Nicolette & Brian: Invitation: Reveal!

Could this DIY have taken any longer? Probably not, if you ask Mr. PaC.

I started brainstorming ideas in October, experienced holiday-related delays, buckled down in January and was almost done until... I became a bee in February. Oops, productivity plummeted that month. Then I got the harebrained, but thankfully short-lived, idea to screen print the entire suite. (Which I still want to do.) I'm happy to announce that the invitation project is done at last!

Now that our paper babies are being delivered into the hands of their new owners, via the storks at the USPS, I can finally reveal the Pain au Chocolat invitation suite.

Are you ready for the big reveal?

Our bold yellow envelopes. Keeping it simple with an inkjet-printed address in our font.
So glad the printer didn't eat our envelopes! (They don't make "Nom nom nom" noises, btw.)

The back flap stamped with our custom return address stamp. I didn't want to spend extra money on the envelope, special labels or liners. As much as I love all those special touches, I never keep an envelope. I'm guessing our guests, none of whom are nearly obsessed with graphic design or our wedding, will do the same. Just looking for a quick pop of color and a little continuity.

A peek at the invitation itself. Bucking tradition and forgoing the inner envelope in favor of a belly band. When Mrs. Hippo posted about her belly band idea, I was sold. Less material, less waste, less postage. And I don't have to scour the internet for two envelopes that will nestle together properly... in my chosen color, no less. Didn't I say I was keeping it simple?

The actual invitation.

Our printed pieces: wedding invitation & rsvp (left), rehearsal dinner invitation & rsvp (right) and stripey info card. (It's killing me to blur out all of the delicious details!)

Wedding invitation and coordinating envelope. In person, the color match is pretty close. Considering my approach (whichever envelope is closest to my "invite yellow" wins), I'm pleased.

The two A8-sized invitations (wedding & rehearsal) against the A9 envelope

A closer look at the three pieces that all of our wedding guests will see. Fun fun fun!

And then there's the rehearsal dinner invitation and rsvp. Mr. P worried our guests would not understand why they received two rsvp cards, so I paired the cool colored pieces as a visual reminder.