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29 Mar |
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10:38 am Posted by Kristy |
Doesn’t parenting in the brave new world of social media sometimes feel like a game of Candyland? Instead of that mean Lord Licorice or Gloppy the Molasses Monster we’ve got to deal with new apps like ChatRoulette or SnapChat? Just when you get ahead, a new one pops up and sends you back a few spaces.
There’s no warning either–no pretty, printed, personalized party invitations to announce and explain the next new socially mediated experience.
Here’s a sampling of the typical markers we’re finding along the path being forged through Social Media Land:
- Have you arranged a play date yet entirely by text…and never even heard the other parent’s voice?
- Have you or your teen been forced to join Facebook in order to follow the team sports schedule? She can’t miss the travel bus pick-up change.
- Did your child miss the party because you didn’t receive the Group Text invitation? Shame on you for denying her that Android!
Bring Back Printed Personalized Party Invitations
'Classic Anniversary' by Amanda Zoss for LookLoveSend.com
Being in the personalized online stationery business makes us a bit biased. But we can all relate to a story of feeling both overwhelmed and isolated because of our new technology. This is reason enough to give a fresh look at printed paper for your next planned event. Sometimes it’s best to go with an email invite, but with today’s fast turnaround and high quality personalized party invitations, ordering them online leaves fewer excuses not to make a better impression.
Find out why paper is preferable…
Left out.
Ever missed the group text invite? Some of us with the wrong phone have. And not all our kids have them either!
Misconstrued.
Most digital communication can be copied and pasted, forwarded, reply to all. It’s easy to err socially with a misplaced comment or forward to someone not invited.
Not enough information.
Literally left to our own devices, the key information of the traditional party invite doesn’t always make it in a quick, one-off text. Details matter.
To get your next party on, go to www.looklovesend.com and find beautifully printed, personalized party invitations that you can order in an instant. Whether you’re hosting an anniversary party, birthday party, graduation party, or any other kind of party you can imagine, your order will ship quickly (turnaround of orders is within 48 hours). Order one extra for a keepsake!
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22 Mar |
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6:20 am Posted by Kristy |
Baby Trellis by Genevieve Gail at LookLoveSend.com
For many of us, naming baby can be fraught with uncertainty and disagreement. For others who follow strong family traditions, the path may be more clear, and naming made a bit easier (if while a little less original). You could find the perfect baby name just by envisioning how the name reads on your baby birth announcement cards. Or, you could also follow some of the most popular “naming rules” people follow.
We’ve compiled some common guidelines with help from authoritative sources like Nameberry.com and countless other bloggers. Check your own name ideas against these tips, and you’ll be well on your way to finding that perfect name for baby (and for your baby birth announcement cards!).
1. Steer clear of creative spellings and made-up names. Don’t make Krysti’s life difficult. Drenden would prefer to actually have a real name.
2. Choose a middle name with some meaning. What’s the point of a middle name if it doesn’t mean something? This is where paying homage to family and tradition is most common (and convenient).
3. Consider literal meaning but not alone. No one will care that a name means “wooded hamlet” or “youngest son,” but it’s worth considering since your child will definitely want to know.
4. Be aware of what the initials spell. The parents of my old friend Paloma Madwin Schpaltz didn’t. Clearly they also didn’t follow tip #1.
5. You can’t always control the common nickname. If you love James, be ready for Jim. If you love Elizabeth, be ready for Liz. Someone will use it and it might stick!
6. Sibling names should sound distinct. If you want all your children’s names to start with the same letter, avoid overlapping sound combinations like Darren, Darlene, and Darryl.
7. The last letter of the first name should be different than the first letter of the last name. Listen for how the name sounds together, especially so it doesn’t run together: Beth Thatcher sounds like Beth Hatcher. Not a big deal, but might get annoying.
8. Help out a gender-neutral first name with a feminine or masculine middle name. This can help with identification and lessen potential confusion in email addresses, on social media, and in job applications and resumes.
9. Don’t pick a name that’s tough for most people to pronounce. Your poor child will have to correct every teacher and substitute teacher until the rest of the kids in class can do it together in unison.
10. Choose a name that evolves well from childhood into adulthood. Many people think if you’re only going to follow one name rule, follow this one!
Once you’ve found the perfect name for baby, try it out by previewing it on a beautiful baby birth announcement card. You can personalize a design you love in online birth announcements at www.looklovesend.com, then delight friends and family by sending printed birth announcement cards of premium, heavy weight card stock. You’ll find fresh, fun designs in every style, and turnaround is fast.
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19 Mar |
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5:47 am Posted by Kristy |
Congratulations, you’re engaged! It’s a heady time for most couples. The sparkling new ring, the story of proposal, party planning according to your wildest dreams….
Wait a minute. Your mother will be involved. Likely also your mother-in-law. What happens between the moment of your engagement and when wedding invitations hit the mail isn’t always about making your dreams come true. It’s also about communication, expectations, a dash of compromise, and a whole lot of diplomacy.
Start off on the right foot with your engagement party. This is the event where one side of the family (or both together) introduces you as a couple to their own circle of relatives and friends. It’s especially important if either the bride or groom isn’t well known by one side’s family, increasingly common in our modern, mobile, far-flung society.
Whatever your particular family’s traditions, use these five helpful “rules of engagement” to guide this part of your wedding planning:
Rule 1 – It’s not really just your party.
The engagement party will reveal a lot about how involved parents may be in the wedding planning. Whichever side plays host, the engagement party is ultimately in their hands, and the style and substance of this event is significantly more in their control than yours.
Rule 2 – Agree on a host.
Rule 1 lead to the next big decision….Traditionally the bride’s parents host the engagement party, but as much with modern life, anything goes. Accept an offer from a friend or relative only if you’ve first cleared it with your own parents. Confirm that key family and friends from the “other half” will be invited.
Rule 3 – Do it within 3 months of proposal.
Don’t delay too far into your engagement. The excitement of your news and celebratory atmosphere may become stale and turn a little narcissistic the closer to the actual wedding date you get. Also, don’t send out save the date cards before you send out party invites!
Rule 4 – Be consistent with your wedding guest list.
Those invited to the engagement party must also receive wedding invitations. An occasional dramatic “falling out” aside, your engagement party guest list is a partial preview of the wedding guest list. Err on the side of fewer guests if you aren’t sure early on to whom you’ll be sending wedding invitations.
Rule 5 – To register or not?
You do not need to register for your engagement party, but it can help out guests who in all likelihood will want to bring something. You may specify No Gifts Please on the party invitations, or, if you register, choose gifts in a more moderate price category.
With these rules in mind, you can shop for all your wedding stationery needs online through wedding invitation websites that allow you to personalize those components you want. You’ll find an exciting selection of engagement party invitations, save the date cards, wedding invitations and much more at www.looklovesend.com. Wedding invitation designs are original designs and include all the details you’ll need for your wedding to create a coherent, beautiful wedding day style on paper.
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11 Mar |
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6:28 am Posted by Kristy |
'Peonies' by Yana Beylinson for LookLoveSend.com
If you’re in a comfortably long engagement, with your wedding day anywhere from a year or more away, you have the luxury of timing your wedding save the date cards as etiquette demands. Brides engaged for a year or more are encouraged to send out save the dates between 9 months to a year before the wedding. Although sending save the dates too far in advance could run the risk of being forgettable, it’s helpful to guests for weddings planned during the busy summer season or requiring extensive travel.
Timing Guidelines for Wedding Save the Date Cards
Here’s a quick look at timing etiquette you can use to guide your wedding save the date cards, based on the length of your engagement:
| If engaged for… | Then send Save the Dates… |
| 1 year + | 9-12 months ahead |
| 9-12 months | 6-9 months ahead |
| 6-9 months | 4-6 months ahead |
But what happens when you’re speeding through your engagement much faster? Is there a point when you need to simply let go of giving guests a heads up with a save the date card and go right to wedding invitations instead?
Save the Dates for Short Engagements
For speedy engagements lasting less than six months, there may be reason to ignore the four-month rule as the customary last point for sending wedding save the date cards. You may consider sending save the dates as late as 10-12 weeks before your wedding date in order to:
- Help traveling guests find good deals on airfare. Don’t skip save the date cards for those who must make extra travel arrangements.
- Buy extra time if you are delayed for any reason with your wedding invitations (decisiveness, a reprint from an error, etc.)
- Remind your most important and special guests that formal wedding invitations are coming soon.
While sending very late save the dates is not customary, and edges uncomfortably close to the time for sending wedding invitations (6-8 weeks before the wedding), it can be a good idea for specific reasons like these.
No matter when you send your save the dates, be sure to coordinate their look and style with your wedding invitation design. Shop the complete wedding invitation suites available through www.looklovesend.com, where designers create collections for all the components you could want for your wedding date, including save the dates for weddings, invitations, programs, thank you cards and more.
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6 Mar |
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4:45 pm Posted by Kristy |
When do you order printed invitations online to mail and when do you simply email your invitations? Other than your own personal preference, it can depend also on the type of party you’re hosting and who your guests are. Of course there are many special occasions when you should choose print over digital, such as milestone birthdays, anniversaries, wedding and baby showers. But what about casual or impromptu get-togethers with friends, neighbors, or a social gathering for your child?
Ordering Party Invitations Online–Print or Email?
Here are a few quick guidelines to follow when deciding between print or digital:
Timing Until Party
- No matter how fast an order for invitations online can be processed and shipped, consider the time you have to address and mail them once they are in your hands. Less than 10 days is a good guideline for going with email invitations.
- Some sources, like www.looklovesend.com, can also address envelopes with your guest list and mail them for you.
Guest Preferences
- If you’ll be emailing guests for street addresses anyway, consider emailing your invite.
- In everyday work and social circles, more of us are communicating digitally (text, email, social media) than by written note, and even telephone! Choose the method most in keeping with how you normally communicate with the people you’re inviting.
- If you have a variety of guests who communicate in different ways, it never hurts to follow up printed party invitations with an email, text or other digital post. Just keep in mind how your guests prefer to communicate!
Need a Keepsake
Will you want a paper record of the party invitation for memory’s sake? If you do, ordering invitations online is fine as long as you order one extra. Most email invitations can’t be printed out, so if you want a keepsake, stick to printed party invites. When you shop www.LookLoveSend.com, you’ll find a variety of styles to create invitations online easily for quick printing and shipping.
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1 Mar |
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12:08 pm Posted by Kristy |
Something about spring brings out a little bohemian style in all of us. If you’re getting married in the springtime, consider the universal appeal of the carefree look and virtues that characterize the bohemian style… authenticity, freedom, natural beauty and simplicity.
Here are a few style pointers ranging from ceremony setting to unique wedding invitations that will help you create a bohemian look for your spring wedding:
- Ceremony setting and Reception venue. Choose something completely or mostly outdoors, including and especially the ceremony. Wooded settings, rural and pastoral landscapes convey less formality. Lakeside and other shoreline settings can work too. Choose anyplace with a rustic quality to it that lets nature and simplicity shine.
- Dresses and veils. Less tailoring and minimal structure is key. Bohemian style dresses typically feature lace over bling and use homespun elements like crotchet. Skirts are usually less flouncy and veils give way to wreaths of flowers, simple ribbon, or headscarves.
- Beauty & Hair. Loose tresses dominate the bohemian look, with tousled-looking braids being a popular choice. But short hair works beautifully too, especially with make-up that looks minimal. Pale lips, darker eyes, and earth-tone lip and cheek colors should prevail.
- Flowers.
Use wildflowers of every kind, tied with natural fibers or vintage ribbon, or casually tossed into mason jars or metal milk cans. Feature as many in-season blooms, berries and branches as you’ll find in your natural setting vs. those grown in greenhouses and imported.
- Invitations Find unique wedding invitations to set style expectations with guests. Look for handmade qualities like textured paper and hand-drawn illustration. Earth-tone colors, nature-inspired patterns, and vintage flourishes give wedding invitations a bohemian look.
Start creating your bohemian-style wedding with the perfect save the date card that sets the tone. If you create your own wedding invitations, use paper with texture and personalize components you need with photos. Find a wide selection of wedding save the date cards and unique wedding invitations to coordinate your look online at www.looklovesend.com. Turnaround is fast and shipping is free for orders of 50 or more.
