So this past weekend Josh and I finally checked something big off our to-do list. Bigger than stuffing ourselves silly with food and celebrating fall in luon. We printed our Save the Dates! We have a lot of out of town guests so we wanted to make sure we sent them Save the Dates so they could plan for next summer. We knew from the beginning we wanted to save money on our stationery by doing it ourselves. As gorgeous as expensive stationery is, we figured more guests would rather eat some amazing food and dance to a great DJ than have a fancy piece of paper with our faces on it. I’m a huge fan of PBFingers and loved her Save the Dates. I saw them long before I was planning a wedding but knew as soon as I saw them they were the exact format I wanted to use someday. Lo and behold a little over a year later and Josh and I were formatting this beautiful and classic template online at Wedding Chicks with a picture of us and our wedding date on the calendar.
We brought our template on a jump drive to Staples. We called Staples ahead of time to find out their printing prices, and for a sheet of black and white printed paper on good card stock it’s 22 cents. For a sheet of color printed paper it’s $1. This is a huge difference in price, so we decided to go with black and white to save money.
We learned that when it comes to formatting, definitely utilize the knowledge of Staples employees. The guy working in the printing area was able to help us move the formatting around on our Save the Dates so that all the white space would be even for cutting.
For our calendar we wanted to find a little red heart stamp to add some color to the Save the Date and stand out against the calendar. Unfortunately after visiting every craft store in State College, we were not able to find a heart stamp small enough. We decided to invert the colors on our wedding date and Photoshop in a heart to keep our printing costs down. We are extremely happy with the result.
We were so excited to get to use one of our amazing engagement photos by the super talented Red Headed Ninja. We thought it was the perfect photo to have in black and white because of the way the light reflects off the trees in the background. I also just love how happy we look. 😀 We picked up these awesome #10 envelopes from Michael’s for $15 (for all of them!) and made sure to bring them to Staples so that the printing guy could make sure our prints would work with the envelopes. They were the perfect fit. 🙂
We love how professional the final product looks and how we didn’t have to spend a fortune in the process. Now we just have to get all the addresses together and get these things in the mail!
Question of the Day: Have you ever gotten crafty with stationery? I’d love to see pictures and links! You better believe I’m addicted to Pinterest. ;p
I am terrible at anything crafty – but I LOVE what you’ve done with these – they really do look professional 🙂
Aw thank you so much!! We really wanted a professional and classy look. 😀
I cant believe how new the SAVE THE DATE idea is too.
we didnt have those 🙂
Definitely something to consider for your vow renewals! 😀
LOVE the date and the save the dates. 🙂 You’ll be married ONE DAY after my 10th wedding anniversary. That’s a great weekend for a wedding!
Aw thank you so much! And omg congrats!! That’s a huge milestone!
They look wonderful! And I think the black and white works perfectly.
Aw thank you so much! We’re really hoping people love them and don’t wonder about the lack of color. ;p
very pretty save the dates!
Thanks so much! We love them!
those are FANTASTIC!! my cousin is a “Stamp it up” representative, so she makes all types of things like that. i love them! have a great day! spa love!
Aw thank you! And how cool your cousin gets to make all sorts of stuff!
wow I love these! I am definitely planning on making our save the dates too! I love yours even in black and white! and I love the little heart over the date! so adorable! great choice and definitely something I will have to keep in mind! (:
Aw thanks so much! Yeah we loved how great they turned out and how much money they saved us! I can’t wait to see yours!
Those are so darn cute! We ordered our save-the-dates but that was before there were so many awesome inspiration sources. You rock girl 🙂
Aw thank you so much! We love them!
Yay!! They look awesome- definitely professional looking. We did a few things ourselves for our wedding, too… it makes so much sense- it’s more affordable, but also so much easier to make it fit you!
Aw thank you so much! Yes, I love how we get to customize it to our personalities.
Love them! Very cute! I actually made a lot of things for our wedding, it was probably 85% DIY. We even made our wedding invitations!
We didn’t have save the dates though, well we sent an email out to people haha. We were trying to cut costs as much as possible!
Aw thank you so much! That’s so awesome so much of your wedding was DIY!
Erin these are terrific! I am so excited to see them in person :-)…and I also can’t wait to see what you decide on for a wedding dress! Knowing you, it will probably be something very elegant and beautiful <3
When John and I finally need to come up with some Save-the-dates, I'm hiring you! lol
Aw thanks Jess, I’m so glad you like them! We should be mailing them in a few weeks! And I actually already have my wedding dress! I really hope it looks elegant and beautiful, I’m in love with it!
Are you two looking at getting engaged sometime soon? That would be so exciting!! 😀
Nice job! We did all of our ‘paper’ for the wedding on our own through ideas online, heart Pinterest! SPA <3
Pinterest is amazing but also so dangerous! It gives me too many ideas! 😀
Lovin’ the save the date! Great picture too 🙂
Aw thanks so much! We’re so happy with how they turned out! 😀
Very cute!! We made ours online, and I was happy with the way they turned out. I love yours!
Thank you so much! We love how they turned out. I love how weddings are getting so much more personalized and interactive, it makes it so much more fun!
Love them!
Thank you!! We do too! 😀
Those save the dates look awesome!! Im not a very crafty person, so we bought our invites and save the dates together lol
Aw thank you so much! We’re not that crafty either which is why we bought our invitations! Haha
Wifey and I designed all of own wedding announcements and invitations… it was a lot to take on, but it made it that much more special.
I also designed and made my own medal and bib holder.
http://pavementrunner.com/diy-medal-bib-holder/
Oh wow! Those medal and bib holders are AMAZING! I might steal that idea for 5k medals. I know it’s not the same, but I have to start somewhere! ;p
Love your SAVE THE DATES! I have never made my own invitations or stationary but you inspired me and make it look so simple! Thanks for sharing 🙂 Love and Shine CourtStar
Aw thank you so much!! Josh and I are so so happy with how they came out!
Erin how did you put your picture into the template i love the idea i want to do the same but downloaded the template but idk how to my picture
thanks a lot
Hey Christy! I’m so sorry, I actually don’t know. I found the template and picked the picture and then it was Josh’s job to make it all work. I’m not the most technical person. ;p I’ll ask him and see what he recommends and then get back to you!