Just got engaged? Congratulations! The holidays are a popular time to pop the question so it's no surprise that we get lots of questions this time of year about the products and possibilities for the wedding ideas on our site. So for a few lines here, we'll talk about some basics that will help to make your wedding reception planning a little easier.
First, soak up the moment. Don't worry too much about locking yourself into anything. There will be plenty of time for that later. Along those lines, it's hard to resist the urge to do a little imagining and a little shopping - but it's better to wait until you've defined some things like themes, colors, styles, and so on. Instead, if you've just got to get some shopping out of your system, buy something for yourself or for the two of you to remember this great point in time.
For now, just let your mind run free as you picture your big day. Brainstorm without regard for budget and restrictions. You'll be surprised at how much you can do with any budget once you get your ideas in place. The important thing at the moment is just to get that picture in your mind of what you'd like to do. Later, you can take those ideas and mold them to fit your location and budget needs. At that point, decision making will get a little easier because you'll be able to weed out a lot of options that don't fit the bigger decisions you've already made (budget, date, location, etc.).
Once you get some of those wedding ideas in place, don't feel rushed to buy things like favors to save 5 or 10 percent during a short term sale. Most retailers are willing to negotiate for large orders. You can get to that when the time comes. Having said that…
When ordering things like favors, personalized items, and so on, give yourself enough time. Most personalized items take a certain number of business days (sometimes weeks) to process before shipping. If you wait until the last minute, you may lose the option to personalize, or you'll pay extra for rush service, or you won't have time to deal with things like short term backorders, mistakes on your part or your vendor's part, and so on. It's easy to avoid those hassles - just keep planning ahead.
No matter what, enjoy this little window of time that is your engagement. There is no perfect day - never has been and never will be. Your wedding day doesn't have to be, nor will it be perfect. If that is your goal, you'll be disappointed when the big day comes and frustrated almost every day until it does come. Humans are absolutely impossible to satisfy. That goes for others and ourselves, too.
So give yourself a little slack and focus on loving the person that you're going to spend your life with. If you do that, you'll be able to laugh and love your way through the things that life throws at you both during your wedding planning and during the rest of your lives together.
This page has been a little bit quiet this month, but with good reason. In addition to all the usual change in offerings with the new year, we've added more new products this time than ever - and more are on the way. Here's a quick update so you can follow what's going on and what's coming. You'll pick up on a few trends in wedding ideas along the way.
Monogram cake toppers - we've expanded our line to include jewelry style toppers with 24k gold, silver plated, and polished steel finishes. New pictures will be up shortly for our custom monogram cake toppers as well. These are as popular as ever.
Self Inking Stamps - we brought these "in house" which means that all of our offerings are exclusive designs. Unique features include square and oval designs in addition to the typical round layout and the ability to use your custom cake topper design in your stamp. Look for new ink colors and new address stamp options over the next few weeks.
Labels - lots of new designs were added. More are on the way with an emphasis on options for using your chosen design with different shapes and sizes. These can also use the design from our self inking stamps and custom monogram cake toppers.
Wedding Favors - about 90 new wedding favors are about to be added starting today. Many of them incorporate the great new color combinations that are all the rage these days. This year, in addition to adding matching personalized tags, you'll be able to pick from up to 30 box designs.
Stationery - cool new die cuts and slim invitations are up in popular color combinations. "Dressed up" invitations (with layered stickers, rhinestones, ribbons, bands, die-cuts, and more) are the new wave in fun when it comes to shower invitations. Do it yourself printable wedding invitations are getting even more unique - with photo stock, layered, and foil options making their way onto the site. Thank you cards are up as well, with great color combos and even "print your own" photo quality stock fold over cards.
If you haven't already, check out the metallic silver accents that are making their way onto the unity candle, guest book, gifts, and cake decorations pages.
Believe it or not, there's even more to come. But we'll get to that when we catch our breath. Check back often - there are lots of new treats literally every day.
