From the desk of...

Hive, have you ever decided you just had to have something for the wedding? I'm raising my hand here because I sure did. The item in question? A custom return address stamp. It all started when I stumbled across a custom stamp in Martha Stewart Weddings. I was smitten! But we were nowhere near ready to start on invitations, so I bookmarked it to revisit later.

source
Months later, our invitation suite was complete. I pulled up that old bookmark to show Mr. PaC. The cost made me pause. Sure, I liked the stamps but did I like them that much? So I did what any bride on a budget would do. I shopped around. Specifically for a stamp with fresh, whimsical calligraphy that we could reuse after the wedding.

NoteTrunk - "Fairfax"

Perch Papier

Emililies - "Small Square"

Emililies - "Rose"

Emililies - "Holly"

Emililies - "Heart"
Mr. P felt many of them were too fussy or too girly. Indulging his request to tone down the flourishes and make it legible (for the post office), I rounded up:

Chatty Press - "Ampersand"
Mr. P loooooves ampersands on invites. Why not on our return address?
ForYoo - "a1009"

NoteTrunk - "Organic Round"
Whimsical but decidedly not calligraphy. None of these were it either.
NoteTrunk - "Flag Banner"
In my desire for whimsy and his request for restrained femininity, we found the perfect compromise between the two styles...

Trial by Cupcakes - "Anna"
I sent a custom request asking for the entire stamp to be created in the "Anna" script. Two weeks later, a package arrived at my office.


A blue box wrapped in red twine!



Eeeee, our stamp!

It pains me to blur out the lovely details.

Our stamp in action:

The little stamp will see repeated use on our envelopes, RSVPs, thank you cards and future newlywed correspondence.

How are you marking your return address on your invitations?

(all personal photos unless otherwise noted)