps, you will need to buy them in mint condition. The mint condition value tends to be a bit higher than the face value of the stamp – especially for the really vintage designs. For example, you might pay 20 cents for a 15 cent stamp.

Secondly, the older the stamp, the smaller it’s value will be. For example, some stamps from the 1950’s are only valued at 3 or 4 cents each. Be sure to look for stamps with higher values (15 cents or greater) since your postage will need to add up to 44 cents (or more, depending on the weight of your invitations).

Of course, you will need to consider your budget in all this. Vintage stamps are a bit more expensive and depending on how many invitations you need to send, the cost can add up. For me personally, the small additional cost is well worth it but it all depends on what’s most important to you. It is, at least, something to consider.

Anyone out there planning to hunt for pretty postage for your invitations?

METHODS OF ADDRESSING

As mentioned in Part 1 and Part 2 of this little series, one of the first things you need to do when you receive your wedding stationery is to address the envelopes. I wanted to focus on this today because the way you choose to address your envelopes can make a really good or really bad impression, regardless of what’s inside the envelope. I’ve pulled together a few tips which I hope will be helpful.

CALLIGRAPHY
I personally have an absolute love affair with calligraphy and I think it should always be the first choice. Having your guests’ names and addresses beautifully penned by a pro will add a certain elegance and style to even the most simple (and affordable) invitations.

If you’re thinking about hiring a calligrapher, click here for a few helpful tips on how to get the process started. You can also find a list of talented calligraphers here.

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HAND ADDRESSING
If calligraphy is not in the budget, the next best option is to hand address the envelopes yourself. If your handwriting is not up to par, solicit the help of a family member or good friend with better penmanship. Although your own handwriting might not be as artistic as a calligrapher’s, that’s perfectly fine – what’s more important is that it will be personal. The mere fact you have taken the time to address each and every envelope will make your guests feel as though they really have been personally invited to share in your special day.

The key to hand-addressing is to give yourself time. Don’t try to knock out 150 envelopes in an hour. Allow yourself a week or two (maybe more, depending on how many envelopes you need to address) and do just a few each day.

quick tip: Print 3-4 thick black lines on a piece of paper then slide that template inside the envelope to use as a guide so that when you write the address, your lines are as evenly spaced and as neat as possible.

another tip: Be sure to get yourself a really good pen – one that won’t bleed or run. Also avoid using a thick marker-type pen… this tends to look a bit unrefined.

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LABELS
Please, I implore you, please don’t stick printed address labels on your invitation envelopes! Yes, I know, it’s easy… but there’s nothing more impersonal than to receive an invitation with a printed label. Labels give the impression that you just didn’t have the time or energy to hand-write the envelopes. Although this might be true (we’re all busy after all, and wedding planning is a lot of work!), you’ve already taken time to choose just the right invitation and you’ve thought long and hard about your wording… the last thing you want to do is to give a less-than-ideal impression in the end.

I think the best use of a label is if it’s a decorative one. A decorative label can add another design element to your envelopes if the label carries the same motif, pattern or colors as your invitations. You would, of course, still need to hand-write the addresses on the labels.

quick tip: The printed label rule also goes for the return address on the envelope flap. The best bet is to have your return address pre-printed on the envelope flaps when you order your invitations. You could also have a special rubber stamp made with your address and a coordinating motif, then hand-stamp the envelope flaps.

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USING YOUR PRINTER
If you feel as though hand addressing is simply out of the question and you’re a savvy DIY-er, another option would be to print the addresses directly on the envelopes. Although still not ideal, this option is not quite as impersonal as generic printed address labels. If you find a nice font, you can set up a file  which you can use to type each address (in Adobe Illustrator, Word, PhotoShop… whatever you’re most comfortable with), then print each envelope on your desktop printer. Ideally, you would want to use a laser printer since the ink would be less likely to run than an inkjet printout if the envelopes are delivered on a rainy day.

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Well, that’s my two cents on how to address your envelopes. Hope it was helpful. Tomorrow we’ll chat about the final finishing touch: postage.