If you didn’t see Part 1 go check that out first.
Cutting, stamping & liners
Once I got all my invitation cards printed I started working on cutting them down to size. I use a Rotary Paper Trimmer, but you can also use paper-cutter and ruler.
Once I was done cutting down the invites, I stamped a little N+A that I had carved on the back.
Next, I began working on my envelope liners. I thought the liners would be a good way to incorporate a print into the stationery. I tried designing something myself, but in the end I bought a digital file from etsy seller Digital Potpourri to print. I used two variations from her Clear Blue Sky Pak for each envelope size.
To make the liners, I created a pattern out of cardstock. Then I traced the pattern on the paper and cut it to size. Finally I added the liners to the envelopes with a little double-sided tape along the top edge.
Addresses, Labels & Stamps
With the envelope liners in, the final step was addressing the envelopes. Nate and I divided our guest list into his and hers to gather all the addresses. We then combined them in excel so I could use the Microsoft Word’s Mail Merge Tool to format and print Avery labels. You can download free Avery label templates from their website and use them in Word to perform the mail merge. (You can also use Adobe In-Design, but I haven’t tried it out.) Unfortunately, as you will see below, I ended up using the wrong labels for the merge so I still had to manually add each address to a label.
Stamps
For stamps, I used a bunch of forever stamp I had for the response cards. Our invitations weighted about two ounces, so I ordered special stamps directly from the US Postal Service. The post office comes out with a new wedding design every year, but I really liked the look of Spicebush Swallowtail Stamp so I went with that instead.
Making the labels
I struggled deciding between handwriting the addresses versus the convenience of using labels. In the end I think I came up with a good compromise by designing my fun labels and using the same Blackjack font from the invitations.
For the response labels, I used Avery 5163 labels and customized the free template in illustrator so I could cut them down to size once I printed them out.
Next I worked on the invitation labels. To be honest, these guys were a pain. I used the Avery 5526 Labels which I thought would be the easiest for me to make the wraparound labels from. Problem is these half page labels made the mail merge process impossible. Instead I had to hand convert each address into the proper format for the label then manually add it to the design and center it. Next time I’ll make sure my label works correctly with the mail merge or try the process in Adobe In-Design to see if that would work better for me.
With all the pieces completed, it was just a matter of putting them together and stuffing the envelopes.
Nate helped me pack the envelopes and seal them after I showed him the proper order (quality control people!!).
And now the reveal… Here’s the final invitation with all the components. (Sorry these are so grainy. I am going to retake photos of the invitations this weekend including the labels.)
Plus a close-up the invitation next to the top border of the two other cards and the liner.
And the response card with its envelope.
We sent out the invitations about three weeks ago and have gotten about a third of the responses back. We are very hopeful we get most back before our May 15th respond-by date. I have a feeling a bunch will come in next week.
