Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Wedding Wednesday: Stationery Two

Okay, dear readers, where did we leave off last time?  Yes - Etsy.  Now, I know that wedding (and, more generally, lifestyle) bloggers love Etsy, and I do understand that.  Sometimes I even agree. But Etsy stirs up a lot of uncomfortable emotions for me.  On the one hand, I feel overwhelmed.  (There are too many options!)  On the other, I feel inadequate.  (And I could never be that creative or crafty!)  A whole website full of beautiful things that people made themselves?  What's the point in trying to be a well-rounded woman and, you know, plan a wedding if I collapse into frustrated wails every time I click on?  Wait - is this just me?  No, I'm pretty sure it isn't.  If it were, the founder of Regretsy wouldn't have scored a book deal.

But I do recognize that there are incredibly talented people on Etsy and that it is, when used properly, a fantastic resource.  And I realized that there are ways to use Etsy without having an emotional breakdown: I needed to limit my options.


Because I'm planning what is, in effect, a destination wedding, I communicate with my vendors almost exclusively through the internet.  I will meet each of them at least once before next August, but between now and then we'll rely on email and Skype.  The majority of Etsy stores are based in the United States and the opportunity to actually work with someone local on a piece of my wedding was too good to pass up, so I first filtered the shops to show only those in the DC area.

Etsy presented a really great selection even when limited, but the decision was easy in the end.  Almost every image I liked turned out to be from the same store: Pink Orchid Invites.  There wasn't one design that was exactly what we had in mind, but I loved different aspects of most of her pieces and so emailed Caroline to see if we could work together to create a custom design.  She was totally open and friendly in our emails, so we met up as soon as I moved back to DC.

Mom came too, of course, and we selected the ink and paper colors we liked - which is so important to do in person, I think, because they look completely different on a computer screen - and got a feel for the varieties of paper.  I pointed out the kinds of designs that Jon and I preferred and showed Caroline some examples of other companies' work that were similar to the direction we wanted.  When we left, I was absolutely confident that she understood what we were trying to create and that she was excited about helping us make it happen.

Like I said last week, I want the design of our paper goods to be consistent throughout the ceremony, so we decided to create the invitation first because it's the most complicated and then use it as a base for all of the other pieces.  By the end of the summer, Jon and I (and the parents) had signed off on the design.  Now we're just waiting for our Save the Dates to arrive - I'll show you as soon as they get here, of course!  In the meantime, though, I hope a glimpse of our monogram will hold you....







11 comments:

  1. Really like that monogram!

    And I know exactly what you mean about Etsy feeling overwhelming. It's an amazing site, but it's either hit or miss. I can't just go through and browse most of the time. I have to go on looking for one specific thing and still the options are endless!

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  2. YES! well, I can browse, but only if I'm not actually trying to find anything. If I only have a vague idea of what I want, I stay away because then I fall into the black hole!

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  3. Oh, now that's nice! I feel like it should be embossed on thick card stock with "2013" underneath it, printed on 11x14 and hung in your entryway.
    Also, Regretsy cracks me up.

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  4. I'm currently hitting the Etsy wall right now, and it even cause a fight with my fiance last night! My nervousness about Etsy is not actually being able to see something in person, or really knowing who I'm buying from.


    can't wait to see your save the dates!

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  5. we're going to do that for the actual invitation! we have one and the same mind, you and I. (thank you!)

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  6. ooooh boy. we had the Etsy fight over "fake" buttonholes! I'm less afraid of the scam aspect than the "what is it like when I hold it in my hand?" aspect... such a valid concern of yours!

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  7. I'm a huge fan of Etsy, but I totally understand the idea of feeling overwhelmed. I find myself searching through the treasury lists often which seems to narrow things down for me. Love the monogram...can't wait to see the rest!

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  8. thanks! do you know how things get into the treasury lists? I'm always afraid I'll miss something that's secretly amazing. ah - another Etsy fear! eek :/

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  9. Anyone can make a treasury list (I think you just need to have an Etsy account)...I've made a few in the past. The most popular ones show up on the home page, but it's just a way for people to create a theme of items that they may want to save for themselves or share with others. There are quite a few people that create some amazing lists based on seasons, events, etc. I usually do a search on the treasury list page which can be organized based on popularity. There's a lot of them, but It's definitely worth checking out! :)

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  10. As someone who is supposedly "artsy", Etsy overwhelms me so much. Thanks for the Regretsy link! Too funny.

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